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Talespinners #3
Breaking Badlands
Having saved Imagination twice now, Indira is on a well-earned vacation when she is kidnapped by the Anti-Heroes. The covert group has one goal: overthrow the tyrannical leader of Fester and Antagonist Academy. After they plead their case, Indira agrees to join their secret mission and go undercover as a student at the legendary school for villains-in-training--where she gets drawn into a virtual warfare competition known as the Badlands.
Facing monster teachers, plotting classmates, distracting love interests and combative old foes is all second nature to a hero like Indira. But what happens when that heroic nature is turned against her like a weapon? Can Indira get to the bottom of what's going on in Fester before this virtual battlescape spills over into a real war for ultimate control of Imagination?
Facing monster teachers, plotting classmates, distracting love interests and combative old foes is all second nature to a hero like Indira. But what happens when that heroic nature is turned against her like a weapon? Can Indira get to the bottom of what's going on in Fester before this virtual battlescape spills over into a real war for ultimate control of Imagination?
340 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2021
11 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Scott Reintgen
19 books1,595 followersScott Reintgen grew up in North Carolina, and took full advantage of the fact that he lived on the same street as fourteen of his cousins. It could be a little crowded, but he threw a few elbows and carved out a space for himself as the family storyteller. He enjoyed the role so much that he decided to spend most of college and graduate school investing in the world of literature. This led to a career teaching English and Creative Writing in the great state of North Carolina, where he currently lives with his wife and family. To his great delight, the demand for stories and storytellers is alive and well. As such, he can often be found at local coffee shops laboring over stories that he hopes his family, and fans, will love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 27, 2021
"Indira smiled as she spoke. 'We're good guys with a dark side.'
'Bad guys with a soft spot,' Peeve added.
'Not all dark. Not all light.'
'We're something in the middle.'"
TL;DR: I laughed. I cried. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this book because I couldn't put it down. (And got a little bit grumpy because I couldn't just drop everything and finish it.)
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Vibes: Like a version of Marvel's "What If" based on the premise, "What if we could go back and *not* sort too soon so that we could showcase some of those mythical-unicorn-Slytherins who are supposedly not all bad?" + Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. (But with tighter storytelling, because things got away from Fforde.)
Genre: Middle-grade fantasy.
Third -- and final -- book in the Talespinners series.
Character MVP: Two-way tie between the Sorting Hate and Deus Ex Machina (who still gives me Curse of the Black Pearl Captain Jack vibes. *shrug* It is what it is.). The chapters where (1) Indira meets the Sorting Hate and (2) where Deus Ex Machina...meets the librarian, are my favorite in the book, I think.
Verdict: 5 / 5 stars for me. Can I go higher? 5.5 / 5 stars? I...unequivocally love this book, this series. Mainly, I think, because it reminds me of why I love reading and the joy we get from stories and from story-telling.
As with the previous two books: Goodreads reminded me of what I loved so much about Saving Fable:
To be fair, it has several elements which are automatic pluses for me:
--Meta-commentary in the form of characters who *know* they're characters in a book (I'm looking at you, Thursday Next): ✔︎
--Authors who break the Fourth Wall and directly address the reader: ✔︎
--Strong Female Character: ✔︎
--NO LOVE TRIANGLE 🎉: ✔︎
All of this still hold true.
(1) We get references to our favorite literary characters -- Alice and Juliet return -- and we get a new addition in Iago. Who, I might add, is one of my favorites, both the sarcastic parrot* in Aladdin and the Shakespearean villain. One of my favorite pre-Covid memories was taking my husband to the Globe on his first trip to England, and we saw Mark Rylance as Iago and it was absolutely amazing. (And I'm sorry, but having Mark Rylance in your head is never a bad thing.)
*At one point, Indira exclaims "I'm not a prize to be won." That's *GOT* to be a Jasmine reference, right??
(2) We still break the 4th Wall -- most hilariously at the end.
(3) We get not one, but two, strong female characters who save the today together. AND Peeve returns, which I have been waiting for.
(4) STILL NO LOVE TRIANGLE! 🎉
I mean, SORT OF, but NOT REALLY. Kudos, Scott. You did twist it. :)
But, more than anything, I loved how this installment moves past the Good/Evil binary and acknowledges the nuances in us all. It's a logical end to the trilogy, and concludes about as satisfying as a reader could hope for, but more than that, it grows with its younger readers. As much as I love Disney, the world is not a Disney movie where Villains are unabashedly evil and easy to recognize with their all-black apparel, creepy animal sidekick, and omnipresent lime green glow. My favorite characters (aside from the Hermiones, Lizzie Bennets, Matildas, Elsas, Ariels, and Tinkerbells that I identify with one deeply personal levels) are the nuanced, morally gray ones: Severus Snape, my girl Dany Targaryen, Regina (from Once Upon A Time), Killmonger, Heathcliff & Mr. Rochester & Mr. Darcy and basically every literary vampire ever. Characters -- *people* -- are complex, and don't fit neatly into black or white boxes.
