A Fairy's Guide to Disaster

Away From Whipplethorn, Book 1

By: A. W. Hartoin

Narrated by: Aris

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Tiny fairies. Huge adventure.

Matilda Whipplethorn is about to get what she's always wanted, and it's a bad thing. Being a babysitter isn't much of a dream for the average 13-year-old, but Matilda is anything but average. She's half a centimeter tall, invisible to the human eye, and hearing-impaired. Her mother won't let her forget any of that. So for Matilda, adventures are in short supply.

Finally agreeing to let Matilda take some responsibility, her mother gives her a list of emergency procedures for babysitting. The only problem; humans aren't on the list.

Minutes into her first job, humans appear in isolated Whipplethorn Manor. They tear her home, the fireplace mantel, right off the wall of Whipplethorn and Matilda's afternoon babysitting job goes long term.

When the mantel ends up on display in an antique mall, the security that Matilda always took for granted is gone. She can lock the doors, but that doesn't keep the kids in or spriggans and the fly-eating phalanx fairies out. Matilda's up for an adventure, if only she could hear it coming.

©2012 A.W. Hartoin (P)2013 A.W. Hartoin

Magical adventure for all ages.

Outstanding! The story was really a lot of fun. There was a lot of different creatures that I had never heard of. It is a great story for teachers to use to illustrate that a physical deficit can be overcome. The main character Matilda has significant hearing loss. She overcame a lot to keep the little ones in her care safe.

The narration was excellent!

I highly recommend this book!

reasonable idea but...

reasonable idea but weak plot, characters and presentation.

the idea is interesting but the story was weak, choppy and poorly read.

I won't be listening to the rest of the series.

A Girls’ Guide to an Imaginative Adventure

A Fairy’s Guide to Disaster is full of ... chaotic disasters and adventure and diversity.
Matilda is introduced as a typical, sarcastic (not snarky!) teenager with a slight attitude who evolves and grows into a level headed, caring, resourceful guardian. Erm babysitter.
I wasn’t crazy about breaking the fourth wall - basically because it was blatant at the beginning, then faded away. It came across as though the author flipped tracks and didn’t polish or edit it out.
The dilemmas of missing and appearing children kept the rapid pacing of the story and plotline, keeping one’s attention. The creativity of explanations were well woven into the story.
I liked the new characters; they were fleshed out and individualized.
A nice book, yet I’m not inclined to quickly follow the series and removed them from my Wish List.
The sample drew me in; narrator was wonderful for this piece.

such a sweet story

love this little heroine. her kindness and consistency made those around her change their ways they never imagined possible. it was truly a magical story

great book

loved this book and Aristotle did an amazing job with all the voice. I just love her.I will be looking for more books from them both

I BELIEVE IN FARIES!!!

Very good story, my family enjoyed it emensly!! Took us all the way to our vaca destination!
LOVED THE VOICES!! Especially Horks!!

different in a good way

I loved this book from start to finish. while it held all the elements of classic fairytales, the social ramifications are all modern. what IS in a name? The children from the mantle in Whipplethorn Manor face the direst dangers and, despite each having gifts they are ashamed of, and some handicaps, they overcome huge obstacles as a team. loved it!

Cute

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Content is more for young children.

Would you ever listen to anything by A. W. Hartoin again?

No

What didn’t you like about Aris’s performance?

Nothing was wrong with the performance. It was just very childish.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There are loyalty morals that could benefit a child, plus the vast differences with the "families" could be lessons in cultural tolerance.

Any additional comments?

Did I miss something? This book is for children.