Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School (1))

I had to read this book for a course in grad school, or rather I chose it to read for the course Trade Book review, and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it. More description of the surroundings and people would have been nice, but the story really propels things forward. Poor Gilly, immoral as they get, but for the "right" reasons, gets caught stealing and is sent to Fairy Tale Reform School which is run by the wicked step-mother of Cinderella. In the Kingdom of Enchantasia, this school is for young criminals who have been caught three times and Gilly gets caught three times. She just wanted to give her sister a nice birthday present, but she pays for it. The writing is decent. Nit-picky things like "she nodded her head" sometimes threw me off, but otherwise, I have to say I was pleased with the outcome of the book. I look forward to reading the next in the series when it comes out and follow Gilly and Jax through more of their adventures.

Among so many fairy tale retellings, this looked like it would be a fresh new take. The idea was fun - reformed villains saving the next generation of troublemakers from turning evil. Yet, I don't feel it fully reached the potential it started with.As other reviews have noted, there is a strong resemblance to obvious Harry Potter plot twists and turns. Without adding spoilers, I truly lost count how many times I thought that it seemed familiar while reading. About halfway through, I paused reading long enough to check reviews and see if it was just me. (This is a bad sign for a book - I've never stopped partway through a book I was really enjoying to see what others thought).I had difficulty finding empathy for the lead character, and the secondary characters felt less developed than they should. There seemed to be some continuity flaws as well that were distracting. I considered not finishing, but did make it to the end, where there was little desire to continue reading the series.

So it's the first book in FTRS series... and is it THE best one? Maybe...Gillian Cobbler (a.k.a Gilly,) gets kicked into FTRS because of her third offense (three offenses and your IN!), which was stealing a piece of jewlery for younger sister, Anna's, birthday. (Which I think that is very thoughtful... ish.) The Cobble family is very poor. Mr. Cobble is a shoemaker, and they would have more money but... Gilly's dad was making glass slippers, which is THE most popular shoe, but then the Fairy Godmother started making them too, (with magic!) so everybody started buying from HER... so Gilly's family is scraping to have enough food for Gilly and her siblings who live inside their boot. So anyways Snow White's Dwarf Police Squad catches Gilly in the act of stealing, and she gets sent to FTRS. (Also, the Cobblers live in Enchantsia which has almost every Fairy Tale Character) :)So that's just some backround how Gilly gets into FTRS. If you want to find out what adventures Gilly has with her new friends at FTRS, (Kayla and Jax) get the book!I would recommend being at least 8 before reading this book. There is some mild violence and action, and also a little bit of language.If you love this series, I would also HIGHLY recommend Royal Academy Rebels series, (also by Jen) AND The Twisted Tales series. (Though only two of the Twisted Tales are actually written by Jen, -Conceal Don't Feel and Mirror Mirror- MOST of the other ones are good to!)Enjoy!!!!!!

Cause and effect are easy to see on micro levels. The money that leaves your pocket when you purchase food is a tangible microeconomic cause and effect. Macroeconomic cause and effect are often harder to see. The author did a great job at simplifying macroeconomics with the effect the fairies making shoes had on the cobbler and his family. Who knew you could flunk out of reform school for being good? Read and find out how Jillie did just that, or did she? Was she being selfish, altruistic or did she just owe someone and got the blame for a good dead?

I liked everything about this book the thought of all the Baddies from the fairy tales we all know and love teaching and reforming bad kids? Who knows what would happen. I love the character of Gilly she's fun and a quick thinker and she does care about her friends. A true Thief she's always analyzing and thinking. I was often laughing at some of the things that she did. The sister of Professor Harlow AKA Evil Queen was the ultimate bully. Good thing bullies can't cast spells in real life! All the characters are very memorable and well written. Some are lovable While others are a little grating on the nerves (bullies). If you like fantasy and fairy tales definitely pick this book up.

Flunked takes all the joy and innocent bliss of nursery rhymes and fairy tales, adds new and fun characters (tweens will LOVE Gilly, Kayla, Ollie, and Jax) and enjoy a delightful read. There are some parallels to other Tween series that are wildly popular (this teacher would be equal to this professor) but the story is beautifully paced, wonderfully detailed, and just flat out a fun read. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

This was a cute story, I am pre-reading stories to read to my children or allow my children to read when they are old enough. This story seemed to move quickly but it was fun and has a good life lesson behind it. I look forward to reading the next book and think that my daughter will enjoy this when she's old enough.

Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School)I like Gilly's quick nimble mind, with her sardonic thoughts of authorities and Royals. After just a few days there, I'm sure that her roommate Kayla is up to something. Perhaps she secretly writes for the magic Happily Ever After Scroll news service. And every adult they've introduced so far seems to not be as reformed as they claim.It was a fun, quick read, both light-hearted and serious with some surprises and twists.

lovely

A great book. Very dramatic. Looking forward to the next instalment. Isobel aged 10

3.5 stars.Well, I'm certainly not a child, but I enjoyed some aspects of the book. The idea is great - fairy tale world after Snow's, Rapunzel's, Sleeping Beauty's... Stories ended and a new Enchantasia had to be built.There's a reform school – FTRS - that is managed by the Evil Stepmother, Flora - after regretting doing terrible things to Cinderella.The premise is good and you can fly through the book, because it is only 240 something pages, but this didn't happen to me. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and finishing this book.One thing that I appreciated was that in between the chapters you had a scroll with some background knowledge from the FTRS tutors.3 more things to say:1- I won't be finishing this series.2- Put your hands together for the beautiful cover. It surely is magical.3- There is another book out - the second instalment - Charmed.

I haven't read it myself, but I picked it up as a kindle daily deal for my 10 y.o. daughter (a fan of things like Harry Potter and "Just Add Magic" on Amazon Prime Video) and she loved it and has been asking me about a sequel.

I think this book was really quite great though it only gets good after about seventy pages so patience is required!I also think the author could have done more with the idea but in general a interesting book. (I'll probably get the rest of the series though)