Small Persons with Wings

by Ellen Booraem

Ever since she was teased for believing in fairies, Mellie has adopted a strictly scientific and logical approach to life. But when her parents inherit her grandfather's inn, she learns that for generations, her family members have been fairy guardians. The fairies exchanged some of their powers for this protection but now they want their magic back. An evil temptress in disguise wants the magic too, and before she knows it, Mellie is turned into a frog, her grandfather is discovered alive, and her parents are trapped in an evil spell that only lets them see the truth (which can be awfully brutal). Thank goodness for Timmo - the cute boy next door - and Durindana, a fairy outcast, who help Mellie save the day and encourage her to loosen up her views on family, fairies, and friendship.

This is a hilarious, irreverent, and highly sarcastic take on fairies-who, by the way, just hate to be called fairies.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Magic, Fairies, Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 8, 2010

About the author

A former small-town newspaper reporter and editor, Ellen Booraem is the author of three fantasies for ages 10 and up: TEXTING THE UNDERWORLD (Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013) SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS (Penguin/Dial, 2011) and THE UNNAMEABLES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books, 2008).

SMALL PERSONS has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews. THE UNNAMEABLES was listed on ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2010 and the Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books of 2008.

Ellen lives in Downeast Maine with a cat, a dog, and an artist, in a house they (meaning the humans) built with their own hands.

Reviews

[Yanely Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay well im not gonna lie I picked this book because I liked the glittery letters. Do you think fairies are real? This book is fantasy because their are actual fairies in the book. Basically this book is going to be about a little girl and her parents having problems with fairies.


The main characters are Mellie, her family, and a few fairies. The setting of the story takes place in apartment which they are fixing to live a new life. Mellie wanted to stop believing in fairies but when she asked her parents it brought more problems. Person vs Herself because shes facing a big problem with herself trying to get over fairies. They moved to her grandfather's inn because he past away and their moving to fix up the apartment. Mellie was walking in the house one day and she saw a fairy and she freaked out and then she asked her parents why does she see all these fairies and when her parents told her that they could see the fairies too she sat on the floor and began crying. She told them "for the past few years you have been telling me they were fake" and they told her that her generation has been fairy guardians. They told her that there is also an evil guy trying to take away their fairies power and before you know it Mellie is turned into a frog, her grandfather's found alive and her parents are trapped in a spell that only lets them see the truth. I like how the problem was solved it was solved by Timmo (the cute boy next door) and Durindana (a fairy) who helped meillie save the day and encourage her to loosen up on her family, fairies, and friendship. The theme of this book is overcoming obstacles because shes trying to overcome something.


This theme can be seen when there are actual fairies living in this world because there's no fairies living so i don't think people have problems trying to get over fairies. An example from the book is she tried getting her mind off fairies so she tried becoming a nerd. The title relates to the book by when Mellie called her little fairy (named Fidious) a fairy he stopped and turned and gave her a dirty look and said " we are not fairies we are small persons with wings". A major symbol in the story was when Mellie finds out her family has been guardian angels for the past years and she didn't know until she asked her parents can you see them too.

I was surprised when Mellie's parents told her that their family had been fairy guardians for a long time. They had their little girl thinking she was crazy because she kept saying "why do i see fairies" and if they would have told her when she was younger she wouldn't have a problem trying to get over fairies. My favorite part was when they moved into the new apartment and she thought that the apartment was a little weird. I was surprised when mellie's parents could actually see the fairies too because if i was her parents i would tell her that i could see them too because Mellie thought she was crazy and people teased her about believing in fairies.

I rate this 5 stars because i like how she turned into a nerd to try to get her mind of the fairies. I would recommend this book to someone who had trouble getting over their imaginary friend because i think this book would help them. Do you still think fairies are real...?

