Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy: what if fairy tales were real?

Never After: the Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa De La Cruz is the first book in the The Chronicles of Never After series. In her little suburban town of North Pasadena, Filomena Jefferson-Cho’s life is fairly uneventful. The only excitement she gets is reading her favorite series about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends and their adventures saving their world, Never After. On the day that the thirteenth book was supposed to be released, something strange happened. Filomena finds herself being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the series. He insists he is real, Never After is real and he needs her help! She finds herself in the world of fairies and other magical creatures as she helps fight the evil ogre queen and save Never After. 

Never After is a middle grade young reader book for games 10-14, however, it is an adventure story that I think all ages will enjoy. Ms. De La Cruz’s take on the fairy tales reminds me of Disney’s A Twisted Tale series as she takes the fairy tales we know and love and flips them upside down. What if the stories didn’t happen the way we have heard? The book focuses on being brave and facing fears. At one point, Filomena is told that “the quickest way to fail is to succumb to your doubt and fears.” I love that message. I thoroughly enjoyed Never After and look forward to introducing it to my daughters as well as reading more adventures of Filomena, Jack and Never After. I recommend Never After: the Thirteenth Fairy. 

Never After: the Thirteenth Fairy is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.