Which goes nicely with the idea that one action -- one mistake, one misstep -- doesn't define us. And while I think that's definitely an important message for a middle-grade/YA crowd to hear, it's also one that people of every age can, and should, hear. It's one I've been turning over a lot lately as a parent, where I go to bed pretty much every night thinking, "Damn. I could have done better today."
All that to say, I can't wait to share Indira's story with my own kids.
Highlights
--The Moment I Cried: "She liked the emblem for this particular store: a red-painted quail with a book clutched in one talon, quietly reading." Highly personal, because this is something of a deep cut. But when I was in grad school at NCSU and the world just felt...too much, I would go to Quail Ridge (in its old, OG location) and just pull a book off the shelf and sit there and read. It was a comfort bookstore for me, in a way that only a local, independent bookstore can be. I went to Barnes & Noble, sure, but that was mainly to work because (1) WiFi and (2) coffee. So this was a particularly heart-tugging reference for me.
--I've been fortunate enough to cross paths with two wonderful human beings, both of whom write middle-grade books, and I think both of them shared similar stories about going into bookstores and finding where their books would go on the shelves, as Viola does here in the last chapter. It's not, I think, particularly unique to them, but that moment just made me think of both of them.
--Do We Have To Read The Kissing Parts? A genuine LOL moment with Maxi-the-editor's insistence that this is, apparently, a Kissing Book.
--Is That A School or a Disease? Another genuine LOL moment where the Sorting Hate proposes names.
--I Sometimes Think We Sort Too Soon: the Harry Potter references have always been strong, but given my love for Snape as a character, that moment in DH was one of my favorites, and one of the ones that stuck me long after the series ended. And I really kinda love how that's kinda one of the main points of this book. (I have a soft spot for bad guys with a soft spot. I wrote my MA Thesis on Byronic Heroes after all.)
--Spinoff Potential: Sauron / Miss Trunchbull was a pairing I didn't know I needed until tonight.
--Tell Me You're A Parent Without Telling Me You're A Parent: Like, OF COURSE Patch would know the Baby Shark song. That dang song lives in my head rent free and I don't know how to evict it.
Also, as someone whose children consume an INSANE amount of Paw Patrol, I couldn't help but picture Everest in his wolf form as basically the husky on Paw Patrol. So...there's that. *facepalm*
--I'm Not Going To Stop The Wheel, I'm Going To Break The Wheel: I knew I liked Peeve, but when she pulled a full Danerys Targaryen? My love solidified.
--No Mourners, No Funerals: Surprise appearance (sort of) by Kaz Brekker! My fangirl heart giggled giddily when I saw that reference. Perhaps our favorite Crow got his story *after* the changes in this book, because the Crows, while anti-heroes, are definitely the protagonists...
--Ashlords: I see you, sly sneaky reference to a certain duology...
--Not Slytherin: I mentioned this above, but the Sorting Hate is one of my favorite characters in this book. So when he dons a wizard hat and starts pondering about how Indira would do well in a any number of places... #Potterhead
--So We Beat On, Boats Against The Current: A genuine LOL moment with the reference to Gatsby and that green light in the Escape Room.
--And Now, The Fish Slapping Dance: Please, please, please let this be a reference to Monty Python. My love for them knows no bounds.
'Bad guys with a soft spot,' Peeve added.
'Not all dark. Not all light.'
'We're something in the middle.'"
TL;DR: I laughed. I cried. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this book because I couldn't put it down. (And got a little bit grumpy because I couldn't just drop everything and finish it.)
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Vibes: Like a version of Marvel's "What If" based on the premise, "What if we could go back and *not* sort too soon so that we could showcase some of those mythical-unicorn-Slytherins who are supposedly not all bad?" + Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair. (But with tighter storytelling, because things got away from Fforde.)
Genre: Middle-grade fantasy.
Third -- and final -- book in the Talespinners series.
Character MVP: Two-way tie between the Sorting Hate and Deus Ex Machina (who still gives me Curse of the Black Pearl Captain Jack vibes. *shrug* It is what it is.). The chapters where (1) Indira meets the Sorting Hate and (2) where Deus Ex Machina...meets the librarian, are my favorite in the book, I think.
Verdict: 5 / 5 stars for me. Can I go higher? 5.5 / 5 stars? I...unequivocally love this book, this series. Mainly, I think, because it reminds me of why I love reading and the joy we get from stories and from story-telling.