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're all sick of vampires right now. We're also a little tired of zombies and don’t even TALK to me about angels. A couple years ago you could have said the same about child wizards. Fantasy trends, you see, are fickle and fleeting. One trend that somehow hasn’t managed to become annoying ubiquitous, however, is the fairy trend. In spite of the vast popularity of the Rainbow Fairies series, fairy books for kids and teens come out in spurts and starts. No single fairy has managed to cross into the world of pop culture, with the possible exception of Tinkerbelle (and with Disney as her current guiding light I’m not sure she counts). As a result, fairies are fair game. You can write a novel about them without being accused of selling out, and indeed some of the finest writers of our age have written fairy novels in their spare time (see: The Night Fairy or What-the-Dickens. Now author Ellen Booraem puts her own unique stamp on the fairy experience coming up with a novel appropriate for a tween but with creatures that are beloved from preschool onwards.

The Parvi Pennati are not fairies. Fair warning: call them that name and expect to experience some serious pain. Mellie Turpin knows about that kind of pain firsthand since she grew up with a small person with wings when she was young. Unfortunately when she told her Kindergarten schoolmates about her friend and failed to produce him she was immediately labeled Fairy Fat thanks in part to her girth and has carried that nickname through the years. So you can see why she’d be thrilled upon hearing that since her grandfather passed away to learn that her parents have inherited his old inn. Looking to spruce it up the family moves into their new home only to find that they have been lured there by a malevolent presence. Stranger still the entire Parvi Pennati clan in all its glory has also decided to take up residence. It comes down to Mellie to crack a couple mysteries and to save the day when all the adults around her human and fairy alike turn out to be useless in the face of catastrophe.

This book first came to my attention when folks started comparing the writing to that of the great British fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones. I like me my Jones, though I’ve always had the creeping suspicion that she’s not comfortable with ending her novels. Starting them, sure. No problem. But sticking a landing is a tricky business. As it happens, Booraem does indeed share Jones’s playful take on the fantastical, not to mention the personal lives of magical folks. And Booraem doesn’t have a problem with her endings either. One problem she does have, though, is very DWJ-like. In this book the Parvi attempt to explain how their magic has changed over the years. They had their Magica Vera first, which was the original earthy magic. After that the Parvi discovered the Magica Artificia, which could make things look far fancier than they were. The third type, the Magica Mala, is pretty easy to understand since it’s bad magic. No problems there. Unfortunately this all has to be explained a couple times since it can get confusing and the first time it's explained it doesn't quite take. And then there’s the Circulus . . . but the description of what exactly this is must have been pretty quick and early because as far as I could tell it had something to do with fairies that fly in a circle a lot and give off power . . . but I’m not sure. Diana Wynne Jones has a habit of introducing elements that are sometimes a little too ambitious for her storylines too, you know. I don’t think the Circulus hurts the story or anything (all we really need to know is that if it stops that’s bad) but it would have been nice to get a clearer and concise explanation of it right from the get-go.

But like I say, Booraem has a way of making her characters, all her characters, real to the reader. Mellie is the most real amongst them and she presents a challenge. On the one hand, you’re supposed to pity Mellie. No one wants to go through their school days being called Fairy Fat. But at the same time you can’t make Mellie some sad sack self-pitying boob or no one’s going to want to read about her. She needs to be bullied, but still have a backbone. Booraem somehow manages this problem, making Mellie prickly but still self-conscious. When push comes to shove and it’s all up to her to save the day, she doesn’t back down either. Looking in on her parents who are out of commission for a while she feels love for them, “And a healthy dose of terror, which I firmly tamped down. I couldn’t afford terror. Terror was for kids whose parents were around to make it fun.” And that, in a couple firm strokes of the pen, is who Mellie is to me.

I always like a good fantasy that's a mystery as well. In this book that would be a question of who the evil fairy is that is conspiring against the Parvi Pennati. You’re given a couple good clues making the answer guessable, but not so obvious that every child reader will get it. The author also throws in a couple red herrings that seem to contain vast importance but do not (ex: The china sculpture that Fidius leaves behind). Booraem would do well to try a straight up mystery one of these days. What could it hurt?

Thanks to books like The Spiderwick Chronicles I will occasionally get kids (boys AND girls) seeking books about fairies. And if you eschew books in which fairies are human sized, this isn’t quite as easy as you might think. Sure there are books like The Faeries of Dreamdark or Fairy Rebels or even The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood but stories where the perspective is from that of a human dealing with fairies can be a toughie. Booraem, therefore, gives us a kind of original fairy novel. It’s a coming of age story set against a backdrop of irritable relatives, giant drooling frogs, creepy mannequins, and bratty older sisters. Best of all, it’s a fun story with a large heroine who doesn’t need to slip into a size 2 to prove her worth. Think of it as a Judy Blume novel for the fantasy-loving set.

