Beyond The Dream Book

Now I know the concept of the book was aimed at people half my age, so I'm not going to go near that. I had two main problems with the book, the first being the awful made-up slang terms.
Now, slang can be annoying, but it generally follows certain rules that make it easy to figure out. For example, "cool" is a word that slides off the tongue quite easily, while "wicked", "awesome" and "bubbly" all jump from your mouth with the same exuberance they portray. However, Larbalestier's use of "pulchitrudinous" as a word describing someone who is amazingly good-looking just doesn't click. It's an awkward word to use, far too long for teenagers/teenyboppers to really obsess over the word. You're forcing too many consonants. "Pulch" (or pulchy, officially, when they shortened it in the book) sounds like bulge/bulgy or gluggy or something which just reminds me of fat people while the "itrud" sounds like crud or intrude depending on how you want to pronounce it. "inous" at the end just reminds me of gelatinous or something. That one word was used over and over again and each time they used it, I became more tired of it. Sure, wicked started out as a word that repulsed people, describing someone utterly horrible, but there's a certain tang of rebellion attached to it, non-conformity that logically appeals to teens. "Pulchy" does not, unless you're maybe a fat person trying to make obesity sound cool.
I won't analyse every single slang word she used but suffice to say that the effect Larbalestier was going for didn't really work.

The second thing that bugged me was the moral progression of the characters. From the start, it was pretty clear that Fiorenze was a victim even while Charlie demonized her for a talent she just happened to be born with. I've experience that sort of thing myself and it made me uncomfortable, especially when Charlie seemed to be rewarded so magnificently for finally seeing the obvious. There were a lot of suggestions that Charlie's efforts in trying to change her luck would only end in failure, but the be-careful-what-you-wish-for lesson didn't stick. Fiorenze had perfectly valid reasons for needing change; Charlie was just selfish and wanted the quick way out. "Danders Anders" did bring an element of mystery and excitement to the novel that went beyond the simple 13-year-old drama, but it wasn't explained or resolved in a satisfying manner and in the end I learnt nothing from the character's involvement in his strange activities. (Yes, I could guess what they entailed but as a way of developing the story it was a big let-down, building up to something and then leaving you hanging.) In the end it seemed that Charlie didn't pay any sorts of consequences for her actions--she still got the guy, and instead of landing herself a normal fairy that she would just have to accustom herself to and thank her lucky stars it wasn't as bad as her past one, she got the AWESOME fairy that guaranteed success. She basically had the reward of a magnificent hero for either doing little at all, or things that she should not have done. She didn't gain humility, or reflect on her actions and make changes for the better. She just got her way in the end.

The story-building was interesting and the book had promise at the beginning but Charlie as a protagonist led all my expectations to disappointment. I would not recommend this book to a thirteen year old; she would learn nothing from it, and possibly even pick up bad habits or ideas from it. This book was a far cry from Larbalestier's other work and I regret giving this book a chance.