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Bad Luck Girl: The American Fairy Trilogy #3    by Sarah Zettel Amazon.com order for
Bad Luck Girl
by Sarah Zettel
Order:  USA  Can
Random House, 2014 (2014)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Bad Luck Girl is the third (following Dust Girl and Golden Girl) and final episode in Sarah Zettel's excellent American Fairy trilogy. Do read the books in order. Unfortunately I missed the second and had to figure out the back story as I read this episode (Callie's musings on past events at the beginning helped).

It all began in 1935, when Callie LeRoux lived with her mother in Slow Run, Kansas, part of the Dust Bowl and almost a ghost town. They remained there, awaiting the return of Callie's father Daniel, a black piano player. In Dust Girl, Callie (separated from her mother) fled town with a young hobo, Jack Holland.

She also overheard a prophecy about herself - 'See her now, daughter of three worlds. See her now, three roads to choose. Where she goes, where she stays, where she stands, there shall the gates be closed.' As Callie and Jack journeyed west, she experimented with her magical heritage.

In Golden Girl, Callie (who has learned that her father is an Unseelie prince and that she can open and close gates between fairy and human worlds) sought her missing parents. She also worked at a major motion picture studio. Seelie princess Ivy Bright was killed in this episode.

Now, Callie has been reunited with her parents, but struggles with her resulting loss of independence. The Seelie king has declared war on the Midnight Throne, and seeks Callie for her gate powers. So the fae world is barred to Callie, her parents and Jack, who must seek refuge in the human one.

As they journey, Callie discovers what fuels magic, which creates a rift between Callie and Jack. And they encounter Halfers, despised and exploited by all fae. Even though one of them kidnaps Callie, she wants to help them. When the fae attack her new friends, Callie goes to 'war with a whole world's worth of power' she barely understands.

There are captures and escapes; betrayals; thrilling magical battles (I especially enjoyed the magicked books and paper that fought on Callie's side); and the ultimate sacrifice needed to defeat a great evil. Callie is a strong heroine - don't miss her amazing adventures!

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