Bad Luck Girl (American Fairy Trilogy, #3)

by Sarah Zettel

After rescuing her parents from the Seelie king at Hearst Castle, Callie is caught up in the war between the fairies of the Midnight Throne and the Sunlit Kingdoms. By accident, she discovers that fairies aren't the only magical creatures in the world. There's also Halfers, misfits that are half fairy and half other--laced with strange magic and big-city attitude. As the war heats up, Callie's world falls apart. And even though she's the child of prophecy, she doubts she can save the Halfers, her people, her family, and Jack, let alone herself. The fairies all say Callie is the Bad Luck Girl, and she's starting to believe them.

A strong example of diversity in YA, the American Fairy Trilogy introduces Callie LeRoux, a half-black teen who stars in this evocative story full of American history and fairy tales.

• ISBN13: 9780375869402
• Publish Date: 27 May 2014
• Publish Status: Temporarily Withdrawn
• Out of Print: 2 March 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Bad Luck Girl was a disappointing, confusing, and at times, annoying finale to a pretty good series. It picks up immediately where Golden Girl left off. Callie and her family need to get out of town and fast, and the only way to do that is by train. Not exactly the best form of transportation for fairies, but at least they'd be safe from others. Unfortunately, Callie screws things up (again) and plans must change as the war is coming for them wherever they go now that they've been spotted. Of course, in the end good trumps evil, but there's a whole lot of crazy to get to that point, and I didn't really follow it all. Or care much after Callie screws things up yet again!

Bad Luck Girl does introduce another group of fae, which I found very interesting. They call themselves Halfers, but other fairies like Callie's father call them the Undone, since they're not pretty. I don't want to give anything about them away, if you plan on continuing the series, but I will say they were my favorite part, even if I don't think they added anything to the overall plot. They were just interesting and conveniently helpful to Callie and her mission.

I did get really annoyed with Bad Luck Girl once Callie fell for another trap. For some reason she just can't get it through her head to trust her instincts rather than the pull of magic. She's always convinced that it's her own magic leading her somewhere, but it never is! Stop it! She should know by now that magic cannot be trusted, and she knows she doesn't have a great handle on hers in the first place. It was just frustrating. Then there was a twist that wasn't really a twist, because it untwisted itself like I knew it would. And then things just got weird and twisty and confusing and I gave up trying to understand it and just sat back for the rest of the ride, which ended quite well actually. Then that epilogue happened. It was a cute ending, until the last word ruined it. Yes, just one word. Either the author is trying to be clever and mysterious or something, or....what else is there?! My brain is going to explode!

In the end, I enjoyed this trilogy, but found Bad Luck Girl lacking as a finale. Callie didn't seem to learn anything and kept making the same mistakes, which could have easily been avoided. It would have been nice to see her grow into her magic and actually take control rather than accidentally doing things, or doing big things out of overwhelming emotion. I also would have liked to have known what happened to Fairyland and all of the Halfers afterward. It all just kind of disappeared.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.