Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck c... read full description
reviews
Jun 20, 2008
KT
rated it: 
Fourteen-year-old Charlie lives in a parallel universe similar to ours except for one major thing: most people are born with invisible fairies that offer them some sort of advantage. There are good-hair fairies, clothes-shopping fairies, loose-change-finding fairies, and never-getting-lost fairies. Charlie is stuck with a parking fairy that makes parking spaces suddenly open up right in front of the place you want to stop. For most adults, this would be a highly desirable fairy. But for a four
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(10 people liked it)
Jan 28, 2009
Steph
rated it: 
Ah, crap, this is gonna be a long one.
Favorite thing: The world building. Top notch. Now, I’m not sure this is fantasy so much as it is ... I don’t know. Supernatural? Futuristic...something? What’s the term?! It didn’t feel like fantasy anyhow, this New Avalon place. In many ways, it was inspiring to read about it—not only because of what was original (fairies), but also because certain aspects of their society are blatantly (or subtly, depending on how you view it...) parallel to e More...
Favorite thing: The world building. Top notch. Now, I’m not sure this is fantasy so much as it is ... I don’t know. Supernatural? Futuristic...something? What’s the term?! It didn’t feel like fantasy anyhow, this New Avalon place. In many ways, it was inspiring to read about it—not only because of what was original (fairies), but also because certain aspects of their society are blatantly (or subtly, depending on how you view it...) parallel to e More...
3 comments
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(11 people liked it)
Sep 20, 2008
Jackie
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This book was a true giggle, set in a country that's not really Australia and not really the United States but sure seems similar to both. At New Avalon, kids work hard and go to very specialized schools, the center of this book being New Avalon Sports High, where they spend 10 hour days being monitored for everything (including calorie and protein intake, etc) and training in all manner of sports (well, mostly summer sports since it doesn't ever snow in NA) and taking classes like statistics (
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 17, 2008
Tasha
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This is a charmer of a novel by the author of the Magic and Madness trilogy. In New Avalon, almost everyone has a fairy of their own. The fairies are invisible and some people question whether they exist, but 14-year-old Charlie knows that hers does. Since she was tiny, she has been able to find a perfect parking space for whatever vehicle she is riding in. She hates it! Not only is it awfully inconvenient to always be asked to find someone a parking space, but she smells faintly of gasolin
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 09, 2011
Kiri
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This was lent to me on audio which was a mistake - not the lending the having to listen. I was looking forward to this book because it just sounded cute. Not to mention the cover looked interesting. (yes I know.. reading a book for the cover is like trying wine for the label/bottle - dicey at best) The story started out well then fell apart. By the end it felt like the author had gotten a phone call about the deadline and went uh.. ok we'll do this and this and ok done! and popped it in the
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(5 people liked it)
Oct 10, 2011
Margo
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This is not your average paranormal YA, even though it involves fairies. Well, it sort of involves fairies. You'll never see one, hear one, or fall in love with one in this book. They have no personality, no form or appearance, but they do cause havoc in teenager's lives.
This is a world very similiar to ours, where almost everyone admits to the existence of fairies, but no one has ever been able to prove their existence by actually catching one. When a fairy attaches itself to you, i More...
This is a world very similiar to ours, where almost everyone admits to the existence of fairies, but no one has ever been able to prove their existence by actually catching one. When a fairy attaches itself to you, i More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 22, 2011
Amanda
rated it: 
The basic lesson learned in this book is to be careful what you wish for. It’s a simple lesson, much simpler than I was expecting, actually. This is categorized at my library as young adult, but it felt much more like middle grade fiction. When I first began reading, I wasn’t sure if I would continue. It was a little too young, a little too girly, and the mass download of fictional vocabulary tripped me up (I didn’t realize there was a glossary in the back). I almost quit after the first chapter
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 28, 2008
Shelley
rated it:
This was clever and fun. It opened with a lot of futuristic slang, which usually turns me right off, but I kept going. In New Avalon, a futuristic hybrid of Australia and the US, citizens have fairies that help them in their lives - never get cold fairy, find loose change fairy, etc. Charlie is stuck with a finding a parking space fairy, but at age 14, she can't even drive. She's stuck being borrowed by drivers, including school bully Danders.
At the start, this seemed to be setting More...
At the start, this seemed to be setting More...
