Saving Fable (Talespinners)

Reintgen, Scott. Saving Fable (Talespinners)
September 17th 2019 by Crown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Copy also provided by publisher

Indira Story is living in Origin, waiting for her chance to go to Protagonist Preparatory and learn all she needs to be chosen as a character in a book. She has waited a long time, and fears that she will meet the same fate as her brother David, who has given up and has been told to live in Quiver, working hard in the mines digging for story nuggets. When Indira is finally chosen, she is very excited. She makes a few friends on the way, Maxi and Phoenix, although Maxi treats her differently when Indira is given the blue jacket of a secondary character and Maxi has the gold jacket of a main character. Indira is given a schedule of classes that include things like Love by Page 12, I Thought You Were Dead, and How to Get Captured and Narrowly Escape, which is taught by Alice in Wonderland on a very odd schedule! She also goes through the Adoption Agency in order to find a family to stay with while at school, and ends up with the cozy Mrs. Pennington and her son Patch in a small but pleasant cottage. She starts to run into problems at school-- her assignments are blank, and things generally don't go well. She has trouble with her auditions, and her advisor, Brainstorm Ketty, eventually suggests that her best chance might be to take a cameo. Since she is bound and determined to bring her brother into the story with her, and holds on tight to the first line she heard when she came to Fable, "Every cage has a key", she reconciles with her friends and tries to investigate the worsening problems at the academy. Will she be able to defeat the villains and earn a place in a story?
Strengths: This is a good premise, and Indira is a solid character. The Protagonist Preparatory is a fun school, and I particularly like the different hearths in front of which one may sit for bolstering (comfort, rest, courage, etc.) The classes and professors were quirky and fun, although young readers might not recognize all of them. I loved Mrs. Pennington, and the time that Indira spent with her was my favorite part of the story. The villains are reasonable, and the story moves along smoothly.
Weaknesses: This was compared to The Phantom Tollbooth, so I my expectations were too high. I also was hoping it would be a little like Townley's The Great Good Thing. This was a good book; it just wasn't a great book like those two.
What I really think: This could be popular with readers who enjoy Colfer's The Land of Stories or Healey's A Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom.