Product Description

Hunky Dory is at the top of her class in charm school. She can make flowers wilt like wet spaghetti. She can make thunder rumble like a whale's bellyache. And she can turn any prince into a frog-but she always changes them back. That's when she knows there'll be a problem

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73589 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6 -With humor and ingenuity, Codell weaves an unusual, intriguing, and enjoyable story. Hunky Dory is the top student in her charm school, but her inner conflict about the purpose of witchcraft plagues her. She wonders if it must always be focused on evil. Hunky becomes interested in the work of fairy godmothers, a group looked down upon by ordinary witches, and, after much soul searching, she concludes that she wants to become one. Characters from well-known fairy tales weave in and out of the story. The protagonist's conflict with her mother escalates when she is thrown out of school for questioning the value of evil and of granting wishes. Her Aunt Malice is the voice of wisdom and helps guide her on her search for her own true mission. Double entendres add to the book's humor. Underlying the fantasy are subtleties about school cliques, the challenge of listening to one's own voice, and the need for girls to value intelligence and power rather than superficial attributes. There are references throughout the book to the wisdom found in Be the One with the Wand, the charm school's textbook; it offers valid advice to live by ("If you're between a rock and a hard place, stand still"). This is a fun read that will have particular appeal to fans of Eva Ibbotson's Not Just a Witch (Dutton, 2003).-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
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From AudioFile
Narrator Rachel Lillis introduces us to diarist Hunky Dorey, a witch considering abandoning a promising future in witchcraft for the possibility of "wishcraft," the art of fairy godmothering. Lillis's vocal characterization reveals the idealism and kindness that make Hunky question her upbringing, but she fails to make the listener believe the venom that is also part of Hunky's character and that creates the story's central conflict. As a whole, the audio doesn't overcome the novel's slow pace. Some of the voices for the secondary characters are outstanding--as in the case of Hunky's sophisticated aunt--but Lillis misses opportunities when she reads flatly and doesn't keep the dialogue snappy. A.F. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Codell, author of Sahara Special (2003) and Sing a Song of Tunafish (2004), offers a shrewd fantasy about a young witch's identity crisis. Adolescent Hunky Dory enjoys studying to be wicked alongside Acid Reflux, Sinus Infection, and other members of her coven. But is a life of toil and trouble really for her? Even though her elders dismiss fairy godmothers as "vapid underachievers," Hunky finds the prospect of granting wishes strangely compelling. She tests her skills in storybook forest, putting the fairy in numerous, familiar fairy tales (What did Wolf want with that frilly nightgown, anyway?) The events prompting Hunky's reconciliation with her disapproving mother seem a little confused, and not every reader will respond to Codell's tart, sophisticated humor. But many girls, particularly fans of Eva Ibbitson and Vivian Vande Velde, will find a sympathetic heroine in Hunky Dory, in whom mischief and sweetness coexist--just as they do in the concluding recipe for Hunky's favorite "booger cookies." Sly, stylish full- and half-page drawings contribute added appeal. Jennifer Mattson
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