In a Blink (Disney: The Never Girls Series #1)

by Kiki Thorpe, RH Disney (Illustrator)

Overview

A New York Times Bestseller

The Disney Fairies star in a magical all-new early chapter book series for kids ages 6 to 10—The Never Girls!

Kate craves adventure and excitement.
Mia loves dresses, roses, and anything beautiful.
Lainey dreams of talking to animals.
Gabby believes in fairies more than anyone.

In a blink of an eye, these four best friends all get their biggest wish—they’re whisked off to Never Land, home to Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. The adventure of a lifetime is just beginning! But how will the Never Girls ever get home again?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736427944
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/08/2013
Series:	Disney: The Never Girls Series , #1
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	33,069
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

KIKI THORPE spent much of her childhood reading, daydreaming, and searching for fairies in the forests of Idaho—pastimes that were good training for writing children's books. She is the author of several books for young readers, including the New York Times bestseller In a Blink, the first book in the Never Girls series. She lives with her husband, Greg, and their two children in San Francisco.

Editorial Reviews

When Kate, Lainey, Mia, and Mia’s annoying younger sister are transported to Never Land’s Pixie Hollow, they become the responsibility of a reluctant Tinker Bell until Queen Clarion and her winged crew can figure out how to get the girls home again. This first installment in the Never Girls, a Disney Fairies spinoff series, is by necessity mostly exposition about fairy life; the girls learn, for example, that humans are referred to as “Clumsies,” and discover the talents possessed by an array of local fairies. Thorpe seems occupied by diminutiveness and shelter magazine prettiness (“It was the perfect room. Four girl-sized hammocks hung from the tree’s branches. The willow’s leaves spilled down around them like curtains”), but there’s little narrative meat, character depth, or dramatic tension to be found among the oohing and ahhing. Fans of the reimagined Tinker Bell, who is now something of a DIY geek, may wish she had elbowed the other tiresome fairy characters out of the way and claimed center stage. Final art not seen by PW. Simultaneously available: The Space Between. Ages 6–10. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Four friends become lost girls when they land in Never Land. Kate, Mia and Lainey are best friends who go on the ride of their lives when Mia's little sister, Gabby, grabs a fairy and they land in Never Land, with no way to return to their soccer-playing life. Now they are just Clumsies in the land of fairies, and they must rely on Tink (yes, that Tink) to help them find their way home. All fairies in this world have a talent; Tink is a fixing fairy, though a rather grumpy one. Tink's plan to send the girls back goes awry when Kate jealously steals fairy dust and flies away. The worldbuilding is weak (convenient changes happen to the island whenever the plot demands it), and the characters develop in ways that strain credulity (Tink quickly flips from irritation to shedding a tear when the four girls prepare to leave). Bland black-and-white illustrations show three of the girls as whisper-thin, stylish middle graders, with only Gabby having a real personality and healthy shape. The cliffhanger ending lets everyone know that this is the first of many adventures in Never Land. Fairy-crazy girls will embrace this series. Others will see it for what it is: a lightweight offspring of other watered-down Peter Pan stories. (Fantasy. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews