Shayla Witherwood: a Half-Faerie Tale by Tamra Torero (ARC)

This book was so sweet(: I needed something like this.

Although the title sounds overdone (too many fairy stories...), the book was fun to read. The story centres around (duh) Shayla Witherwood, who's half-faerie, half-human (wow, I'm being redundant today). But basically, Shayla is going to school for the first time in her life (she was previously homeschooled), and she has to learn to fit in.

What I liked about this novel was that Shayla knows about her identity as a faerie. There's no dramatic \(O.O)/ moment when she realises she's not human. Although she hasn't fully mastered or realised her powers, it's not her fault because she wasn't taught them. Although there's some drama (like someone after her life), the story is mostly about fitting in and finding friends. Which I liked, because somehow, it reminded me of Judy Blume. I can't tell why though, seeing as the stories have nothing in common.

The characters in the book were well-written though. I liked almost all of them, and the only reason why Josi didn't win me over was because she became way too conspiracy-theory minded at one point. But I loved how they were good friends (not perfect, but good), and I saw how Shayla, being the new girl, managed to bring two different groups of people together (somewhat).

I'm not actually sure if this is a series though. I could see how it could be made into a series, but as it is, the book is perfectly fine as a stand-alone. Actually, I may be a bit tired of chasing series (I was never good at keeping up with them), so a standalone book would be great(:

Yes, so basically, this is a very sweet book, and yup, totally clean. I'd recommend it for all ages.

Disclaimer: I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.