Of Giants and Ice (review)

Sixth-grader Rory Landon has inherited none of her celebrity parents' coolness, so she generally makes few friends whenever she transfers into yet another new school due to her actress mother's filming schedule. Fighting a dragon, however, has a remarkable way of bringing people together, as Rory discovers when she helps slay a reptilian beast on her first day at the Ever After School and acquires a couple of close friends. The school—technically an after-school program—is a secret training academy for fairy-tale characters, preparing ordinary kids like Rory who are destined to be heroes in their own version of a famous story. Although Rory's Tale is yet to be determined, she still gets to practice with a sword, attend the Fairie Market, and even accompany her friend Lena on Lena's beanstalk-climbing and giant-slaying Tale—all while keeping the details of her new extracurricular activities from her overprotective mother. Although the start is a little slow, the book offers a thorough setup and substantial character development, establishing Rory as a girl who too often lets her desires take second place to those of her parents and who desperately needs to build an identity of her own. Action fans will be rewarded with spectacular sequences in the book's latter half, featuring battles with snarky dwarves, fearsome baby dragons, and, as the title hints, a couple of giants. There's a Potter-esque feel to Rory's fate as the Destined One, and young female readers will be particularly pleased to see a girl in the role of the active heroine who determines exactly how her Tale will play out.