Golden Girl

Starred review from May 1, 2013
It's hard for a brown-skinned girl to search the Depression-era back lots of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for a gateway to fairyland and harder still if both the Seelie and Unseelie courts are after her. It's 1935, and Callie LeRoux has journeyed to Hollywood from Slow Run, Kan., in search of her white human mother and black fairy father. A fairy kidnap attempt is foiled by none other than the famous Renaissance man Paul Robeson, a human who seems impervious to fairy magic. But Callie ignores Mr. Robeson, choosing instead the friendship of a Shirley Temple-like child star with golden curls, perky tam-o'-shanter and bewitched caretakers. Callie just wants to find her parents and get the heck out of Dodge, but with a prophecy hanging over her head, it won't be easy. Her father's people, the brown-skinned fairies of the Midnight Throne, want her as much as the fair-skinned power brokers of the Shining Court. Real-life historical figures and cultural norms flavor this coming-of-age tale set in the golden age of Hollywood with period gravitas, but they never overwhelm the adventure or diminish the Seelie and Unseelie courts to an allegory for racism. In this sparkling sequel to Dust Girl (2012), showcasing Callie's cleverness versus the mystical glitterati, neither Callie's persistence nor the trilogy's pace flags. (Fantasy. 12-14)

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August 1, 2013

Gr 6-9-In this sequel to Dust Girl (Random, 2012), half-fairy Callie LeRoux finds herself in 1930s Hollywood, seeking a way to rescue her parents, who have been kidnapped by a rival faction of fairies called the Seelies. Her quest takes her and her loyal human friend, Jack, to the glamorous MGM film lot. There, she's fooled into rescuing the Seelie princess, who is disguised as young and spoiled film actress Ivy Bright, and discovers a gate to the Seelie world, where her parents are being held as performers in a vaudevillian act. Callie's father is an UnSeelie fairy prince and also African American; this novel contains just enough subtle commentary on the race and class issues of the era to give readers pause. Callie discusses the need for "passing," and with the surprising appearance of real-life singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, some of the struggles of being African American are brought to readers' attention, albeit in a fairly lightweightmanner. Callie ultimately finds herself in a dramatic battle to the death against Ivy as a tradeoff for freeing her parents. The exciting conclusion clearly sets the stage for the next book in the series. The simple writing style and tone make this title a good pick for reluctant readers-although, unless patrons have expressed interest in the previous title, this installation is more of an additional purchase than a necessary one.-Joanna Sondheim, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 Far removed from the desperation of the Dust Bowl (Dust Girl, 2012), Callie LeRoux, unwitting heiress to the Unseelie court throne, is now making her way among the glamour and glitz of Hollywood. Living in a respectable rooming house, Callie seeks work on a movie set with Jack's help and finds a job in the home of Ivy Bright, a starlet as beguiling as her name would imply. Callie grows into her understanding of the Seelie fairy world and its consequences for her as she begins to focus her sharp temper and work the magic beneath her skin, all while delving into the enchanting spell of the movie industry. This sequel accelerates in pacing as the stakes rise, leaving readers both the satisfaction of a resolution to one of Cassie's dilemmas and a cliff-hanger of an ending to her whole story. Racial and economic issues and social mores of the 1930s are ably explored, but this series will mainly appeal to fantasy readers rather than historical-fiction fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)