Flunked by Jen Calonita

Tossed into Cinderella's stepmother's reform school for fairy-tale villains after stealing a hair clip, twelve-year-old petty thief Gilly meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, who reveal the school's true evil purpose. Book #1

When petty thief Gilly, who lives with five younger brothers and sisters in a run-down boot, gets caught stealing, she is sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School, where all of the teachers are former villains, including the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother.

I am a sucker for retold fairytales and plucky heroines. This book has all that. I love the concept. I love Gilly and her family, both inside the school and outside of it. I will be reading the further adventures here.

This is a fun children's book. If you are in the mood for a light easy to read book this is your book.

As I expected, this book was a ton of fun to read! While the age group this book is aimed at will probably love it the most, there's a lot here to love for us older readers as well. Imagine a reform school for the villainous. A magical place filled with Pegasus riding classes and mermaid teachers. If you're a fan of fairy tale retellings, this story will definitely make you smile.

Flunked is packed to the brim will all sorts of lovable, and maybe even slightly evil, misfits. Gilly is our main character, and she fits in perfectly. Not quite a villain, but not exactly the picture of a model citizen either. I liked Gilly a lot. Kind, resourceful, and loyal to her family no matter what. Unfortunately, her love of her family is exactly what lands her in Fairy Tale Reform School. It raises the question, is evil really evil if there is reason for the crime? Once she stepped foot into FTRS, and I met the rest of the characters, I was hooked.

The one downside to this story is that there isn't much time for character development. It's likely that won't matter to the middle grade readers that this story is aimed at, but I craved more insight into the amazing characters populating this story. There were so many nods to the stories that I grew up loving. I giggled more than once at the antics Gilly and her friends were up to.

Still, this story is fast paced and well written, so it's hard not to fall in love. I read it through from beginning to end in about an hour, and I can't wait for more. I know this is the first in a series, and I'm honestly excited about it. I look forward to much more from Jen Calonita and her magical reform school.