Some Kind of Fairy Tale

Annotation for Adult Fiction: Psychological fiction, urban fantasy

Adapted from Saricks, Joyce G. and Nancy Brown. Readers Advisory Service in the Public Library 2nd.  Chicago: ALA, 1997.

Author: Graham Joyce

Title: Some Kind of Fairy Tale

Publication Date: 2012    Number of Pages: 310   Part of a Series: No

Subject Headings:

• Urban fantasy
• Missing persons
• Fairy tales
• English small towns
• Memory
• Ancient woods

Geographical Setting/Time Period: Suburban/small town Great Britain, current time

Main Character(s):

• Tara - a sixteen year old girl who goes missing for 20 years and then returns home.
• Richie - Tara's boyfriend at the time of the disappearance. He is a musician who never seemed to make it in the search for fame and fortune.
• Peter - Tara's brother and friends with Richie. They haven't spoken since Tara went missing

Plot Summary: A conflicted teenager acting on impulse loses herself in a local forest. Although a search is made, the girl has disappeared. Twenty years pass before she turns up on her parents' doorstep. No one believes her tale of abduction or description of the place that she has been.

Characterization: The story is melancholic and reflective.

Storyline: Character-driven and leisurely paced with lots of description and character development

Writing style: The author is engaging and readable.

Brief quote: "Oh yes, the bluebells were out in May. Do you remember how they were? Their perfume stole the sense right out of your head." p.38

Prizes or Awards: Library Journal Top 10, 2012

Similar Works: Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan. This is another story about a teenager who goes missing and the people who search for her.

Reviewer’s Name: Nancy Rimassa