Granted

December 11, 2017
In a delightful fantasy about grappling with unforeseen challenges, a fairy embarks on a mission to grant her first wish. For an ambitious, type-A fairy like Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, the task should be simple: find the coin her target wished on and use fairy dust to fulfill the wish (in this case, a 13-year-old Ohio girl’s request for a bike). She can’t afford to fail: fairy society relies on wish granting to maintain the flow of increasingly scarce magic. But a wing injury renders Ophelia unable to fly, and a series of circumstances keeps that all-important coin just out of reach. Anderson (Posted) maintains a careful balance between earnestness and whimsy as Ophelia bounces from one incident to the next, aided by her new friend, Sam, a scene-stealing stray mutt. For the most part, Anderson plays the concept of a small fairy coping with a big world straight, but some tongue-in-cheek observations and heartfelt moments make for a feel-good, optimistic story that finds the magic in everyday things. Ages 8–12. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary.

November 1, 2017
Grades 3-6 Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets is proud to be a Granter, a diminutive fairy trained to make people's wishes come true. As magic dwindles, though, fewer can be granted. Ophelia receives her first assignment: fly 300 miles to Ohio to fulfill a girl's wish for a purple bicycle, retrieve the coin she tossed, dowse it with fairy dust, and return to the Haven. After encountering a plane, a car's windshield wiper, and a hawk, the fairy is lost and battered, but Sam, a homeless dog, enthusiastically helps her carry out her mission. Ophelia decides to defy her orders by granting more than one wish. With descriptions of the fairies' wish-granting rules and bureaucracy, the beginning may seem a bit slow, but once Ophelia takes flight, so does the story. Along the way, Sam adds a great deal of humor to the telling. The inviting jacket illustration hints at the story without giving much away. Best known for realistic novels such as Ms. Bixby's Last Day (2015)and Posted (2016), Anderson shows his versatility in this original fantasy adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Young fairy Ophelia finds her training and preconceptions challenged by the human world when she embarks on her first wish-granting mission. Can she complete her mission with a broken wing? Should she accept help from an unexpected canine quarter? Funny, iconoclastic, and warm-hearted, Anderson's vision of a world shared by fairies, humans, and a slobbery dog is enchanting.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from February 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Magic isn't what it used to be. Though once upon a time, fairies could grant any wish they liked, today, owing to dwindling levels of magic, those decisions are the purview of the Great Tree. As a result, only a few of the humans wishing on shooting stars or birthday candles realize their heart's desire. Today, Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, an untried young member of the Granter guild, has the chance to delight one human-and prove herself. Sent from the fairy realm to the human world with an arsenal of high-tech supplies and strict orders from her supervisor to adhere to regulations, she's tasked with making 13-year-old Kasarah Quinn's dream of a new bike a reality. But the mission becomes more complicated when the essential element (a nickel that Kasarah threw into a fountain when she made her wish) goes missing. This engrossing adventure moves quickly, plunging its heroine into one near-death scenario after another. Determined yet inexperienced Ophelia is a relatable underdog character, as is her sidekick, Sam, a dopey but enthusiastic canine. Interludes between chapters flesh out the fairy world, a hilarious blend of the magical and the bureaucratic. Anderson weaves in a subtle message about free will as earnest, by-the-book Ophelia's eyes open and she considers disobeying the rules and granting another wish. Her journey of self-discovery will resonate with young readers newly grappling with the idea that right and wrong aren't always clear-cut. VERDICT An enchanting addition to any middle grade collection.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2017
Wish-fulfillment can be hard work. On her first assignment as a Granter, a cobalt-blue-haired fairy finds the human world far more complicated than she expected. Granting a wish requires determination and a little help from friends. Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets is compulsively well-prepared, but book-learning in the Haven is not the same as action in the real, human world. There are unexpected dangers: airplanes, territorial geese, a broom, a hawk, a truck. And then there's the difficult choice. With the dwindling amount of magic available to them, generations of fairies have decreed that an impartial lottery is the fairest way to distribute the number of fulfilled wishes, but is it? Is a boy's longing for his father's return more important than a girl's wish for a purple bike to replace her stolen one? Anderson provides wonderfully convincing details about his imagined "world of waning wonder," where fairies struggle to keep magic alive. He creates appealing characters, especially careful Ophelia, her scruffy, pink-haired fairy friend, an abandoned but loving dog she names Sam, and the boy, Gabe Morales, sadly longing for his father, serving in Iraq. (Only his name suggests Latinx heritage.) The skillful tale-telling includes satisfying alliteration. "Honor no wish that would lead to misery, misfortune, or malefaction" is the fairies' first rule of wish-granting. A faithful dog, a good friend, and pinch of magic work wonders in this modern fairy tale. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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