How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

Gr 7–10—Zoe Kiefer, 17, and her cousin, Jess, are interns at Fairyland Kingdom, an over-the-top theme park in New Jersey. These internships are coveted, with the princess and prince roles going to those teens who had spent thousands of dollars attending prestigious Fairyland summer camps. Jess gets cast as a Little Red Riding Hood and Zoe is tasked with being the demanding Queen's personal assistant (aka slave). Zoe worries that these subpar positions won't put them in the running for the Dream and Do grant, a $25,000 prize that both girls desperately need. As Zoe runs around Fairyland fetching the Queen's meager breakfast (three almonds, two grapefruit slices cut into thirty pieces, and a yolk-free egg), walking her malevolent bichon frise, and charting poor Cinderella's weight gain, she discovers that the internship is not without its drama. Most of the interns would do just about anything to win the prize money, including selling out Zoe to the Queen. But when she is rescued by a charming prince, she must determine where her loyalties lie-with the Queen and the Fairyland she's loved since her youth, or with the boy who's captured her heart. Zoe is a likable protagonist and her narration is sharp and witty. The Queen, with her posh vocabulary and insane demands, rivals that of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. This clever, happily-ever-after story will charm fans of Meg Cabot and make new ones of Strohmeyer.—Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