For ages 10-14.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fairy Lit seems to becoming a bona fide genre, if you can count the never ending series of Rainbow Fairy books. I thoroughly enjoyed The Night Fairy, and thought Small Persons with Wings sounded promising. Oh, how I ended up hating this book. The only thing good about it was the title - it was clever. The story however was a disaster. The biggest problem was that I could not tell who the book was intended for. It seems to be marked at the 4th-8th crowd, but it felt too me like an adult trying to be funny and interject their "adult" humor through the eyes of a child. The book has ongoing fat people and tampon jokes (I'm not kidding), as well as many instances of pseudo swearing, such as when the main character refers to "friggin", but then goes on to say that wasn't really what the person says but she's not allowed to say what they did say. Well, I think we can all figure it out, and I would prefer to not even have to think what was said, let alone have my children think along those lines. There are no likable characters, the fairy magic storyline is confusing and not even entertaining. I barely made sense of it, but I don't care enough to go back and figure it out. The parents were portrayed as buffoons, and some of the other characters were so cruel it was uncomfortable and seemed unrealistic. Yes, I hated this book, there really wasn't one redeeming thing about it. There were a couple of entertaining moments, and a couple of occasionally pleasant characters, but that is about it. Read it if you're curious (I've got a copy that is going to the DI), and to be fair, others that have read it didn't despise it as much as I did. But I say bring on those Rainbow Fairies for my little girl!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK. I'm not going to lie. I read this book because it has glitter on the cover and got a great Horn Book review--but mostly because it has glitter on the cover. Yet it turned out to be a fantastic book that actually had more depth than I was expecting. Yes, there are fairies, but a lot of the action revolves around this group of fairies trying to decide whether to keep the magic they have that allows them to create complete artifice and amazing, imaginative illusions that they can live in (even though it has over the centuries started to dull their grip on reality and made them start to lose their physical senses), or to give it up in order to regain control of their original magic, which allows them to see all things as they really are. There are also really interesting themes in it about what happens when you treat someone as an outsider, and why people (and fairies) choose to shun their own. The main character, for example, is a girl that's a bit chubby and is ridiculed by her classmates for her weight and other things--the book explores both why she is shunned (an odd form of jealousy), and how the girl reacts to it, becoming rather mean herself and stuck up to make it seem to herself and other like she doesn't care about not having friends. There are also great educational parts to this book. It works in Latin and French vocabulary, European art history, Versailles, and lots of other surprising details.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a disappointment to me. It's tempting to say just "it's not my thing" and move on, but atually, this IS my thing--magic/fantasy as long as it's set in the real world. So it isn't just that. I really liked all the human characters, and that's where the three stars come from. I liked all the art history, and my favorite part is toward the beginning when Mellie has devoted herself to science, logic, and facts. The art scrapbook, and her father's reaction to it, is the funniest thing in the whole book. (There are lots of funny bits.) But I think the book bogs heavily in the middle. I didn't like any of the fairy characters (disagreeable fairies are pretty much a cliche in children's literature, aren't they?), and all the fairy lore was dull and just confusing enough that I didn't understand it fully, but didn't care enough to try working it out.

Plenty of good stuff here, but I think there are several better Newbery options already.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, this book was a disappointment. I guess I just expected too much after reading the other reviews. When a book is rated for fifth through seventh graders, I don't think tampons should be mentioned in it. It seems that too many liberties are being taken with kid lit in recent years. Can we not have a book with sex, cursing, and feminine products mentioned in it for elementary aged children.

[Brandy Painter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted here.

They call themselves the Parvi Pennati. Whatever you do, don't call them fairies (they hate to be called fairies). They may be minuscule, but they are temperamental, and making them mad could result in serious injury. This makes life difficult if you're a member of the family that is the guardian of these fairies S.P.W.W.s. And life is already difficult enough for Mellie Turpin. With these ingredients, Ellen Booraem has concocted a delightfully witty tale of magic, adventure, and middle school attitude. It is one of those books that older readers will love as well. (I did.)

