Summary
Since Gilly’s been “reformed,” she’s back home with her family as are many of her friends from FTRS (Fairy Tale Reform School). She should be happy to be home…. But training to be a cobbler and make shoes is NOT the life she wants for herself. She misses her friends and the adventures she had at FTRS. And she’s tired of watching her sister, Anna, hang out with criminal troublemakers like Hansel and Gretel. But Anna won’t listen to Gilly’s advice and soon she is arrested and sent to FTRS like Gilly once was.
But FTRS has changed a lot since Gilly left. Rumpelstiltskin has taken over the school and cut off communication to the royal princesses or even to the families of his students. He’s up to no good and seems to be magic-ing people into compliance with his plans. Gilly and her friends are going to have to get thrown back into FTRS if they’re going to have a chance to rescue Anna and the other students from Rumpelstiltskin’s plans.
Review
I received an early electronic copy of this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review. As a huge fan of this series, I’m grateful for the chance to review Tricked, book 3 in the Fairy Tale Reform School series after book 1, Flunked, and book 2, Charmed.
I love Gilly and her friends and the way they have learned to work together and trust each other through their past adventures. Even their teachers and the princesses are trusting them to help save the school from Rumpelstiltskin. I am a HUGE fan of any sort of fractured fairy tale type story so these are a great fit for me.
And Rumpelstiltskin is real trouble! (And hard to type!) This book only hints at everything he is plotting. While the adventure in this book is satisfying but seems to serve as a set up for a larger story yet to come.
It’s been awhile since I read the other books in this series. At the end of this book, Gilly says she and most of her friends are 12. I would have guessed more in the 14-15 range. The target audience is closer to an average of 12 (this would work for readers anywhere from 9 or 10 up to 15 or so, depending on the reader and his/her interests), but the maturity of the characters at times and the deeper questions of purpose and destiny strike me as fitting an older teen than questions 12-year-olds generally ponder.
This book is a great fit for upper elementary and middle school readers. I recommend reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment of the characters and the evolution of the relationships in the story as well as the development of the villains. Readers who have enjoyed the Ever After High books or the Whatever After series, or even the Wide Awake Princess books might enjoy the Fairy Tale Reform School series. Thanks again to Sourcebooks for the chance to read and review Tricked!