Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

I have always been interested in stories where there are faeries or magic or mythical stuff so naturally, I would want to read this novel.

I am a fan of urban fantasy novels but I prefer if it is not set in present times.  If it is, I like if there is a mixture of this world and the "magical" one.  Of course, I am partial if the book takes me to a whole new world (sorry for the Aladdin reference) altogether.

Anyway, the central figure of the story is Dana.  She is half Fae and half human.  Her mom used to live in Avalon and it was there that she met Dana's dad who turns out to be some big shot Fae.  Because of her heritage, Dana has a really beautiful voice.  For some reason, she and her mom moved around a lot.  As far as she could remember, they have lived in ten different cities.

I did not like Dana much.  I find her whiny and stubborn.  She ran away to go to Avalon to be with a dad whom she has never met and who has no idea that he has a daughter, thinking that her life would be better off living with him.

She has an issue with her mom being an alcoholic, I understand that.

"Nothing could possibly be worse than living with my mother, constantly lying for her, trying to cover up that she was passed out drunk when she was supposed to be meeting with my teacher or driving me to some off-campus event. xxx"

No one really wants to have an alcoholic for a parent.  I guess it is difficult for a teenager when she is forced to be the adult in the family since the adult doesn't act how they should.  The situation will really tire you out.  I think I understand Dana's wanting to get away from her mom and live with her dad.

"xxx Even in Avalon, I figured, I'd have a better, more normal life than I had now with my mom."

Avalon is a small city with less than 10,000 inhabitants.  One could enter the city only through its four entrances - the North, South, East and West Gates.  What's unique about the city is that it is the only place where both Faerie and the mortal overlap.  Natives of Faerie cannot set foot in the mortal world.  If a full-blooded Fae stands at the border of Avalon, he or she would only see Faerie.

Dana's plans did not go exactly how she wanted them to be.  Things started going downhill the moment she arrived in London.  Her dad's friend, who was supposed to pick her up at London Airport, did not show up so she had to go to Avalon by herself.  She had trouble going through immigration in Avalon and was in a way kidnapped/taken prisoner by her Aunt.  It was at this time that Dana was regretting her decision to run away.

"A part of me was already wishing I'd never set foot out of my mom's house. xxx"

"Why, oh why, had I decided to leave home? I'd been dealing with my mom for my whole life; what would another couple of years have mattered? xxx"

Dana is such a typical teenager.  I find her whiny, stubborn and impulsive.  She would complain that living with her mom sucks that's why she would try living with her dad.  I guess she didn't think that through well enough since when she got to Avalon, she realized that living with her mom is not so bad as she thought it was.  But I understand her actions since I was once a teenager myself.  I also thought of running away from home when I thought my parents were too strict but I decided against it because I was worried where will I live and where will I get money.

It turns out, Dana is not only talented but powerful as well.  Ethan explained to Dana that "a child of mixed blood will inherit primarily it's mother's traits xxx."  Hence, a child of mixed heritage is more human if the mother is human and vice versa.  Ethan further explained, "But the most powerful Fae also have the most dominant genes.  So when someone like [your father] has a child with a human woman, that child will be more Fae xxx.  And instead of being affiliated solely with her mother's realm, that child is affiliated with both realms."  These "literal half-blood[s]" are called Faeriewalkers because they can freely go to Faerie or the mortal world.  But that is not the only thing that makes Faeriewalkers gifted, what really makes them "more powerful is that they can carry technology in Faerie.  And magic into the mortal world."

The Council governs Avalon.  It is composed of thirteen members - six humans who are freely elected; six Fae who are not that impartially voted on; and one called the Consul who is appointed by the member of the Council.  The Consul acts as a tie-breaker during Council voting.  Every ten years, the one who sits as Consul changes between Fae and human.  Dana could not have come to Avalon at the most inappropriate time since, in a little over a year, the present human Consul shall be substituted by a Fae.  Being the daughter of a really powerful Fae, Dana, as a Faeriewalker, makes her the target of Fae who have political aspirations which includes, among others, her father and her aunt.

The story is interesting, it has faeries and magic and all that.  However, it just did not appeal to me that much.  Maybe I didn't like the way it is written or maybe I didn't like the characters.  It's not something that I would recommend to my friends for them to read.  But I will still read the next book to know what happens next.  Who knows, the series might appeal to me on the second book.


Rating: 2 of 5 STARS