Keira's life is dominated by her mother's strict rules: no stories, no fantasies; only facts and science. But when she discovers her grandmother's magic pen, her mother's rules go out the window, because the pen makes anything she writes come to life. What a perfect time to enter a fiction-writing contest! Winning the contest earns her a trip to France, and while she's living a real-life fantasy, she starts to realize that she and others are in danger. Meanwhile, she's trying to save the princess she wrote about, but there are potential consequences: she may end up trapped in her own story. The tale unfolds slowly in short chapters, which might make this a challenging read for some, though the pace is effective for building a deep sense of mystery. Slowing down works for the overall mystery, though, particularly since, in Keira's first-person narrative, readers will discover clues right along with her. Drawing inspiration from many classic fairy tales, this would be a good pick for fans of Melissa de la Cruz's The Isle of the Lost (2015).

When twelve-year-old Keira writes a story with a magic pen and wins a fairy-tale stay at a French castle, she must figure out the connections between history, ghosts, and her family story before she becomes trapped in her own fairy tale. Although the story is occasionally dense and a bit confusing, the plot twists and action should keep readers engaged. Glos.

A magical pen leads 12-year-old white Keira Harding on a dark fairy-tale adventure. During a robbery at her home, Keira runs to her parents' bedroom to find a phone and call for help. Instead, she finds a glowing antique pen and, in desperation, writes a list of what to do. To her amazement, everything on the list appears to come true. Keira keeps the pen (hiding her possession of it from her parents) and uses it to write a fairy tale for a story contest—in direct contravention of her mother's seemingly unreasonable command that she not write any stories ever. When her story wins the contest and Keira, her mother, and Bella, Keira's brown-skinned, black-haired best friend, go to France to stay for a week in the Château de Chenonceau as the prize, the girls are thrilled—at first. At the castle, strange events transpire, and Keira cannot help but notice that they have an eerie resemblance to the fairy tale she wrote. Keira's first-person, present-tense narration, with a close eye to detail, oscillates between mature observations and lighthearted girl-stuff. It works. The story's overarching theme of the power of words is timely and poignant—but the book's cover art imparts a clichéd Disney-esque look that may turn off more serious readers. A smart, peppery, action-packed plot teams up with playful, astute characters. (Fantasy. 9-12)