Apr 30, 2012 – It s hard not to love a book dedicated to the Glee star s grandmother, who gave him this early advice: Christopher, I think you should wait until you re done with elementary school before worrying about being a failed writer. In this entertaining if a bit overlong first novel, 12-year-old twins Alex (a girl) and Conner fall into their grandmother s cherished book of stories and arrive in fairy tale land. The only way to get home is a convoluted scavenger hunt that requires them to collect eight tokens from various fairy tales Cinderella s glass slipper, a lock of Rapunzel s hair, etc. The ending is never in doubt, but it s a difficult journey as the twins meet the Big Bad Wolf Pack, are enslaved by trolls, and kidnapped by Snow White s evil stepmother. Colfer gets off many good lines Conner s dialogue especially sounds like quips Kurt Hummel might make, as when the twins swim across an icy moat: Wooo! It s so cold, I think we may be twin sisters now. The nifty ending ties the plot s multiple strands up while leaving room for further fairy tale adventures. Ages 8 up.

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