Swept away into a court of magic and beauty, she discovers she is Tania, the lost princess of Faerie. Since Tania's mysterious disappearance five hundred years before, Faerie has been sunk in darkness and gloom. With her return, Faerie comes alive again as a land of winged children, glittering balls, and fantastic delights. But Tania can't forget Anita's world, or the boy she loved there.
Torn between two loves and between two worlds, Tania slowly remembers why she disappeared, and realizes that she is the only one who can stop a sinister plan that threatens the entire world of Faerie.
Children's Literature - Caitlyn Payne
On the surface, The Faerie Path is as light and frothy as a lattesmooth, sweet, and an indulgence for the senses. But as the plot unfolds, depths and unexpected twists take a simple fairy tale and turn it into a story of court intrigue, manipulation, and what it really means to belong somewhere. Anita considers herself a perfectly ordinary sixteen-year-oldshe loves school, acting, and spending time with her boyfriend, Evan. But when she gets into a boating accident and ends up in the hospital, strange things begin to happen to her. Her back starts to itch, she dreams she sprouts wings and flies over London, and she receives a mysterious book telling about the destiny of a faerie princess named Tania. Then a mysterious young man visits her in the hospital and magically transports Anita to the world of Faerie, where she discovers she is the long-lost princess Tania. Tania's destiny is to restore Faerie to the glory it had many years earlier. Skeptical at first, Anita slowly comes to love Faerie, and begins to accept her role as Tania. She becomes friends with her long-lost sister, Rathina, and is courted by the handsome and mysterious Gabriel. But all is not well in Faerie. Anita discovers that Faerie is fading and losing magic, and uncovers a plot to overthrow the king. Then she discovers a magical ability to transport herself between the world of Faerie and London, and begins to see disturbing images of Faerie in despair in her transition. And a man who reminds her of Evan warns Anita she may be in danger. It is up to Anita, armed with clues from a prophetic riddle and her unique talents and abilities, to uncover the traitorous plot against the king and save Faerie.
VOYA - Angela Carstensen
Anita falls for the new boy, Evan, playing Juliet opposite his Romeo in the school play. But while speed boating on the Thames the day before her sixteenth birthday, they crash and land in the hospital. That night, Anita imagines sprouting wings and flying over London, and then over another land she vaguely recognizes. The next night, she is summoned by an apparition into another world. She assumes that it is all a dream but learns that she is Tania, seventh daughter of King Oberon of Faerie, prophesied to have the unique ability to move between the mortal and faerie worlds. She disappeared five hundred years ago on the eve of her wedding to Lord Gabriel. Finally she has been found and returned, albeit with no memory of her life in Faerie. Evan is actually Gabriel's servant charged with the job of bringing her home. Tania gets to know her sisters, her fiancT, and her world, all while trying to deal with Evan's deceit and find a way to return to reassure her parents in the mortal world. Despite a predictable plot, Tania's jarringly modern speech, and her unlikely gullibility in trusting her enemies, the book is appealing. The images are vivid, the characters are charming, and Tania learns to make her own decisions. She grows enough to rescue her true love and find her own destiny, despite evil adversaries who profess to be her friends. This first book in a new series is entertaining fare for younger fantasy fans.