Mellie is an intelligent, sarcastic, prickly character with a wonderful voice. She is rather unlikable at points, but she is also a sympathetic character. Mellie has been tormented by her classmates since Kindergarten for being overweight and affirming she once a fairy lived in her bedroom. When her parents call Fidius, her fairy, an imaginary friend in front the school counselor Mellie decides her imagination will make her crazy. So she builds up a wall of protection around herself of art history and science facts. She resists reading imagination stimulating books. So she is ill equipped to deal with the entire nation of Parvi that show up at her late grandfather's inn, the fact that her parents knew about their relationship to the Parvi, and the knowledge that Fidius was real, not to mention the boy next door who actually wants to befriend her (first time that's ever happened).

The way Mellie told this story her in her supercilious and unapologetically cynical tone hooked me from the beginning. I imagine members of the target audience for the book will revel in her attitude. Any age reader can identify with her feelings of isolation and her resultant outlook on life. I really felt that her voice was genuine. She is intelligent so she knows big words. Sometimes she sounds very grown up and mature, at other times, young and childish. Exactly like a typical 13 year old. She love her parents but is often embarrassed by them and doesn't always respect them. She often thinks she knows more than they do. Again, exactly like a typical 13 year old.

The S.P.W.W.s are fantastically depicted as a miniature version of the court at Versailles. They are vain, self-consumed, obsessed with appearance, love to play "jokes", and heartlessly cruel to those who don't live up to their standards. Durindana, the S.P.W.W. Mellie has the most contact with, has been ostracized for not being able to do one kind of magic well. She likes to drown her sorrows in fine Bourbon.

The other characters are quirky and interesting as well.

The story is quick paced most of the time. There are a couple of scenes where a lot of history and explanation of the Parvi, their magic and their relationship to the Turpins are dumped on the reader but they don't detract from the overall excitement of the story.

The insidiousness of bullying is a major theme of the novel. Mellie and Durindana are both victims of bullying by peers. There are two other characters that are also the victims of parental bullying. The effects and unfairness of such treatment on a person, even if it seems funny are shown. The obliviousness of others to the what is happening is also accurately represented. All of this is done with a light touch and woven seamlessly into the story being told.

[Delaney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was disappointing! >:( I thought it would be a fun read. I was literally waiting for something, ANYTHING, good to happen. It never did come. And since I've read another book that is fairies involved (though this is Small Persons with Wings) I thought it would be just as good. Boy was that wrong! The characters were boring, unrealistic, lame, not interesting, and not entertaining enough! I thought I liked the fairy (Small Person with Wings but I'll just stick to fairy cause I'm M-A-D) Fidius but then at the end I had change of mind and didn't like that character either. Turns out, I liked the Grand-pere the most because of his bad, humorous mouth. He may be old but his cranky-ness was enjoyable. Problem is, the main character Mellie didn't like him all too much. Mellie narrates the story and she is a round. It's annoying that she's like "But my parents won't let me say that word until I'm 18" and she keeps saying it! We get it! She got teased and bullied because of showing off babbling of Fidius. And I didn't feel sorry for her one bit! Maybe that's kind of harsh but I didn't like her. I thought I would, but I didn't. There was a part in the story that she turns into a frog (not telling you how) and I was like "YEAH!!!! She is a frog now!!!!" The fairies I didn't like them. They were on the side of annoying. There was tension in this story but it didn't give it all and it fell flat. Timmo wasn't like your average boy. Sure that includes his nerdinness of astronomy but guys who do love astronomy and are future scientists or astronomers don't act like him. He seems so 1D. The characters were too mature for any. The story line felt so kiddish even though I read YA book that had fairies and it was good, I don't understand what went wrong. I didn't like how Mellie's (forgot the main character name for a minute) parents got involved. It felt really weird. The moonstone thing felt weird. The fairy history thing I didn't get AT. ALL. I

I'm sorry but people who read this and think you shouldn't read it, maybe the library will have it and you can, but this book didn't work out.

