What-the-Dickens

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairyby Gregory MaguireThe first book I ever read by Gregory Maguire was Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and I remember at the time thinking this was the first time I had ever been completely enchanted by a story since I was a little girl. I was lucky enough to meet the man himself when I worked at my favorite little mall bookstore in 1999. Turns out one of my regular customers was (erm, is. She still is!) his sister and when I recommended Confessions to her she let me know that she had read it because the author was her brother. Um, oops! At that time Disney was busy making the book into a (horrid!) movie and Mr. Maguire was down there being the "On-Site Expert" though he wasn't particularly pleased with the way they edited the book for the screenplay. Can't say I blamed him as the magic of Confessions was totally lost in that TV Movie, as so often happens. One day my Regular Customer brought in her brother to meet both myself and my boss and he happily signed copies of our books! He's a really nice man and he genuinely appreciated my love for his stories. I thought that was refreshing.But this post isn't about Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister believe it or not. (Though you really should go out and read that book if you haven't already! Go! Go!) This post is about Gregory Maguire's Young Adult book, What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy. No really! I promise!I have a love-hate relationship with Maguire's books. I loved Confessions (obviously!) and though I didn't hate Wicked, I wasn't as huge of a fan as everyone else seems to be. I liked Mirror, Mirror but loathed Lost (sorry, Mr. Maguire!!). I have not read Son of a Witch, and don't know if I will. Perhaps one day (if I ever find it in a library that has more than one English book near me, I would pick it up). But when I saw What-the-Dickens in the store one day last month, I picked it up even before I saw the author's name. Why? I shall sheepishly admit that I am a Book Cover Buyer. I know, I know! Never judge a book and all that, but I can't help it! If the book looks whimsical and magical, I will pick it up. Didn't hurt that there's a little silhouette of a faerie on the cover and then I saw the author's name."Oooohhh!" I thought.But I didn't pick it up that day. I already had five other books in my arms and still needed to afford groceries on the way home. But the book stayed with me and so on my next trip to the bookstore I picked it up.During a horrible hurricane, brother and sister Zeke and Dinah and their baby sister Rose are watched over by their cousin Gage while their parents have left due to a medical emergency. With no power, no food, nothing to keep them warm or entertained, Gage tells them the story of What-the-Dickens, an orphan skibbereen who's quest is to find out who he is and where he came from. Along the way he discovers others like him, though they are not as happy to have discovered him. He learns that this colony of skibbereen are what humans know to be Tooth Fairies.The book flips between the story of What-the-Dickens and the children with Gage as they try to weather the storm and make it through the long, dark, stormy night.I have to admit I didn't like the Tooth Fairy characters at all, aside from What-the-Dickens. His new found friend Pepper irritated me to no end and I was always thankful when the story switched back to the children and storyteller. I did like them quite a bit.As a fairytale, I think this book works well. I can see parents reading a chapter or two to their children at night before bed (do parents even do that anymore? I feel like it's a lost art. :() I don't know if I would have picked this up and read it all the way through if I was a teen again. I might have had more patience now since I am a little less narrow minded when I pick out my books (ok, so I am still picky about what I read, but I am slightly more open to new possibilities than I was at the age of 14! Fear Street or nothing, baby!).The book was certainly whimsical, and I love that. It painted beautiful pictures in my head, almost as beautiful as the ones painted from Confessions (I really loved that book, in case you didn't get that yet).I would recommend this book to those of you who like a good fairytale and intelligently written stories.