Philippa Fisher and the Fairy’s Promise by Liz Kessler
In this sweet conclusion to the PHILIPPA FISHER trilogy from Liz Kessler, Philippa is once again visiting her new friend Robyn, who we met in the previous book, Philippa Fisher and the Dream-Maker’s Daughter. While the girls are investigating some standing stones, Philippa is magically transported to the fairy godmother agency where her best friend and fairy godsister Daisy works. While Philippa’s parents are frantically searching for her, Philippa has learned that her mother is in grave danger. It was illegal for Daisy to give Philippa that information, but the girls are best friends and Daisy feels like she has to warn Philippa. This act of loyalty starts a whole string of unexpected events that change everybody’s lives forever and that, perhaps, may have the power to save the world.
Readers who’ve enjoyed the previous PHILIPPA FISHER books will surely love this one, too. The plot is a little more complex and unpredictable than the previous plots and much humor comes from Philippa’s escapades in the bureaucratic fairy godmother agency. Philippa also gets to visit a world where time has stopped, which is kind of fun. She learns about the role of fairies and magic in the world and what happens when children stop believing in them.
Once again, a major theme of the story is friendship and, particularly, loyalty to friends. The message is sweet and relevant. There are a few small issues. Adults don’t always act naturally. For example, after Philippa disappears at the stones, Robyn’s father lets her go back there by herself. Not likely. Problems are solved a little too quickly and easily, but that’s forgivable in a book targeted toward children.
The audio version of Philippa Fisher and the Fairy’s Promise is narrated by Kate Reinders, Julia Whelan, and MacLeod Andrews. Each gives a terrific performance. However, I don’t really like it when different narrators read the different characters’ perspectives because it sounds strange when they read the non-perspective characters’ dialogue. So, for example, MacLeod Andrews reads the perspective of a boy who only makes a short appearance. When he reads Philippa’s lines from the boy’s perspective, he’s giving her a different voice than Kate Reinders gave Philippa. This problem wasn’t too noticeable with the female perspectives because Kate Reinders and Julia Whelan sound so much alike, but it becomes disconcerting when the male voice comes in. I just don’t see the point of doing it this way. But, other than that, the audio is excellent. Philippa Fisher and the Fairy’s Promise is 5.5 hours long.
Note: In some markets, this book is titled Philippa Fisher and the Stone Fairy’s Promise.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks