Schrodinger's Bookshelf

When their parents decide New York has become dangerous, Susan, Charles, and Murray Oakenfeld are sent to stay with their eccentric uncle Farley up in Canada. There, they discover the strange sanctuary that is Drift House, a ramshackle old place situated on the Bay of Eternity, built so that it looks as if it literally washed ashore. In this strange crooked house, mysteries abound. There’s Uncle Farley, of course, and his parrot President Wilson, and a housekeeper named Mrs. Applewhite (or is it Applethwaite?) who no one ever sees. Things get stranger after they’ve been there a little while, especially after the entire house drifts out to sea, proving that it’s definitely more than it seems. For Drift House is a transtemporal vessel, capable of navigating the time-tossed waters of the unique Sea of Time, and now the Oakenfeld children and their uncle are at the mercy of the tides, just in time to begin a grand adventure.

Coerced by the local mermaids into helping to foil the kidnap plot of some unsavory pirates, the Oakenfeld children are quickly drawn into an insidious scheme to close the Great Drain of the Sea of Time itself, an action which would have grave consequences for the flow of time and the cycle of life and death. Now Susan and her brothers have to exercise their wits and cunning if they want to get home alive. Can Susan pull off an impersonation as the infamous pirate, Pierre Marin? Can Charles get over his resentment and feelings of inadequacy? What’s going on with Murray? And how does the dodo fit in? The answers are all here.

I found Drift House: The First Voyage to be a little slow-going at first, taking time to really get up to speed. And while any adventure involving pirates, mermaids, and a giant whale is bound to be exciting, I thought the book lacked a certain passion that made it hard to get too deeply involved in the narrative. Overall, it was a well-told story with a lot of potential and an unusual plot, and there were enough twists and unexpected revelations to keep me from getting too complacent, but it was missing a certain energy that I hope will be present in any future entries in the series. A good strong start, but with plenty of room for improvement.

At the tender age of a hundred or so, Hunky Dory is certainly in line to be the wickedest witch at her charm school, capable of casting the many complex and evil spells needed to properly be a wicked witch. Frogs into princes, wilting flowers, booming thunder, curses, you name it. The only problem is, even though Hunky Dory comes from a long line of out-and-out wickedness, she’s discovered a tender streak, and an attraction towards being good and granting wishes. This leads to a career change: Fairy Godmother in training. Ostracized by her family, shunned by many of her friends, she buries herself in the fascinating work of giving people what they want. Whether it’s giving a woodsman a mustache, a wolf a grandmother costume, lessening a death curse cast on an infant, or giving Cinderella the right pair of shoes, she tries her best. But does her heart still remain with her witch mother and auntie? Only time (and fairy tales) will tell.
I enjoyed Dairy of a Fairy Godmother. It’s a self-aware, modern look at all those old fairy tales. Examining them from a magical viewpoint, it suggests that what we’ve always seen on the surface wasn’t necessarily so. From Cinderella to Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood to Goldilocks, this story weaves through them all. The main character is charmingly cute in her own innocently not-so-evil way. Of course, the book may go a little too far to be cute; how seriously can you take a book starring characters named Hunky Dory, Lemon Droppings, Frantic Search, and Acid Reflux? Witches and fairy godmothers sure have odd naming conventions. However, that’s a small stumbling block. Frankly, I think this would make a splendid animated feature. It has everything younger readers like: quirky characters, a light and fast-moving plot, and plenty of humor.