Review Monday: First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts

I found a new Indie author recently, and was delighted by her books. Lari Don writes for the Middle Grade audience, and her stories are full of adventure (absolutely perfect for her readers).

cover of First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts

About the book:
Helen has absolutely no interest in becoming a vet like her mother. So she isn’t best pleased when asked to help an injured horse. Only this horse isn’t entirely normal – and nor are his friends. Without warning, Helen is thrust into an extraordinary world full of magical rituals, fantastical creatures and a dangerous, powerful beast known as the Master, who would destroy it all. Everything hinges on finding the lost Book of Wisdom before the Winter Solstice. Can Helen work out the riddles and help her new friends to make amends for a foolish prank?

My thoughts:
I loved this book although it was clearly aimed at Middle Grade readers. The characters were fun, and Helen became very real for me. Her reluctance to do what she had to do mixed well with her sense of duty. I kept turning the pages wishing the story were longer (and I’m well past 40yrs of age). The mythological creatures are fairly well known, but they had their own personalities which made them unique. I loved the way the story twisted this way and that, bouncing new problems into Helen’s path whenever I though she was getting closer to the truth. This book is well worth a read. I was glad to discover that there are more books in this series, and although I hardly ever read series, I will read this one.

You can get “First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts” as Paperback or as an eBook in any major bookshop.
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4 thoughts on “Review Monday: First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts”

  1. Lari Don says:

    I’m so glad you liked the book, Katharina, and also that you felt that the main character was challenged by her experiences. I’ve often been disappointed by kids’ books where the children are just witnesses or passive recipients of an adventure, or even worse, where they are saved in the end by a big person, so I like to put my kids into difficult situations which really challenge them, then leave them to sort it out themselves! I’m also delighted that you want to read the rest of the series. (It didn’t start as a series, but once I’d created this world and these characters, I kept having more ideas I wanted to explore!)

    1. Cat says:

      That’s one reason why I never managed to read more than a few pages of “Twilight”. The main character was so terribly passive.

  2. Will Hahn says:

    Wonderful review, Kat, and it does indeed sound like a great tale. I like to hear that a MG book has a plot of real concern to a child of that age, not simply that it stars one. What should I be when I grow up? How do I handle the unexpected things that happen? Perfect!
    All the best to Lari.

    1. Cat says:

      I’m most definitely going to read the other three books in the series — and I’m someone who doesn’t like series all that much. 😉

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