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 25, 2008
Karin
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Charlie has a parking fairy. For a fourteen-year-old who can’t even drive, a parking fairy is pretty useless. Charlie would much rather have a shopping fairy like her best friend or even a bathroom fairy. At least that way she’d never have to go to the restroom in the middle of a movie. Charlie always smells like gasoline and people constantly bug her to go places with them so they can benefit from her fairy and get great parking spaces. Charlie has had enough. She has decided - NO - vowed
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 19, 2008
Diana
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This clever, witty novel set in a beautifully developed contemporary world that is not quite our own is humorous but not laugh out loud funny. Charlie attends a sports high school in New Avalon where lots of people have fairies. Now, no one has ever seen the fairies but their presence is abundantly clear. Charlie's fairy is a parking fairy which means that whenever she is in a car that needs a parking space the perfect space will open up. Her best friend has a shopping fairy, which is a much bet
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 04, 2008
Beth
rated it:
How to Ditch your fairy is set in an altered world, where of coarse, fairies are real and are attached to a particular person, even thought the fairy cannot be seen. Charlie's fairy is a parking fairy, which she hates, because everyone makes her ride with them so they can always get a great spot to part. Her best friend has a shopping fairy so she can always find the best outfit at the best deal. So Charlie is trying to get rid of her fairy because she believes she will be able to attract (or
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 23, 2008
Hayden
rated it:
I quite didn't finish this one before I passed it off to an interested teen, but I was really enjoying it. I look forward to getting it back.
Charlie lives in a slightly futuristic America/Australia, where everyone has a fairy. You might get an awesome fairy, such as the all-boys-will-like-you fairy or the clothes-will-look-great-on-you fairy. Or like Charlie, you might get stuck with a crap fairy, like the every-car-you're-in-will-find-a-great-parking-spot fairy. As a 14-year-old More...
Charlie lives in a slightly futuristic America/Australia, where everyone has a fairy. You might get an awesome fairy, such as the all-boys-will-like-you fairy or the clothes-will-look-great-on-you fairy. Or like Charlie, you might get stuck with a crap fairy, like the every-car-you're-in-will-find-a-great-parking-spot fairy. As a 14-year-old More...
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(1 person liked it)
Apr 02, 2009
cecilia
rated it:
I had expected a cute story about a girl with a less-than-desirable fairy and her attempts to switch fairies while she attempts to get through high school. I had questions on how she manages to team up with her archenemy, imagining Fiorenze to be one of the popular girls. I imagined something similar to Freaky Friday or any of those movies where 2 characters swap places.
Little did I know that the high school in question specializes in sports, Fiorenze is far from popular (but she might More...
Little did I know that the high school in question specializes in sports, Fiorenze is far from popular (but she might More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 06, 2009
Kelly
rated it:
2.5
The story was face paced at times and really dragged through other parts. Overall, it's cute and those interested in "other worlds" and magic would like this read.
However, the "other world" is poorly constructed. The invented language is not done well and not interesting (in fact, it's just frustrating to read since it's so poorly done). The characters are hit and miss, and I didn't find myself caring a bit about Charlie. I thought she was a bit of More...
The story was face paced at times and really dragged through other parts. Overall, it's cute and those interested in "other worlds" and magic would like this read.
However, the "other world" is poorly constructed. The invented language is not done well and not interesting (in fact, it's just frustrating to read since it's so poorly done). The characters are hit and miss, and I didn't find myself caring a bit about Charlie. I thought she was a bit of More...
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 05, 2012
Mishal
rated it:
Eh, the starting was kinda boring but I gave the book a chance and continued reading...I always thought Fiorenze was misunderstood and boy was I right! Anyways, I love Charlie, her character and I love how her name is so long and how the teachers always call her Charlotte Adele Donna Stetto Steele or whatever her name is. Danders Anders really surprised me when she found out he was gambling which is why he needed money...I LOVE STEFFI! Honestly one of my favourites...this book really made me bel
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Jan 22, 2012
Heidi
rated it:
This book is about a girl named Charlie living in a town called New Avalon. In this town most people go to either the arts or sports school. The normal schools are only for people who are extremely untalented. Charlie goes to the sports school and ,like the other students, is monitored on calorie intake and and other factors on a daily basis. In town a lot of people have "fairies" that give them special talents. For example Rochelle has a shopping fairy, Fiorenze has an every-boy-will
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Dec 11, 2011
Paulina
rated it:
I've got mixed feelings about this book. I thought the idea sort of silly but still interesting. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of fairy I (would) have, only to decide that I most likely don't have one. Anyway, the idea was good, and I liked how they used words like 'doos', 'doxy', and 'fairy dung'. That, however, did not keep me from getting confused several times. I loved the ending, thought it was pretty cool. It did not like that I was unable to connect with Charlie - or anyone else.