As with the previous two books: Goodreads reminded me of what I loved so much about Saving Fable:
To be fair, it has several elements which are automatic pluses for me:
--Meta-commentary in the form of characters who *know* they're characters in a book (I'm looking at you, Thursday Next): ✔︎
--Authors who break the Fourth Wall and directly address the reader: ✔︎
--Strong Female Character: ✔︎
--NO LOVE TRIANGLE 🎉: ✔︎
All of this still hold true.
(1) We get references to our favorite literary characters -- Alice and Juliet return -- and we get a new addition in Iago. Who, I might add, is one of my favorites, both the sarcastic parrot* in Aladdin and the Shakespearean villain. One of my favorite pre-Covid memories was taking my husband to the Globe on his first trip to England, and we saw Mark Rylance as Iago and it was absolutely amazing. (And I'm sorry, but having Mark Rylance in your head is never a bad thing.)
*At one point, Indira exclaims "I'm not a prize to be won." That's *GOT* to be a Jasmine reference, right??
(2) We still break the 4th Wall -- most hilariously at the end.
(3) We get not one, but two, strong female characters who save the today together. AND Peeve returns, which I have been waiting for.
(4) STILL NO LOVE TRIANGLE! 🎉
I mean, SORT OF, but NOT REALLY. Kudos, Scott. You did twist it. :)
But, more than anything, I loved how this installment moves past the Good/Evil binary and acknowledges the nuances in us all. It's a logical end to the trilogy, and concludes about as satisfying as a reader could hope for, but more than that, it grows with its younger readers. As much as I love Disney, the world is not a Disney movie where Villains are unabashedly evil and easy to recognize with their all-black apparel, creepy animal sidekick, and omnipresent lime green glow. My favorite characters (aside from the Hermiones, Lizzie Bennets, Matildas, Elsas, Ariels, and Tinkerbells that I identify with one deeply personal levels) are the nuanced, morally gray ones: Severus Snape, my girl Dany Targaryen, Regina (from Once Upon A Time), Killmonger, Heathcliff & Mr. Rochester & Mr. Darcy and basically every literary vampire ever. Characters -- *people* -- are complex, and don't fit neatly into black or white boxes.
Which goes nicely with the idea that one action -- one mistake, one misstep -- doesn't define us. And while I think that's definitely an important message for a middle-grade/YA crowd to hear, it's also one that people of every age can, and should, hear. It's one I've been turning over a lot lately as a parent, where I go to bed pretty much every night thinking, "Damn. I could have done better today."
All that to say, I can't wait to share Indira's story with my own kids.
Highlights
--The Moment I Cried: "She liked the emblem for this particular store: a red-painted quail with a book clutched in one talon, quietly reading." Highly personal, because this is something of a deep cut. But when I was in grad school at NCSU and the world just felt...too much, I would go to Quail Ridge (in its old, OG location) and just pull a book off the shelf and sit there and read. It was a comfort bookstore for me, in a way that only a local, independent bookstore can be. I went to Barnes & Noble, sure, but that was mainly to work because (1) WiFi and (2) coffee. So this was a particularly heart-tugging reference for me.
--I've been fortunate enough to cross paths with two wonderful human beings, both of whom write middle-grade books, and I think both of them shared similar stories about going into bookstores and finding where their books would go on the shelves, as Viola does here in the last chapter. It's not, I think, particularly unique to them, but that moment just made me think of both of them.
--Do We Have To Read The Kissing Parts? A genuine LOL moment with Maxi-the-editor's insistence that this is, apparently, a Kissing Book.
--Is That A School or a Disease? Another genuine LOL moment where the Sorting Hate proposes names.
--I Sometimes Think We Sort Too Soon: the Harry Potter references have always been strong, but given my love for Snape as a character, that moment in DH was one of my favorites, and one of the ones that stuck me long after the series ended. And I really kinda love how that's kinda one of the main points of this book. (I have a soft spot for bad guys with a soft spot. I wrote my MA Thesis on Byronic Heroes after all.)
--Spinoff Potential: Sauron / Miss Trunchbull was a pairing I didn't know I needed until tonight.
--Tell Me You're A Parent Without Telling Me You're A Parent: Like, OF COURSE Patch would know the Baby Shark song. That dang song lives in my head rent free and I don't know how to evict it.
Also, as someone whose children consume an INSANE amount of Paw Patrol, I couldn't help but picture Everest in his wolf form as basically the husky on Paw Patrol. So...there's that. *facepalm*
--I'm Not Going To Stop The Wheel, I'm Going To Break The Wheel: I knew I liked Peeve, but when she pulled a full Danerys Targaryen? My love solidified.