KLIATT
AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 18. To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, January 2007: London teen Anita Palmer, on the brink of her 16th birthday, seems as if she has it all: loving parents, the lead in the school production of Romeo and Juliet, and the cute and mysterious new boy, Evan Thomas, for a boyfriend. But things turn out very differently when Anita crosses the border between the Mortal World and the Faerie World. There she learns that she is the long-lost Princess Tania, seventh and youngest daughter of Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of Faerie. She is expected to pick up her life where she left off when she vanished--500 years previously. Oberon has kept the land in a perpetual twilight that prevented time from passing. As beautiful and wonderful as Faerie is, Anita--now Tania--is still worried about the parents who raised her in the Mortal World. She also misses her life there, and she’s not completely prepared to give it up. She learns that she has a talent for moving between the Worlds, and as she gains control of her power, she suspects that someone might be plotting to exploit her talent, and not in a good way. Although the beginning is a bit slow, the pace picks up once Anita enters Faerie. The contrast between her modern demeanor and speech and the more archaic ones of Faerie is amusing and not overdone; the reader gets the impression that she will never quite get the knack of being a Faerie Princess. If the plot and characters are at time transparent--readers will figure out who the bad guys are--Jones introduces some original fresh ideas, such as the dreaded Amber Prison, which freezes a person in an amber ball indefinitely, able to see everythingaround him but not to sleep. He also ties up the obvious question of how Tania survived 500 years in the Mortal World and lays the groundwork for a sequel, one which no doubt will be eagerly anticipated. Reviewer: Donna Scanlon
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)
KLIATT - Donna Scanlon
London teen Anita Palmer, on the brink of her 16th birthday, seems as if she has it all: loving parents, the lead in the school production of Romeo and Juliet, and the cute and mysterious new boy, Evan Thomas, for a boyfriend. But things turn out very differently when Anita crosses the border between the Mortal World and the Faerie World. There she learns that she is the long-lost Princess Tania, seventh and youngest daughter of Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of Faerie. She is expected to pick up her life where she left off when she vanished500 years previously. Oberon has kept the land in a perpetual twilight that prevented time from passing. As beautiful and wonderful as Faerie is, Anitanow Taniais still worried about the parents who raised her in the Mortal World. She also misses her life there, and she's not completely prepared to give it up. She learns that she has a talent for moving between the Worlds, and as she gains control of her power, she suspects that someone might be plotting to exploit her talent, and not in a good way. Although the beginning is a bit slow, the pace picks up once Anita enters Faerie. The contrast between her modern demeanor and speech and the more archaic ones of Faerie is amusing and not overdone; the reader gets the impression that she will never quite get the knack of being a Faerie Princess. If the plot and characters are at time transparentreaders will figure out who the bad guys areJones introduces some original fresh ideas, such as the dreaded Amber Prison, which freezes a person in an amber ball indefinitely, able to see everything around him but not to sleep. He also ties up the obvious question ofhow Tania survived 500 years in the Mortal World and lays the groundwork for a sequel, one which no doubt will be eagerly anticipated.
School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up
On the day before her 16th birthday, Anita's life starts to change. She has a vision of flying, receives a mysterious and magical book as a present, and travels from modern-day London to the world of Faerie. She discovers that her boyfriend, Evan, is really Edric, servant of the scheming faerie lord Gabriel Drake, and that he has been sent to bring her home. Anita is really Princess Tania, the seventh and youngest daughter of King Oberon, and she has been lost for centuries after experimenting with her power to travel between worlds. Anita/Tania comes to accept her true identity and the joy she has brought to her father and his realm. However, all is not well in Faerie. Queen Titania has disappeared, and Gabriel Drake is somehow involved with her loss. He claims to love Tania and wants to marry her, but is actually interested only in her magical power. While the conclusion resolves Tania's immediate problems, there is ample room for a sequel. This fairy tale meets "Princess Diaries" clearly shows Anita/Tania's confusion about her identity. She is a strong character, and her sisters and their varied powers and personalities are also well drawn. The teens' romance, foreshadowed by their starring roles in their school's production of Romeo and Juliet in this world, develops as the story progresses, and frequent quotes from and allusions to the play add depth to the story.
Beth L. MeisterCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
All little girls with even an ounce of imagination have wondered what it would be like to have wings and be magical. Anita Palmer gets to find out, up close and personal. She is mysteriously transported out of modern day London into the world of Faerie, only to find out that she is herself the long lost seventh daughter of the fabled king Oberon himself. Unfortunately, not everything is gossamer wings (losing them is a rite of passage for younger faeries) and magical tapestries. Getting to know and love her new family doesn't stop her from missing her old earth-bound parents. And while her escort in Faerie appears both handsome and caring, she just can't make herself comfortable with the idea of romance and eventual marriage to Lord Drake. Can she really trust him? In a well-paced style that will communicate with today's readers, Jones relates well the emotional turmoil that all adolescents experience, be they faerie or human. The ending cleanly sets up a potential sequel for further adventures in the near future. (Fiction. 12+)
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