Fairy Tales

Who doesn't like fairy tales? I can't think of anyone who does so it's no wonder there are lots of updated fairy tales out there. But it's fun to read a totally new fairy tale too. And that's what Patricia Wrede's Thirteenth Child is. As any reader of fairy tales can tell you, the seventh son of a seventh son is born to be a powerful magician. But did you know that the thirteenth child is supposed to be bad luck, a bringer of misery, someone to be avoided? At least that's the case in the world Eff and Lan are born into--Eff, the unlucky thirteenth, and Lan, her twin, the seventh son of a seventh son. But in Wrede's western style fairy tale, there is more than one kind of magic. When Eff's family moves out to the edge of the frontier, she meets a few people who challenge her ideas about the working of magic and mainstream magical traditions. She also learns to believe in herself and saves a whole community while she's at it. It looks like the beginning of a new series called Frontier Magic. I can't wait for more!
Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede, 978-0-545-03342-8, on sale in April 2009

Made me think of:
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale--a graphic novel that also features the melding of fairy tales and cowboy westerns
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede--another girl trying to make a place for herself outside the conventions of fairy tale world