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Nov 18, 2011
Your Average Bookworms
rated it:
First off, I'm giving mad props to Justine because of all the creative fairies she's created just to accompany the books-- and the characters. Who would've ever heard of a parking fairy (finding the perfect parking spot), or a clothes-finding fairy (speaks for itself)? Also, it must've took her a lot of time to not only create these creative fairies, but also creating a whole new world!
Characters wise-- It's very rare for me to dislike a main character, but I really didn't like Ch More...
Sep 10, 2011
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Jun 07, 2011
Nardia
rated it:
Now I know the concept of the book was aimed at people half my age, so I'm not going to go near that. I had two main problems with the book, the first being the awful made-up slang terms.
Now, slang can be annoying, but it generally follows certain rules that make it easy to figure out. For example, "cool" is a word that slides off the tongue quite easily, while "wicked", "awesome" and "bubbly" all jump from your mouth with the same exuberance they por More...
Now, slang can be annoying, but it generally follows certain rules that make it easy to figure out. For example, "cool" is a word that slides off the tongue quite easily, while "wicked", "awesome" and "bubbly" all jump from your mouth with the same exuberance they por More...
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 13, 2011
Rebecca
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I'd been wanting to read something of Justine's for a few months now, since I discovered her online blog (which is amazing and very imformative for aspiring writers) and I've even been following her on Twitter (JustineLavaworm). Obviously, from this author, I'd expect a book with as much warmth and humor as she exhibits via her online persona: and HTDYF did not disappoint!
The world-building was a lot more intricate than I'd expected it to be (especially when compared to the 2 fantasy h More...
The world-building was a lot more intricate than I'd expected it to be (especially when compared to the 2 fantasy h More...
Feb 25, 2011
Deborah
rated it:
In Charlie's world, people have invisible little creatures that help them in ordinary ways. Like the never being late fairy, the loose change finding fairy, and the never getting lost fairy. Charlie is 14, and she has a parking fairy. Any car she is in will always find the perfect parking spot, no matter what. This might be useful, if she could drive, but certain aspects of it are down-right torturous. Like the fact she's always being "borrowed" by friends and relatives, or that she al
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Dec 28, 2010
Midnight
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Dec 23, 2010
Amanda
rated it:
---This book I read over the Winter Break---
How To Ditch Your Fairy, by Justine Larbalestier, is about a young teenager, named Charlie, that gets a fairy she doesn't want. Her fairy is named a parking fairy, so where ever she goes, she always gets a parking spot right next to the location. She doesn't want her fairy, because of Dander Anders, a teenager, about the same age as Charlie. She is always taking her after school to go and find a parking spot for her. But Charlie wants to go h More...
How To Ditch Your Fairy, by Justine Larbalestier, is about a young teenager, named Charlie, that gets a fairy she doesn't want. Her fairy is named a parking fairy, so where ever she goes, she always gets a parking spot right next to the location. She doesn't want her fairy, because of Dander Anders, a teenager, about the same age as Charlie. She is always taking her after school to go and find a parking spot for her. But Charlie wants to go h More...
Oct 08, 2010
Ryn
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Aug 26, 2010
Melani
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Aug 17, 2010
Libby
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This is a book I never would have picked up on first glance, but I ended up pleasantly surprised. I have been trying to increase my running mileage and my MP3 player isn't working, so I'm limited to the audio playaways at the library. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I was intrigued by the title and felt it couldn't hurt to give it a try. The reader was very good (I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much reading on my own.) Also, Larbalestier creates a very unique alternate
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Jul 24, 2010
Gerri
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Mar 15, 2010
Reading
rated it:
If you could have any kind of personal fairy, what kind would you want? Unfortunately for Charlie, she didn't get to pick her fairy. If she had, she would have chosen a loose change fairy, a clothes shopping fairy, or better yet, an all boys like you fairy. But Charlie didn't get any of those fairies, she got a parking fairy. Now you might think that this would be a great fairy to have, never having to worry about finding a parking spot, but Charlie doesn't drive, and she's sick of being use
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Mar 08, 2010
Lourdes
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Lourdes quizhpi reading response
I think that Charlie really learned her lesson by swapping fairies with Fiorenze. she thought there couldn't be a fairy worst than a parking fairy. but when she swapped fairies she learn that a every-boy-would-like-you fairy is worst. but before she swapped, she thought the fairy would be the best in the world. she was wrong. which should really suck.
I think that this lesson can go into the real world too. eve More...
I think that Charlie really learned her lesson by swapping fairies with Fiorenze. she thought there couldn't be a fairy worst than a parking fairy. but when she swapped fairies she learn that a every-boy-would-like-you fairy is worst. but before she swapped, she thought the fairy would be the best in the world. she was wrong. which should really suck.
I think that this lesson can go into the real world too. eve More...