This whole book had me with an imaginary floating bubble cloud lingering at the top of my head a heavy load of "WHAT?!!!!" extra large and many more exclamation points and question marks.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small Persons With Wings

By: Ellen Booraem

report by: Gracie Schlutz

Key issues:

Fitting in, growing up, moving, friendship, fairies and discovering the truth.

List of characters:

Mellie-protanonist, Narrator, curious, has fairy friends, picked on and called fairy fat.

Fidius- Antagonist, ran away, is a fairy, disllikes it when is called a fairy, has many fairy friends, made Mellie unpopular by not showing up to show and tell in kindergarden and is michevious.

kids at school- mean, make fun of mellie, call her fairy fat, hate Mellie.

plot summary:

The story takes place in Mellie’s kindergarden classroom, Mellie has had a fairy named Fidius, living by her side as long as she has remembered. When she went to bring her “small person with wings” to show and tell...it disapeared and all of her classmates made fun off her calling her “fairy fat”. Even though Mellie knew that Fidius was real she forced herself to believe different, thoughout kindergarden and grades above she still began to be teased. When Mellie’s grandpa passed away, her family moved to take over their inherrited Inn once Mellie’s grandpa’s. Mellie thought of the move as a clean past, away to ditch all the fairy nonsense. Later though Mellie finds that she might not be leaving all the “fairy non-sense” behind her when the Inn is full with them! Will she find her long loss fairy friend again? Will she make the same mistake as last time?...I guess you’ll just have to read to find out, so happy reading!

My reveiw:

I gave this five out of five stars cause this is one of the best fiction books I’ve read and i like the charaters considering they’re fairies! My personal reactions to this book was, it’s cool when you have a character that is a fairy, this book actually made me want to write a story with a main charater un-humanily. I think girls that like magic and pixy dust, fiction kind of books and girly girls would enjoy this book. Other things that is interesting about this book is the cover, to be honest...the cover was the first thing to catch my eye and i ended up liking more than just the cover cause i liked the story in it. I think this book can be harder to follow, but if you pay close enough attention you’ll be just fine!

book project: Q3:#3

[Tyler Jolley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small Persons with Wings

Small Persons with Wings is a middle grade to young adult novel about exactly as the title indicates: fairies…but don’t’ call them fairies; they prefer ‘small persons with wings.’

Mellie Turpin is the only daughter of the Turpin family in Boston. She’s a social outcast because she’s round, has a big nose and has a large vocabulary that her peers don’t understand. One day, in an attempt to gain friends, she tells everyone in her kindergarten class that she has a fairy and promises to bring it to school for show and tell. Her fairy, Fidius is furious with her for thinking of showing him off and leaves for good, but he left behind a small china doll. Coming to show and tell empty handed only makes her an even bigger social outcast. Everyone, including her parents tell her that Fidius was an imaginary friend. She gets severely bullied for the next 7 years and instead of fighting back she starts to educate herself with art history and never allows herself to think of Fidius again. They move to Boston when she’s 13 and she finds another fairy and life changes forever.

I really liked the concept of this book. It was very descriptive and created an exciting world. While the descriptions were fantastic, the book did get confusing. There were so many different types magic and fairies it became overwhelming at times. It wasn’t bad enough for me to quit reading or go back and try to figure it out. Overall the idea was unique and the characters were well developed. I give this book four out of five donuts.

see more of my reviews at http://www.jolleychronicles.blogspot.com

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story got much better as it progressed. It started out as a tale about a lonely child with a fairy as a full-time friend/caretaker whose parents, while physically present, are somewhat daft. The young girl, Mellie, offers to bring her fairy to show and tell only to earn bad results: the fairy disappears, the principal calls her parents in to discuss her overactive imagination and her parents agree that the fairy does not exist. For the next 7 years, Mellie devotes herself to the scientific method in the hopes of wiping out her imagination. So much for encouraging young imaginative scientists. When her grandfather dies, the family relocates to his inn, either to sell or operate it. At this point Mellie meets another small person with wings (aka fairy) and her parents reveal the family's birthright is a relationship with the fairies and their magical powers. The magical powers and the ring involve some convoluted ancient rules but the story really picks up with the arrival of a boy next door, spells that turn people into other beings/ objects and mysteries unraveled by deduction. Mellie develops from a lonely, sharp-edged girl into one with far greater capacity to understand others and actually have friends. She uses her brains and wits to solve problems that others are unable to face.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