--No Mourners, No Funerals: Surprise appearance (sort of) by Kaz Brekker! My fangirl heart giggled giddily when I saw that reference. Perhaps our favorite Crow got his story *after* the changes in this book, because the Crows, while anti-heroes, are definitely the protagonists...
--Ashlords: I see you, sly sneaky reference to a certain duology...
--Not Slytherin: I mentioned this above, but the Sorting Hate is one of my favorite characters in this book. So when he dons a wizard hat and starts pondering about how Indira would do well in a any number of places... #Potterhead
--So We Beat On, Boats Against The Current: A genuine LOL moment with the reference to Gatsby and that green light in the Escape Room.
--And Now, The Fish Slapping Dance: Please, please, please let this be a reference to Monty Python. My love for them knows no bounds.
December 3, 2021
Read this book after Saving fable thing it was after it! Make sure that you don't make the same mistake that I did. Its an amazing book and I really recommend it to everyone. 5 stars.
dnf
October 26, 2021This is a Middle Grade Fantast, and this is the third book in the Talespinners series. I do not know if it is because I have not read the first two in this series. I just could not get into this book. The writing style and the storyline was just not for me. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
October 13, 2025
This discussion contains spoilers of Breaking Badlands. Read at your own risk.
I could put this in a spoiler, but honestly, you should have figured this out all by yourself: Peeve is back!!! [Insert extra exclamation marks as you see fit.]
Let me immediately state that I thought she should have been given a lot more screen time - well, page time - because she only enters the stage relatively late in Breaking Badlands, not counting the first chapter, but that's more of a prologue than anything else. But having her back is the most important part, of course, and she doesn't disappoint. Indira and Peeve are a true power couple, they're just great.
This is the third book by now, but Indira has in fact already had four adventures, with her being the main character in two off-book stories. So she's become a bit of an expert, and definitely a true heroine. And Scott Reintgen clearly agrees with that. I won't say it annoys me, but I do often notice it when characters, no matter how young they still are, are leaving on their umpteenth adventure and everyone jumps up shouting because don't they know how dangerous that is, and what they're getting themselves into and blah-blah?! Not here. Indira's mother figure and Underglass have no qualms whatsoever agreeing with her plan of going to Fester. She's proven herself, and everyone knows it and knows she can handle herself. No 'Be careful' here, just 'Good luck' and even 'Haven fun'. That's incredibly refreshing. She has really come such a long way since the start of Saving Fable.
Another aspect I loved about Indira in Book 3 is that she's clearly a good character, but still very interested in the bad characters as well and in being bad herself - but just a bit! I love how she navigates her new, dark surroundings and very clearly states that she likes being a little bit bad and how she goes about it.
I still don't care about her and Phoenix, though. Everest was a surprise - in more ways than one, I might add.
It's a new world, so there are a number of new characters as well, from the bad side this time, which was also a lot of fun. The author further develops his world with all kinds of other bookish stuff in their world, like Indira's fan fiction hallway - nice touch!
The plot is great. It was to be expected that there was more brewing in Fester, but I was still surprised by how far it all went, how far the plan stretched. Nicely done! There is a clear climax in the book, and a clear goal as well, which in my opinion is marvellously executed, it feels very natural and good (or, well, bad, mwuhahah). The chapter 'Broaden Your Horizon' in particular was absolutely incredible, by the way.
One thing I'm less enthusiastic about, is a sequence of chapters of sixty pages in total in which . Don't get me wrong: It was still incredibly exciting and fun to read, but I just would have preferred if we would have seen at least part of what was happening through her eyes instead. That was a bit of a let-down - but only a minor one, I hasten to add.
The cover is just great. This is one of my favourites of the early 2020s. The drawings, the colour, the scene that has been chosen. Take a closer look - that big character in purple? Yep, that's Indira. She's looking a bit different from before, doesn't she? Quite a change from her pink clothes. Now this is what I call total badass.
The book is about 330 pages long, and thankfully Reintgen uses the last twenty pages to wrap the story up nicely. He takes his time, it's not that the climax is reached and the story ends - there's some stuff that comes after. Thank you for that.
I don't often say this, but I'm sorry Indira's story is finished. Or at least, for us: In her world, things go on, of course, and I would have loved seeing her navigate the rest of her life, together with her friends, to see how everything turns out. I already said it and I'll say it again: She's grown up so much over these three books, her development has been incredible. The way her story ends is very fitting and fulfilling, but still, I wouldn't mind some more books. There are definitely other things that can still be told, I'm sure of it.
8.7/10
Average score for the series: 8.23/10
I could put this in a spoiler, but honestly, you should have figured this out all by yourself: Peeve is back!!! [Insert extra exclamation marks as you see fit.]
