My Very UnFairy Tale Life: Jenny’s First Adventure

By Anna Staniszewski

How does an average girl become a magical adventurer, anyway? Travel back three years to see how Jenny's adventures first began in this short prequel to My Very UnFairy Tale Life! (Includes fun UnFairy bonus content!)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Staniszewski
• Release date: Dec 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301367047

Anna Staniszewski

Anna Staniszewski lives outside of Boston with her husband and an adorably crazy dog. She was named the Boston Public Library's 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Discovery Award. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and not cleaning her house. Visit her at www.annastan.com.

Book preview

Reviews for My Very UnFairy Tale Life

[adventures2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My Very Unfairy Tale Life How many people would kill for the chance to leave their world, get out of school, and be an adventurer. Not just any adventurer but one who helps magical creatures and places? That's what Jenny thought so many years ago when she signed the contract. Since then she has battled unicorns, and been on other countless adventures, but this adventurer is getting tired. She misses her old life. Can she ditch her life as an adventurer though? Especially with an evil person on the loose who has kidnapped the queen's son. Only one adventurer can save the day here. The Good: Personally I think this is an amazing idea. Who wouldn't want to leave their life and be someone else for awhile, especially someone that can travel into new worlds and meet new people. I think the characters were funny, especially the gnome. The Bad: As much as I want to like this story I can't. I love the idea here, but I just found it to be weird an unrealistic... I mean I know it's fantasy and all, but don't you think that it's a little far out there when the main character returns to her world and finds out that she lost her mouth? Fantasy and different things are cool, but that was too much for me. Plus I wish the story centered more on the magical world and not so much on Jenny's world. I know what Earth is like, I want to hear more and explore more places in the magic land. Conclusion: Cute story and idea, but not my cup of tea. Funny story, funny characters, but I think the story line needs some work. I will be reading the next book in the series though. Rating: 2, 1/2 stars

[wrightja2000 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've been wanting to read this for a while since I love all things fairy tales. It was disappointing. I wouldn't have bothered finishing it except it was fairly short. The worlds were not well developed. The characters' motivations for their behaviors and choices were unclear and vague. It felt like I was reading a long version of a cartoon network episode aimed at the 10 and under crowd. I think someone in elementary school might enjoy it if the clown stuff isn't too creepy. Someone mentioned it being a next step from The Rainbow Fairies series and I think it is similarly bland.

[Anna Kelly · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is really cool, but I was kind of sad that it was only a preview of the real book. I’ll give this book 3 stars for now.

[matamgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute middle grade. Jenny is a likable protagonist but I felt like there was a lot that was not really explained.

[abouttoread_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Very Unfairytale Life is an action-packed middle grade novel. While I wouldn’t classify this as a YA cross-over, I found myself being sucked into Anna Staniszewski’s story. Jenny was a bit young for me, but she was still funny and I liked her bravery. The writing, however, is what really steals the shows.Staniszewski does an amazing job at creating suspense. She ends her chapters on the most intense notes, and you just have to keep reading to see where the story is going to go—it’s almost impossible to put down. I was able to finish the entire novel in just 2 hours, and was not bored for a minute. I would even go so far as to say that she is a middle grade Julie Kagawa. Jenny herself is a fun character. She is funny, albeit cheesy, and is certainty very brave (especially considering how much of her life has been taken over by being an adventurer). While I didn’t love her, I did enjoy reading from her perspective and am expecting her to be even better in following novels.My Very Unfairytale Life is a cute and fast read. As short as it is, it is very exciting and is exactly the kind of story I would have devoured as a child.If Staniszewski ever writes a YA cross-over, I will most certainty be picking it up! In the meantime, however, I am looking forward to the next installment in Jenny’s story.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you're still looking for a good story for that tween girl in your life this holiday, start here. Jenny has been an adventurer for 3 years, being whisked off to fairytale lands to help the various magical folk resolve problems in a common sense way. Accompanied by a gnome, living alone with her Aunt Evie, Jenny fells lonely and tries to quit. Magic, of course, follows her to her real life as well and the story comes to a great conclusion. Very nicely done!

[elissajanine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a cute, witty, endearing story with a wacky edge that makes turning the pages so much fun!