This story started out as a tale about a lonely child with a fairy as a full-time friend/caretaker whose parents, while physically present, are somewhat daft. The young girl, Mellie, offers to bring her fairy to show and tell only to earn bad results: the fairy disappears, the principal calls her parents in to discuss her overactive imagination and her parents agree that the fairy does not exist. For the next 7 years, Mellie devotes herself to the scientific method in the hopes of wiping out her imagination. So much for encouraging young imaginative scientists. When her grandfather dies, the family relocates to his inn, either to sell or operate it. At this point Mellie meets another small person with wings (aka fairy) and her parents reveal the family's birthright is a relationship with the fairies and their magical powers. The magical powers and the ring involve some convoluted ancient rules but the story really picks up with the arrival of a boy next door, spells that turn people into other beings/ objects and mysteries unraveled by deduction. Mellie develops from a lonely, sharp-edged girl into one with far greater capacity to understand others and actually have friends. She uses her brains and wits to solve problems that others are unable to face. -Suzanne R.

[Caitlin L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished, "Small Persons With Wings" and it's about a young girl, Melissa (Mellie) and her beliefs for the mythical fairies (they prefer the term, small persons with wings). She tells her classmates and instantly becomes known as Fairy Fat. Later Mellie moves to another town, she can finally start a new life! No bad reputations, just a clean sheet. She finds out that fairies are real not long after the move, and that her family has some kind of pact with them. This book contains small persons with wings, one big doll, and lots of drama. I really enjoyed this book because it really pulls you in to read more. The characters are also very intriguing, such as sweet, curious Mellie, unstable, outcast fairy Durindara, and mischievous Fidius. The plot is a little confusing at times, but still amazingly written. I can connect with Durindara sometimes because she has always been an outcast in the fairy society and sometimes I feel like and outcast of some type when people are talking about something I don't know about and/or understand what it is. Overall, I loved this book and hope you will too!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small Persons With WIngs is a book about a girl,named Mellie she first met a fairy when she was in kindergarden. When she didn't bring the fairy to school everybody called her fairy fat. She started believing it was her imagination. Turns out her family is guardians for fairies. The faires have a moonstone that helps people see the truth when you put it on or drink the drink form it. A giant doll which the inside is a fairy, it wants the moonstone to him self. Meanwhile she met another fairy name Duridana. They gaint doll turn her into a frog, her friend discovered the truth about faires, and realized his grandfather is turned into a clock. To see her real form her parents drank the moonstone but a person just can't take that stress and they jump off the roof. They learn the truth that the fairy inside the big doll was Fidus the fairy which Mellie met in kinder. Fidus was kick out of the fairy community and flew away. I like the book because I like to read about fantasy, I wouldn't recommend the book because it is a little difficult to understand.

[Zoie B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I gave this book a chance, but I couldn't bare with it. I am a 13 year old girl, and this was my required book for the summer chosen by my K-8 school. All of my classmates agree that this was the worst summer reading book yet. First, the plot was horrible and predictable. An 'outcast''s family is cursed by fairies, what happens next!? Oh my lord, I was in tears. The writing was even worse. I expected a decent young adult novel and I got a book that has "adult humor" and with the writing style of a five year old. I admit, I couldn't keep reading, so I skipped a chapter pages. I picked up immediately and the pieces in that chapter never came up to importance again. Booraem has an extreme issue with flying off on tangents. I am terribly disappointed with Puffin for publishing a piece of garbage. The book was waaayyy too easy of a read for my age group, not to mention the pain of the poor 13 year old guys in my grade who had to read a book talking about push-up bras and tampons. I'm sorry if I was too critical, but this book really killed my summer.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is too short to finish books that just do not hold your attention. I bought this at our school book fair as I had seen possible Newbery reviews. I only got to page 42 and could not make myself read further...maybe it gets better if you stick with it? First while aimed for the late elementary, early middle school audience, it seems like the humor is more adult and would go over kids' heads. Add to that jokes about fat people and tampon jokes, and I had had enough.

