This was just a fun, middle grade romp.  I really enjoyed and will be reading more in the series.

Another wonderful entry in the Fairy Tale Reform School series! Look, it's no secret that I have a soft spot for these kinds of stories. I'm a Middle Grade reader, trapped in an adult's body. I love magic, mischief, and stories about great friendships. It's no wonder, then, that I also love Jen Calonita's writing. I enjoyed the first book, Flunked, immensely. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on Charmed and see what Gilly was up to now.

The first thing I noticed about this sequel was that Gilly has grown up. Oh, sure, she's still a rascal. She and her friends get up to all sorts of silliness. At the heart of it though, Gilly knows what true evil looks like now. She understands that people can get hurt, and that the choices we make affect others. I loved how Calonita didn't just let Gilly sit at this new point in her life though. Instead, she grows even more throughout the course of this book. Middle Grade readers need good role models and, as feisty as Gilly is, she definitely fits that bill.

Plus, there were so many more fairy tale references to fall in love with! I can't deny that I'm a sucker for a fairy tale pun. Those abound here, and if I'm finding myself giggling I have no doubt that young readers will too. I also appreciated the addition of new, and interesting characters. Most notably, Blackbeard makes his debut here. The idea that a new reader might want to discover the history of that dreaded pirate? Well, it makes me all giddy. He also adds a nice lightness to everything, what with his pirate manners and all. Pirates aren't exactly known for their manners.

I'm being completely honest when I say that I hope there's more of these stories to come. The ending had me a bit teary eyed, and truly hoping that this isn't the last I'll see of Gilly and her friends. If you have a young reader at home, especially one who enjoys a good fairy tale, this is a series you should get them started on. Jen Calonita's writing is wonderful.

I'd had high hopes for this book and by the end...most were met. But for the first half or more, I found this to be cliche and a bit disappointing. Though that might be partially the fault of the audiobook. I had to give up on it slightly before half way and switch to the book; the narrator's voice made half of them sound like whiny teenagers. Now they may be just that but I will not listen to that if there's anyway to avoid it, so the audiobook had to go.

The country of Enchantasia (ha, ha - eye roll) is ruled by the famous princesses: Ella, Snow, Rose (Sleeping Beauty), and Rapunzel. Though Gottie (Rapunzel's villian...I think) and Alva (Sleeping Beauty's villian) are still loose, everyone is fairly safe and doing well - though the cobblers are in a downturn as Ella gave Glass Slipper creation rights to Fairy Godmothers. The rest of the villains are reformed. The Stepmonster (Flora), Wolfington (best not to mention Grandmother), Madam Cleo (the Sea Witch), and Harlow (Snow White's Evil Queen) live in an enchanted castle where they have turned their lives around and now help young people who are on the path to villainy.

Yep, they run Fairy Tale Reform School!

Their Mission: "To turn wicked delinquents and former villains into future heroes."

Have you ever wondered what happens after the fairy tale is over? What "Happily Ever After" really means? In Enchantasia, the princesses of tales - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel - rule jointly... and even most villains are reformed.

Or are they?

Gillian "Gilly" Cobbler is a thief by necessity, stealing to keep her brothers and sisters fed. When she's caught for the third time, she's sent to the Fairy Tale Reform School, a boarding school founded by Flora, Princess Ella's wicked stepmother, where the goal is to "turn wicked delinquents and former villains into future heroes." But not all villains have been redeemed, with two in particular still on the loose. Can the troubled teens of Enchantasia come together to fight an evil worse than homework?

I found this story really amusing. Gilly is a fun character, and I sympathized with her family situation and how she found herself as an unplanned hero. The supporting cast of Jax, Kayla, Ollie, and Maxine introduces us to different species and personalities within the school, and I can see this group - with Gilly included - in future stories, causing problems as quickly as they solve them. I especially liked how the author twisted our expectations of who is good and who is evil, providing us fairy tale royalty that isn't perfect and villains who aren't actually bad.

If you're a fan of fairy tales, magic, and adventure, I highly suggest you pick up Flunked, Fairy Tale Reform School #1. Suggested accessories are a sense of the whimsical, at least a smudge of humor, and a free evening... because you might not want to stop reading!

*Library Copy*

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Flunked takes us on a not so typical fairy tale adventure.

Gillian is one of the children that live in the shoe. The fairy princesses in charge have enacted a magical shoe production, a production that has devastated Gillian's family financially. To make ends meet, Gilly has taken to a not so legal means to earning money…she is stealing. Because of her indiscretions she is sent to Fairy Tale Reform School.

Fairy Tale reform school is filled with the misfits, the students, and “reformed” villains, the teachers, of Enchantasia. Gillian and her group of new found friends uncover a plot to over through the princesses with the Reform School playing a key role in the evil revolution.

Twisted tales have become very popular of late in both adult and children literature. Flunked is Jen Calonita’s imaginative take on this new teen and tween storyline. In her telling, Calonita uses reformed villains to pull the “at risk of becoming villain” children back into their societies norms. She also uses the not so hero/heroine characters as the only hope to save Enchantasia.

The story is absolutely based for a younger audience. I found it enjoyable but written with the young at heart, with their decision making and actions fitting their ages. It had plenty of action and twists that also opens a lot of directions for further installments in this series. For me, I found it to be a little to uncomplicated for 5 stars but I’m sure this will be a huge hit with the tween crowd.

I received this ARC copy of Fairy Tales Reform School: Flunked from Netgalley.