Team Human and How to Ditch Your Fairy: Two Book Reviews for the Price of One

[attackfish]

I had two exams at the library the day before yesterday, and then I had to go for an oral surgery consult (My wisdom teeth are impacted) so as a treat to myself, I took two books out of the library that I’ve been meaning to read for a while: How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier and Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan.

Team Human:

Mel has never liked vampires.  Lucky for her, even though she lives in New Whitby, the famous vampire town, she hasn’t had to have much to do with them.  They stay on their side of town, and she stays on hers.  But vampires have always held a fascination for her best friend Cathy.  When a vampire who was turned as a teenager back in the eighteen hundreds decides to start taking classes at the local high school, it’s Mel’s job to figure out what he’s doing there and chase him off before Cathy finds herself drained of her blood and joining the ranks of the undead herself.

How to Ditch Your Fairy:

Charlie hates her fairy.  Fairies are supernatural good luck talismans, which means they’re supposed to be helpful right?  Her best friend has a clothes shopping fairy and it’s awesome.  Charlie meanwhile has a parking fairy, and at fourteen years old, this means everybody wants her to ride in their car.  After an unfortunate kidnapping incedent, she wants her fairy gone, and she will do anything to make that happen.

Okay, so you don’t get a cut because this will be short.  I decided to review these two books together because I have pretty much the same thing to say about both of them.  I liked them.  They’re clever, fun, charming, and witty.  I didn’t love them, I’m not overly attached to the characters, the settings were interesting, but the books didn’t explore the bits of them that most intrigued me, and I’m not devastated that they’re finished, nor do I want to reread them.  They are light, fun, happy books, and the perfect thing to read after final exams.  They made me feel better about getting my wisdom teeth out, and the fact that my car wouldn’t start, at night in the rain.  If you want something pleasant and diverting, don’t hesitate to pick them up.

Justine Larbalestier has a website at justinelarbalestier.com/ and tweets under the name JustineLavaworm.  Sarah Rees Brennan can be found all over the internet, as sarahtales on livehournal, on tumblr at sarahreesbrennan.tumblr.com, and on her own website, sarahreesbrennan.com.

Comments

[ljlee.livejournal.com]

Both of these sound like they could be awesome deconstructions of the YA modern fantasy genre, specifically the trope that the fantastic is by itself Awesome and Special. Team Human in particular sounds like a Twilight parody, starting from the title. It doesn't seem like either book delved too deeply into the implications of their chosen premises, though.

In fact, reading the two titles together at the head of your post I assumed this was about overlithe's epic Legend of Korra-hatespired screed, LoK, Being on Team Human, and Stories About Nothing (http://overlithe.livejournal.com/185772.html). (The title of Part 1 is in fact "Fairies and Fascists, or Fleeing From Humanity," another reason for the confusion.)