Emily Rodda

(Suggested to me as part of the June challenge to read/review a book chosen by someone else in the Tamora Pierce fangroup on FB.)

This was a super cute read! I quickly got caught up in the drama and grew quite fond of Jessie even faster. I like that she's a dreamy girl who sits in the 'secret garden' in her grandmother's garden and loves the tales of fairies but also has a definitive practical streak - as does Marigold, at least, of those she meets through the hedge. (One that definitely comes in handy when the Fairy Realm is in trouble and has accidentally nabbed The Wrong Jessica!)

Jessica's mother provides a bit of a steady link to the real world but isn't unlikable for all that she thinks her mother and daughter both have their heads in the clouds (and possibly not the clouds of this world), which I appreciated. It's all too easy to have that grounded character be another type of antagonist and it's nice to have something different. Jessie's similarly very practical grandfather, even though only shown in memory after his death, turned out to be even more awesome than I expected and I kind of want to see his (and the original Jessica's) story as well, I admit.

I also quite liked the matter-of-fact way Jessie introduced Flynn, her grandmother's cat, as standing guard over her, and accepted him as slightly-more-than-mundane without pause for consideration.

While I could see a lot of the storyline coming (not unexpected given both the intended audience - it's a simple story, but a good one - and the number of fantasy and/or fairy world stories I've read) there were still the occasional bits that surprised me. The black and white illustrations accompanying each chapter were lovely, as well!… (mehr)