Let me immediately state that I thought she should have been given a lot more screen time - well, page time - because she only enters the stage relatively late in Breaking Badlands, not counting the first chapter, but that's more of a prologue than anything else. But having her back is the most important part, of course, and she doesn't disappoint. Indira and Peeve are a true power couple, they're just great.
This is the third book by now, but Indira has in fact already had four adventures, with her being the main character in two off-book stories. So she's become a bit of an expert, and definitely a true heroine. And Scott Reintgen clearly agrees with that. I won't say it annoys me, but I do often notice it when characters, no matter how young they still are, are leaving on their umpteenth adventure and everyone jumps up shouting because don't they know how dangerous that is, and what they're getting themselves into and blah-blah?! Not here. Indira's mother figure and Underglass have no qualms whatsoever agreeing with her plan of going to Fester. She's proven herself, and everyone knows it and knows she can handle herself. No 'Be careful' here, just 'Good luck' and even 'Haven fun'. That's incredibly refreshing. She has really come such a long way since the start of Saving Fable.
Another aspect I loved about Indira in Book 3 is that she's clearly a good character, but still very interested in the bad characters as well and in being bad herself - but just a bit! I love how she navigates her new, dark surroundings and very clearly states that she likes being a little bit bad and how she goes about it.
I still don't care about her and Phoenix, though. Everest was a surprise - in more ways than one, I might add.
It's a new world, so there are a number of new characters as well, from the bad side this time, which was also a lot of fun. The author further develops his world with all kinds of other bookish stuff in their world, like Indira's fan fiction hallway - nice touch!
The plot is great. It was to be expected that there was more brewing in Fester, but I was still surprised by how far it all went, how far the plan stretched. Nicely done! There is a clear climax in the book, and a clear goal as well, which in my opinion is marvellously executed, it feels very natural and good (or, well, bad, mwuhahah). The chapter 'Broaden Your Horizon' in particular was absolutely incredible, by the way.
One thing I'm less enthusiastic about, is a sequence of chapters of sixty pages in total in which . Don't get me wrong: It was still incredibly exciting and fun to read, but I just would have preferred if we would have seen at least part of what was happening through her eyes instead. That was a bit of a let-down - but only a minor one, I hasten to add.
The cover is just great. This is one of my favourites of the early 2020s. The drawings, the colour, the scene that has been chosen. Take a closer look - that big character in purple? Yep, that's Indira. She's looking a bit different from before, doesn't she? Quite a change from her pink clothes. Now this is what I call total badass.
The book is about 330 pages long, and thankfully Reintgen uses the last twenty pages to wrap the story up nicely. He takes his time, it's not that the climax is reached and the story ends - there's some stuff that comes after. Thank you for that.
I don't often say this, but I'm sorry Indira's story is finished. Or at least, for us: In her world, things go on, of course, and I would have loved seeing her navigate the rest of her life, together with her friends, to see how everything turns out. I already said it and I'll say it again: She's grown up so much over these three books, her development has been incredible. The way her story ends is very fitting and fulfilling, but still, I wouldn't mind some more books. There are definitely other things that can still be told, I'm sure of it.
8.7/10
Average score for the series: 8.23/10
Want to read
April 19, 2021This looks so flippin' good!! holy cow I'm so excited for this
September 21, 2021
Loved it! If you love fairy tales you need to read this series! This entire series is a love letter to stories and the things that make readers love them. I love the references to popular series, many of which I've read myself. I also love that each element that makes up a story is either a character or an element in these books. The author was so creative in how he put this whole series together and I can't recommend it enough. This may be targeted towards middle grade readers but I recommend it to book lovers of all ages. A good story is a good story no matter how old you are!
This is the third and final installment of the Tailspinners series, but I feel like each of the stories can be read as a standalone. I adored Saving Fable and Escaping Ordinary, so I highly recommend reading them, I think you could get away with starting anywhere in the series. I'm a bit of a traditionalist so I like to read things in order, but if you started with this one I think you'd be OK. The author does a great job giving you enough back story from the previous books so you don't feel confused. It has been quite some time since I've read either of them, and I was able to read on without breaking out my copies to refresh my memory.
This final installment takes Indira on a much different quest than we've seen in the past. She yet again has to save Fable and much like in the past she has her friends at her side to help her. This time she has to go into the unknown of Fester, where the antagonists live and train for parts in stories. While there Indira learns that not everything in Fable and Fester is as black and white as it has been made out to be, and with the help of an unlikely aide she learns that the key to saving Fable, her friends, and stories in general might be a little grey. I don't want to spoil anything.
