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I feel like I’m finally out of my reading rut! If that’s ever happened to you, you know how frustrating that can be to not feel the enjoyment of reading a book. Lately, though, I was so excited to start The Land of Fake Believe, and finishing it reminded me how much fun it is to find a good book. This is a must-read book if you love fairy tales!
You first meet 12-year-old Taylan during a vacation with her family to the amusement park, Happily Ever After. Of course, Taylan’s little sister, Judy, is in love with the idea of meeting all the fairy tale princesses. This drives her bonkers, of course. Fairy tale princesses aren’t real! Why won’t her little sister understand?
In the heat of the sulkiest of sulks, Taylan makes her little sister Judy cry after insisting that she accept all of it was fake. This results in a punishment that loops her brother Colby in (who’s innocent of all of it, even if he is just as miserable as Taylan). They both return to the hotel room as their parents finish up the day with Judy.
Determined to prove her point, Taylan and Colby venture out into Happily Ever After to prove that it was all fake. Assuming they’d go backstage to find actors taking off their costumes, they discover something fascinating: it’s all real. Suddenly, they’re looped into an adventure that involves pretty famous fairy tale characters, including the one-and-only Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, the Big Bad Wolf, and many more. The trouble is there are also characters that are evil, and they aren’t as easy to spot (i.e. Rapunzel!).
What they realize is these characters are stuck in Happily Ever After and now Taylan and Colby are in it deep. Can they help these characters from the evil part of Happily Ever After? Will they make it home to their parents and finish up their vacation in one piece?
Laurel Soloranzo has written a charming, middle-grade fantasy adventure that’s perfect for your middle-grade reader or for readers young at heart, like me. You’ll root for Taylan and Colby as they learn to get along and fight for the good guys. Meanwhile, Taylan learns an important lesson about putting others first. This is definitely a book to add to your reading list this year!
Purchase a copy of The Land of Fake Believe on Amazon or add it to your GoodReads reading list. Or support local bookstores by purchasing a copy on Bookshop.org.
That sounds different.