In New Avalon everyone has a personal fairy. Having a god fairy can really ensure success – but having a less useful fairy can be a disaster. The problem is, you can’t choose the fairy you get. For Charlie, having a parking fairy when she doesn’t drive isn’t just useless – it’s also annoying. Everyone wants her to go places with them, to ensure that they get a parking spot when they get there. And some people – especially the brutish Danders Anders - won’t take no for an answer. Charlie is determined to get rid of her fairy and get a new one – but this isn’t as easy as it seems.

How to Ditch Your Fairy is a funny look at teen life in a parallel world whose main difference to our own is the existence of unseen fairies. The city of New Avalon is a slightly crazy place, where famous people are known as ‘Ours’ and revered as untouchables, and students are classified into schools based on their talents, so that they can aspire to be Ours too, or at least to ensure New Avalon’s continued position as the most important city in the world. The city’s self-centeredness and lack of awareness of the wider world is echoed by Charlie’s own self absorption, though as she works with her one-time enemy Fiorenze to ditch their respective fairies, she develops an awareness of the world around her and of other people’s needs and opinions.

A fun book for teen readers.

How to Ditch Your Fairy , by Justine Larbalestier
Allen & Unwin, 2009

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