[707 Maya · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is as boring as hell. If you want to die, read this book

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. I liked the French/Latin fairies, the awful grandfather, the wacky-but-lovable parents. I never felt that Mellie was 13 though, she seemed much older.

Library copy

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEAR GOD SUCH AN ADORABLE BOOK with Latin/French inserts and everything! *hurry-hurry must go must go can't stick around*

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic fairy story was pretty good and imaginative, but you had to hold on through several things that bugged me.
1. Cursing. (or pseudo-cursing) "fluff, but that's not the word he really used" was unnecessary.
2. Bullying. I know kids bully and get bullied. The amount of bullying is probably not excessive (unfortunately), but some of the ways she is taught (and teaches herself) to deal with it are a little out there. I don't know ANY kid who would walk anywhere with a tampon pinned to their shirt. "Grandeur" probably doesn't help many kids.
3. Alcoholism, obesity. Picked a lot of problems to cope with, in addition to the fairy story.
4. Most of the characters are unlikable and really more like caricatures.
5. Lots of adults drinking alcohol because they are sad.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like reading this book when I was a kid. It was very depressing for a middle-grade novel about fairies. Except they don’t like being called fairies, because they are Parvi. The worldbuilding was mildly interesting, but the Parvi are pretentious for using Dog Latin. Although the magic system and its uses did make me freak out, but I think this book was aiming for deconstruction instead of horror.

The main character’s narration was annoying, because it’s one of those things where the author is trying to make you feel sympathy for a blank slate. One of the characters is called Durindana, which was the only time I’d ever seen that name outside of another kids book called the Sisters Eight. Looking back twelve years later, I still don’t like this book.

[StephanieD · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I wanted it to be last week. Or next week. Anytime except now, when I looked like a frog and I was freezing cold and surrounded by blank-faced fairies and mildew.”

3.5 ⭐️

A fun story that deals with contemporary coming of age issues such as bullying and self-esteem as well as fantastical issues such as magical heirlooms and fairies (er, Small Persons with Wings).

Supposedly the main character is going into eighth grade at the time of the main conflict, but she definitely feels younger, written more like a fifth grader in my opinion. But that didn’t significantly impact my enjoyment of the story.

[Janna Jabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book, Small Persons With Wings is a great book, I really enjoyed reading it with the big surprise at the end, when Mellie finds out her parents are fairy guardians. This book definitly brought many good pop ups and good news to the story. If I were you I would read this book because not only is it fun to read but it is also a life lesson, when Mellie gets bullied but she brought her self up and didnt care what they said or thought. I rate this book: 5/5

[Terry Maguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny and entertaining read about Mellie Turpin's stint helping to run her grandfather's inn after he passes away. It turns out that Mellie's family are actually guardians of fairies. I love the description of Mellie being turned into a giant frog. This is a fast, generally fun read though lacks great writing or memorable themes.

[PB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was okay, although it was.......not good on some parts. I only gave it a 3-star rating because of the tampon jokes and fat people jokes. I'm being generous, at least. But other than that, it was a pretty good book.

[Zoe Strope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to around chapter 11 and had to stop. The story has the potential to be interesting, but things just dragged on and on. Plus, most of the characters really aren't that pleasant and the lore is just way too complicated. Not to mention the whole thing is just depressing overall.

[Pamela Luton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, cute story. If you ever thought fairies existed this book is proof that they do! Or I should say Small Person's with wings (they hate being called fairies). Yes it is a kids book but the story was wonderful. It's a great book to read with your kids. Very imaginative.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this with my niece a little each day & she seemed to enjoy it although now she keeps calling me 'Warm Dolt' which is getting old rather quickly but shes only 8 so what can you do

[Blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book with (I thought) some impressive plot twists.

[Keyli · Rating 5 out of 5]

its actually good, i have it physically, you should all go check this book out. cause its good and interesting, but i wont tell yall the characters because im not a spoiler have fun and buy the book!