I loved that we got to travel to Fester and see Indira play a bit of a different character in this book. We also go to see the villians in action. There were some great action scenes and some great characters in this. We also have appearances from our beloved characters from the previous books that India wouldn't have been able to be the hero she is today had it not been for them. They all play a critical part in this story and there are some pretty good twists that I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for providing me an ARC. I'm honored I got to be a part of Indira's journey! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This is the third and final installment of the Tailspinners series, but I feel like each of the stories can be read as a standalone. I adored Saving Fable and Escaping Ordinary, so I highly recommend reading them, I think you could get away with starting anywhere in the series. I'm a bit of a traditionalist so I like to read things in order, but if you started with this one I think you'd be OK. The author does a great job giving you enough back story from the previous books so you don't feel confused. It has been quite some time since I've read either of them, and I was able to read on without breaking out my copies to refresh my memory.
This final installment takes Indira on a much different quest than we've seen in the past. She yet again has to save Fable and much like in the past she has her friends at her side to help her. This time she has to go into the unknown of Fester, where the antagonists live and train for parts in stories. While there Indira learns that not everything in Fable and Fester is as black and white as it has been made out to be, and with the help of an unlikely aide she learns that the key to saving Fable, her friends, and stories in general might be a little grey. I don't want to spoil anything.
I loved that we got to travel to Fester and see Indira play a bit of a different character in this book. We also go to see the villians in action. There were some great action scenes and some great characters in this. We also have appearances from our beloved characters from the previous books that India wouldn't have been able to be the hero she is today had it not been for them. They all play a critical part in this story and there are some pretty good twists that I didn't see coming.
Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for providing me an ARC. I'm honored I got to be a part of Indira's journey! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
March 15, 2022
Indira Story is trying to get away from the drama being created by Everest and Phoenix competing for her attention. But while on vacation, she gets pulled through a mirror into a secret meeting with a group calling themselves the Antiheroes. They would like Indira to sneak into Fester and Antagonist Academy and help overthrow their head Brainstorm Bainrow who is setting things up so the only kind of antagonist in the future will be Final Boss type baddies. Brainstorm Underglass agrees that it is important to help the Antiheroes out, so Indira goes undercover as Indigo and works to steal a scepter that will wrestle control away from the sinister Brainstorm Bainrow. But Fester is harboring more secrets than Indira knows, and it will take all the skills she's picked up as a hero, along with some key friends to win this battle.
Reintgen had fun throwing in all the nods to classic stories he hadn't done so far in this one. The Sorting Hate the bumbling dragon who decides which group of villains Indira gets placed in at Antagonist Academy was a work of reimagining genius. Oh, and the possible name list for a magical school at the end was an excellent collection of already used names. Quite fun. Deus Ex Machina gets a bigger role in this story, and I would love to discuss it with a book club. The debate of what makes a character good or bad has been explored in several other books before, but I felt like the focus of this one was just fresh enough and imagined different enough it was worth the read. I also liked that even though Indira is pretending to be a bad guy for much of this one, she keeps endangering her cover by apologizing to people and showing consideration for others. This is a satisfactory conclusion to the series, with enough opening that if Reintgen gets inspired 5 to 10 years in the future he could come back and easily add more stories, but it also feels complete as is.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a little kiss. There are magical battles and simulations in which characters die, but no one is ever really dead thanks to it being a simulation or the presence of the 9th hearth that regenerates people. No gory wounds or anything.
Reintgen had fun throwing in all the nods to classic stories he hadn't done so far in this one. The Sorting Hate the bumbling dragon who decides which group of villains Indira gets placed in at Antagonist Academy was a work of reimagining genius. Oh, and the possible name list for a magical school at the end was an excellent collection of already used names. Quite fun. Deus Ex Machina gets a bigger role in this story, and I would love to discuss it with a book club. The debate of what makes a character good or bad has been explored in several other books before, but I felt like the focus of this one was just fresh enough and imagined different enough it was worth the read. I also liked that even though Indira is pretending to be a bad guy for much of this one, she keeps endangering her cover by apologizing to people and showing consideration for others. This is a satisfactory conclusion to the series, with enough opening that if Reintgen gets inspired 5 to 10 years in the future he could come back and easily add more stories, but it also feels complete as is.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content beyond a little kiss. There are magical battles and simulations in which characters die, but no one is ever really dead thanks to it being a simulation or the presence of the 9th hearth that regenerates people. No gory wounds or anything.
