The Pet Store Sprite

Violet and her fairy friend Sprite have to send more pixies back to the Otherworld! This time, they team up with Violet’s cousin, Leon, to stop a water sprite named Aquamarina who loves the drip, drip, drip of leaky faucets. But there’s something terribly fishy about Aquamarina’s fun and games. Can Violet stop this tricky fairy and stay out of the deep end? 

The Pet Store Sprite starts with adults worrying about five people who have gone missing. However, the story turns humorous when Violet and Sprite discover that Aquamarina has changed the people into fish. All of the people are now swimming around in a pet store’s fish tank. The fish, who have some human accessories (such as eyeglasses), add silliness to Aquamarina’s mischief. The humor is ramped up when Leon is partly turned into a fish and begins craving fish food. In the end, Aquamarina confesses to all of her misdeeds and is transported back to the Otherworld. 

Newly independent readers who love fairies and magic will enjoy the Pixie Tricks Series. The story uses easy-to-read text and a fast-paced plot with lots of fairy mischief. Black and white illustrations appear on every page, which will help readers visualize the characters and understand the plot. For example, when a character is under Aquamarina’s spell, his eyes have stars in them and he has a blank expression.  

Readers will giggle their way through The Pet Store Sprite. Unlike the gremlin who appeared in the previous book, Aquamarina isn’t mean or cruel and she only changes people into fish to protect her identity so she can stay in the human world. And this time, Sprite and Violet don’t send the water sprite back to the Otherworld by tricking her. Instead, when Leon accidentally breaks the fish tank, Aquamarina lands on dry ground, which sends her home.  

The book’s only flaw is that Sprite is seen as an ineffective fairy, who doesn’t come up with a solution to the problem. Despite this, readers will find The Pet Store Sprite a lot of fun to read. Readers who want to step away from mischievous fairies and spend some time with a group of sweet fairies should instead check out the Candy Fairies Series by Helen Perelman.  

Sexual Content  

• None

Violence  

• Violet’s aunt says, “Five people have disappeared in the last few days. . . Each one of them was near a lake, a pool, or a pond when they vanished!” Later, the reader learns that Aquamarina has turned the people into fish. Aquamarina tells Sprite, “Five humans saw me. That’s why I turned them into fish.” 
• Leon, who is partially turned into a fish, hungers for fish food. “He tried to jump into the fish tank. But he knocked it over instead. The tank fell to the floor with a crash. Smash! The glass shattered into a million pieces, and water gushed everywhere.” The fish “flopped around on the floor.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• Aquamarina is a water sprite who lives in water and breathes underwater. She has “blue-green skin” and wears “a dress made out of fish scales. . . She almost looked like a mermaid, but she didn’t have a fishtail. Instead, she had legs and webbed feet. Her hands were webbed, too.”  
• Violet goes into Mr. Miller’s pet store. Mr. Miller is acting strange and Violet notices “his eyes were sparking with blue lights.” Aquamarina had put him under a spell. 
• While in the pet store, Violet’s friend Brittany gets close to a fish tank. Then, “two beams of blue-green light shot out of the tank. They zapped Brittany. Brittany’s body glowed brightly. Then she disappeared . . .” Brittany is turned into a fish. 
• When Aquamarina tries to turn Violet’s cousin Leon into a fish, Sprite uses pixie dust to transport Violet and Leon to the parking lot. 
• Aquamarina’s spell changes Leon partially into a fish. “Leon’s eyes were big and bulging, like fish eyes. He had shiny scales on his face. His ears looked like fins.”  
• When Sprite needs help tricking Aquamarina, he reaches into his bag and “pulled out a glowing purple stone. The light on the stone faded. Then a picture began to appear. . . It was a woman’s face.” Queen Mab appears and tells Sprite and Violet, “You two must not give up.”  
• When the fish tank that Aquamarina is in breaks, she “lands outside the [pet store’s] door and skidded across the sidewalk. . . a whirling tunnel of wind appeared out of nowhere. The wind scooped up Aquamarina.” Aquamarina is transported back to her world. 

Spiritual Content  

• None