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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
When Jack accidentally magics his best friend Charlie through an inter dimensional portal and onto Lonely Island, he realises he might have broken one rule too many. Especially when he discovers that Lonely Island is a prison for ruthless Twinkle and her gang of bad fairies!
Tricked into releasing the bad fairies, Jack and Charlie must confess to Mum and Uncle Dave and enlist the help of the magical kingdom. Can they dodge Bonzo the Bogeyman’s snot missiles and stop Twinkle and her gang from taking control of the entire world?
When 10-year-old Jack and Charlie’s teacher, Mrs Bellingham, gives the class a test on oxbow lakes, they use Jack’s magic wand to help them study for it by travelling around the world. Buoyed by their success, they look in Jack’s fairy encyclopaedia for somewhere else to go and find Lonely Island but after Jack accidentally casts a spell that transports Charlie there, he has to confess to his mum and Uncle Dave not only that Charlie knows he is a fairy but also that she’s disappeared with his wand. He’s shocked when they explain that Fairy Island is a prison for bad fairies who were put there without their wands after they tried to take over the world!
When Jack, his mum and Uncle Dave launch a rescue mission to save Charlie, they’re surprised to discover that Twinkle (the leader of the bad fairies) and the other prisoners are really nice and good fun and have taken care of Charlie. But they soon learn that it’s all an act and when Twinkle and the bad fairies trick Jack into letting them into the human world, it will take everyone in the magical kingdom to stop them …
The third in Tom McLaughlin’s self-illustrated comedy fantasy series for readers aged 7+ is an entertaining if slim story about friendship that’s packed with jokes (including some laugh out loud one-liners) and the kind of gross situations that readers of this age enjoy. However, I wish there’d been some more development of Twinkle’s relationship with Jack’s mum and uncle because it would have given the plot more depth and drama.
I picked this up because I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Tom McLaughlin (Happyville High: Geek Tragedy and The Accidental President) but I hadn’t realised that this book was the third in a series. I had not read the previous 2 books and although you don’t need to because McLaughlin incorporates a little summary of the key points into the story, I do think that it would have helped if I’d done so because there’s clearly some backstory to Jack’s relationship with Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny that shapes what happens in this book.
That said the story here is - if a little slim - easy to follow and I enjoyed the friendship between Jack and Charlie. There are hints of a backstory between Twinkle and Jack’s mum that I would have really liked to see expanded because it would have added some depth to what happens and helped flesh out Twinkle as an antagonist. That said the story unfolds at a fast pace and McLaughlin peppers it with some genuinely funny one liners and some gross out situations with snot that will keep young readers entertained. I also enjoyed McLaughlin’s illustrations, which add to the humour and action. Certainly there’s enough here that would make me interested to check out the preceding books and any future books in this series.
The Verdict:
The third in Tom McLaughlin’s self-illustrated comedy fantasy series for readers aged 7+ is an entertaining if slim story about friendship that’s packed with jokes (including some laugh out loud one-liners) and the kind of gross situations that readers of this age enjoy. However, I wish there’d been some more development of Twinkle’s relationship with Jack’s mum and uncle because it would have given the plot more depth and drama.
JACK THE FAIRY: THE WEEK THE BAD FAIRIES ESCAPED! was released in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
When Jack accidentally magics his best friend Charlie through an inter dimensional portal and onto Lonely Island, he realises he might have broken one rule too many. Especially when he discovers that Lonely Island is a prison for ruthless Twinkle and her gang of bad fairies!
Tricked into releasing the bad fairies, Jack and Charlie must confess to Mum and Uncle Dave and enlist the help of the magical kingdom. Can they dodge Bonzo the Bogeyman’s snot missiles and stop Twinkle and her gang from taking control of the entire world?
When 10-year-old Jack and Charlie’s teacher, Mrs Bellingham, gives the class a test on oxbow lakes, they use Jack’s magic wand to help them study for it by travelling around the world. Buoyed by their success, they look in Jack’s fairy encyclopaedia for somewhere else to go and find Lonely Island but after Jack accidentally casts a spell that transports Charlie there, he has to confess to his mum and Uncle Dave not only that Charlie knows he is a fairy but also that she’s disappeared with his wand. He’s shocked when they explain that Fairy Island is a prison for bad fairies who were put there without their wands after they tried to take over the world!
When Jack, his mum and Uncle Dave launch a rescue mission to save Charlie, they’re surprised to discover that Twinkle (the leader of the bad fairies) and the other prisoners are really nice and good fun and have taken care of Charlie. But they soon learn that it’s all an act and when Twinkle and the bad fairies trick Jack into letting them into the human world, it will take everyone in the magical kingdom to stop them …
The third in Tom McLaughlin’s self-illustrated comedy fantasy series for readers aged 7+ is an entertaining if slim story about friendship that’s packed with jokes (including some laugh out loud one-liners) and the kind of gross situations that readers of this age enjoy. However, I wish there’d been some more development of Twinkle’s relationship with Jack’s mum and uncle because it would have given the plot more depth and drama.
I picked this up because I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Tom McLaughlin (Happyville High: Geek Tragedy and The Accidental President) but I hadn’t realised that this book was the third in a series. I had not read the previous 2 books and although you don’t need to because McLaughlin incorporates a little summary of the key points into the story, I do think that it would have helped if I’d done so because there’s clearly some backstory to Jack’s relationship with Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny that shapes what happens in this book.
That said the story here is - if a little slim - easy to follow and I enjoyed the friendship between Jack and Charlie. There are hints of a backstory between Twinkle and Jack’s mum that I would have really liked to see expanded because it would have added some depth to what happens and helped flesh out Twinkle as an antagonist. That said the story unfolds at a fast pace and McLaughlin peppers it with some genuinely funny one liners and some gross out situations with snot that will keep young readers entertained. I also enjoyed McLaughlin’s illustrations, which add to the humour and action. Certainly there’s enough here that would make me interested to check out the preceding books and any future books in this series.
The Verdict:
The third in Tom McLaughlin’s self-illustrated comedy fantasy series for readers aged 7+ is an entertaining if slim story about friendship that’s packed with jokes (including some laugh out loud one-liners) and the kind of gross situations that readers of this age enjoy. However, I wish there’d been some more development of Twinkle’s relationship with Jack’s mum and uncle because it would have given the plot more depth and drama.
JACK THE FAIRY: THE WEEK THE BAD FAIRIES ESCAPED! was released in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
