Monday 19 November 2018

The Uncooperative Flying Carpet by Michelle Clark McConnochie (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)


Adore the outfit, bit scared of the scary looking creature, hence the grade just missing perfection!
August 2018, Morgan James Publishing, 200 pages, Ebook, Review copy

The first in a trilogy, The Uncooperative Flying Carpet tells the story of Sabrina Summers, her brother Rory, and her friends, whose lives are turned upside down when Sabrina’s father marries someone she suspects is a witch. Accidentally sent to the strange land of Dralfynia and turned into old-fashioned fairytale characters, Sabrina, Rory, Olive, and Persis must battle bats, witches, and goblins, deal with betrayal and mistrust, and get back home before they’re grounded for life. To do that, they’ll need to work as a team, but with only an uncooperative flying carpet and a unicorn with gas to help them, will they ever get back to Melas? And when they do, what will they find waiting for them?

Nayu's thoughts 
I adore fairytales, and loved the Tangle Rapunzel inspired outfit on the cover, so it was a no-brainer saying yes to review this book. What makes it extra special was that one of Sabrina's travelling companions is her brother! I adore siblings in books, as there's usually entertaining scenes involving them getting along/not getting along, and this was true for this story. I liked how Sabrina had to protect her brother even when he was annoying, because he was their brother and they were a long way from home. 

How the pair get to be far from home was fun to read about, there are elements of classic fairytales that are given an inventive twist which had me both laughing and on the edge of my seat not knowing what was going to happen. Who wouldn't want a magic carpet for transport? Or super long hair like Rapunzel's? Well, the hair part had it's problems, so how a fairytale sounds doesn't always mean it would be comfy for practical in everyday life, as Sabrina discovers. And unicorns aren't always as polite as you'd expect them to be!

I'm pleased this is the first book in a series because I really enjoyed reading it. It made me laugh a lot. Even though I hadn't met Sabrina before in other books, I felt like I knew her pretty quickly. I'm not saying which fairytales get touched upon in this book because that's a fun part of the story. There is a good mix of humour, great peril, sibling disagreement, and some aww moments too. It's gone on my digital reread bookshelf! 

Find out more on Michelle's website

Suggested read There's a great twist on the Rapunzel tale on this Young Adult read The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson (Young Adult, 10E/10E, NetGalley, short 'n' sweet review) 

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