August 30, 2021
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
This three book story wraps well. Readers see Indira take on a mission to protect both Fable and Fester from serious evil. She goes undercover as Indigo and unleashes her "bad side" to infiltrate Antagonist Academy and stop the plot to take over all stories. Together with Phoenix and Everest, she moves through the Badland challenges to capture the ruling scepter. Sadly, and as readers expect, very few are as they seem and she is caught under a spell and betrayed. Her rescue comes from an unexpected source though the first chapter hints at this. Peeve Meadows returns and becomes involved in the final battles to protect all characters from harm. Indira and she join together and create a new world for characters to explore themselves and choose who they want to be.
I appreciate the way Reintgen weaves his plots together and offers just enough hints for readers who have followed the entire series. I plan to reread all three together to see the points I may have missed or forgotten. Readers will see affirmation that everyone should be able to choose their paths and no one should be judged based on one incident. The characters shatter rigid expectations and rework their world so that every character has the option to learn and grow.
This three book story wraps well. Readers see Indira take on a mission to protect both Fable and Fester from serious evil. She goes undercover as Indigo and unleashes her "bad side" to infiltrate Antagonist Academy and stop the plot to take over all stories. Together with Phoenix and Everest, she moves through the Badland challenges to capture the ruling scepter. Sadly, and as readers expect, very few are as they seem and she is caught under a spell and betrayed. Her rescue comes from an unexpected source though the first chapter hints at this. Peeve Meadows returns and becomes involved in the final battles to protect all characters from harm. Indira and she join together and create a new world for characters to explore themselves and choose who they want to be.
I appreciate the way Reintgen weaves his plots together and offers just enough hints for readers who have followed the entire series. I plan to reread all three together to see the points I may have missed or forgotten. Readers will see affirmation that everyone should be able to choose their paths and no one should be judged based on one incident. The characters shatter rigid expectations and rework their world so that every character has the option to learn and grow.
October 24, 2021
There were smiles and tears for the end of this incredible trilogy. I've been obsessed with this middle-grade trilogy for three years now and I was beyond satisfied with this sweet conclusion. Each character's arc was fulfilled both nicely and in a way that you could see the distinct changes between the character when we first met them and when the book ends. I especially loved the "epilogue" scene, it felt like the perfect bridge between this story's world and reality, not to mention, I found the final character extremely relatable. I have loved this trilogy so fiercely for many reasons but a central one is that it gave my 12 year old brother and I something to obsessively talk about. And for that I am very grateful. (It has his stamp of approval as well, the Talespinners trilogy was the series that made him love reading, and since then, he hasn't stopped doing just that.) While reading these books I couldn't help but feeling nostalgic, as if I was reading a story that had existed throughout my childhood and I was returning to the magic of Fable once more. To conclude, this finale was a magical closing on a warm and enchanting trilogy that no, I will never stop talking about.
December 12, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley & Crown Books for Young Readers for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I could not keep reading past 20%.
This is the third in a chapter book series, Indira has saved Imagination twice and is now on a sweet, sweet chill vacation. Until destiny comes a'knocking with a new adventure for her.
I was able to follow along despite not having read the first two books, but I couldn't stand Indira as a protagonist and the other two guys fighting for her affections didn't help either. I am not a fan of love triangles...at all. It didn't help when Indira complained about love triangles but still enabled the guys to be annoying and compete with each other... Ugh. I hope it gets better later but I just didn't want to deal with it.
I do really find the book super creative with how meta it is and all the creative locations, the love triangle was just a huge turn-off for me.
This is the third in a chapter book series, Indira has saved Imagination twice and is now on a sweet, sweet chill vacation. Until destiny comes a'knocking with a new adventure for her.
I was able to follow along despite not having read the first two books, but I couldn't stand Indira as a protagonist and the other two guys fighting for her affections didn't help either. I am not a fan of love triangles...at all. It didn't help when Indira complained about love triangles but still enabled the guys to be annoying and compete with each other... Ugh. I hope it gets better later but I just didn't want to deal with it.
I do really find the book super creative with how meta it is and all the creative locations, the love triangle was just a huge turn-off for me.
November 25, 2021
Sometimes I judge a book by how many times I yell back at it. Things like -NO! And, Are you serious? And - NO! That was this book. I can’t decide if I liked the first or third book of this series the best. The second book kind of dragged on, but I endured because I was familiar with the Hero’s Story. But this third book stepped up and delivered. I’m in love with the characters. I’m in love with the premise of the book. I love how the author brought me to the land of books and brought the story back into reality. I’m grateful that Peeve has a chance at redemption. All my favorite characters returned in this one. So good! It will be easy to sell this series to readers.
March 13, 2023
Loved this trilogy, and this final installment was a lot of fun! I love metafiction, and this does it so well, especially for a booking MG audience.
My middle-school daughter thought the ending was .
And I get all that, but I still thought it was great.
Much better than than Book 2, which was slightly boring.
