Review: How Zoe Made Her Dreams (mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer

Pub. Date: April 23rd, 2013
Published by Balzer & Bray/ Harperteen
Edition: Paperback
320 pages

Imagine your most ideal summer job. For Zoe, ideal equals Fairyland Kingdom theme park (not to be confused with rival theme park 'the Mouse'), where she gets to live, work and breathe Fairytales. One big perk of the job is the annual competition for the $25,000 Dream & Do grant. Of course winning the money, which both her and her cousin are desperately in need of, will not come easy. The grant winners are usually those who play Prince's and Princess' - characters that neither Zoe nor Jess were picked to play.

The ideal job quickly turns sour when Zoe is cast as the assistant/slave to "The Queen"(aka the boss), and her small spoiled rotten Bishon Frise, Tinker Bell. Instead of dancing on floats, and having a fairytale wedding everyday like the Princess', Zoe is up before the sun, walking Tinker Bell, and doing her best not to break one of The Queen's hundred rules. When Tinker Bell escapes into the Forbidden Forest, and Zoe has to breaks all the rules to get her back, she finds not only the dog, but a Prince Charming who's identity is worth risking the grant money to uncover.



How Zoe Made Her Dreams (mostly) Come True is a cute, fun, light read. Zoe has to quickly learn who she can trust, amongst constant Prince/Princess backstabbing, mistaken identities, celebrity encounters, and more runs for Tinker Bells sleeping tonics that you can count. For all the bad Zoe has to handle, she is rewarded with an epic fairytale romance. Though the ending is fairly predictable, getting there is definitely worth it. The reader can't help but wish (on a falling star?) that they could spend more time in Zoe's Fairyland Kingdom.

Rating 8/10

Recommended for readers over 12 - some language used.

** I received a copy of this book from the publisher to read and provide honestly feedback. I was in not way compensated.