Breaking Badlands is definitely Reintgen's best series-ender yet, by far.
My middle-school daughter thought the ending was .
And I get all that, but I still thought it was great.
Much better than than Book 2, which was slightly boring.
Breaking Badlands is definitely Reintgen's best series-ender yet, by far.
October 22, 2022
I loved this one - I think the most of all three! I was very happy to circle back around to Peeve, especially because I feel like her abrupt disappearance from the first book is very odd. I have been very into the theme of the goodness/badness of everyone, especially in middle grade books, and this one really zoomed right in there. Very fun, but as with the other two I wonder how much of the allusions young readers are able to grasp at all. Nonetheless, a great series to read and discuss and a delightful review of literary terms and tropes that is very supportive of ELA content.
October 31, 2022
Indira is facing her biggest foe yet, but it is yet to be seen just who her greatest nemesis is. Who will work with her and who is plotting their revenge?
A fun wrap to the story arc. I love all of the little Easter eggs of books, characters, and such, but most of those mentioned are written for either teen or adult readers, so the target audience of this particular series probably wouldn't get most of those references.
A fun wrap to the story arc. I love all of the little Easter eggs of books, characters, and such, but most of those mentioned are written for either teen or adult readers, so the target audience of this particular series probably wouldn't get most of those references.
September 7, 2021
Even though this is part of a series or this ain't the first book of Indira. I didn't have any trouble getting into the story. The protagonist and antagonist concept is something I'm into especially the Hero and Anti-Hero. I liked the pacing and the plot it was highly entertaining and interesting.
December 16, 2021
Reviewed for School Library Journal -- Sept. 2021
Full review found there.
VERDICT:Reintgen is a masterly storyteller and blends gaming lingo with fantasy lore deftly. His love for the fantasy genre and literature overall shines through, and the romance angle is suitable for younger audiences. Strongly recommended for purchase.
Full review found there.
VERDICT:Reintgen is a masterly storyteller and blends gaming lingo with fantasy lore deftly. His love for the fantasy genre and literature overall shines through, and the romance angle is suitable for younger audiences. Strongly recommended for purchase.
August 18, 2022
Wow! I was honestly really surprised by this book! I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be as good as the first two... but it TOTALLY was! If you have a child who loves fantasy (or you're just a huge fan of middle grade, like me) I would highly recommend giving this series a read! All three books are five-star reads!
June 23, 2023
When I picked up this title, I didn't realize it was the third in the series. It was a bit difficult to get into it without knowing the previous adventures. That being said, I did enjoy it once the story got into the academy portion of the book.
Those who have read isekai novels or video gamers will enjoy the gaming aspects of the story.
Those who have read isekai novels or video gamers will enjoy the gaming aspects of the story.
August 9, 2023
My library system does NOT own a hard copy of the 2nd in this series, so I went from book 1 to book 3 blind.
Indira has overcome many obstacles, while on vacation she is kidnapped by the Antiheroes, a covert group whose main goal is to overthrow the tyrannical leader of the Fester and Antagonist Academy.
What is going on? Will Indira really accept their premise and go undercover?
Indira has overcome many obstacles, while on vacation she is kidnapped by the Antiheroes, a covert group whose main goal is to overthrow the tyrannical leader of the Fester and Antagonist Academy.
What is going on? Will Indira really accept their premise and go undercover?
March 16, 2022
Breaking Badlands was a fast paced, exciting book with lots of plot twists and turns. It was a bit confusing because it was the second book in the series so there were certain characters and ideas that were confusing. This book would be great for 5-8th grade.
August 17, 2022
Great finale book that focuses on antagonists and the role they play in a story. Indira Story goes undercover in Antagonist Academy to thwart brainstorm Bainrow from taking over all of Fable. But, will she succeed? My dd loved it. Sad to see the series end.
February 16, 2022
Going on an adventure with Indira is like hanging out with a good friend. Even spending time with all the baddies was fun! I love every nod to a character that already had a place in my heart. This series is a warm blanket on a cold night.
February 20, 2022
My favorite book of 2022 so far! I love Scott Reintgen's writing, and this book is a satisfying conclusion to a fun MG trilogy.
March 3, 2022
This series is so darn good. I say Read it now!
April 4, 2022
This book is as awesome as the rest is a great book and sometimes I felt like I was in it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2022
Nice end to the trilogy. I liked the twist at the end. I now need to read his other works🙂
April 16, 2022
Another fun tale of Indira and the world of Fable.
October 9, 2022
Enjoyed reading this book.
June 14, 2023
This was a fun series! The kids and I loved the characters and the author did a great job of introducing literary elements to her audience. I personally enjoyed all of the character cameos.
December 30, 2023
This series was a lot of fun.
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