Book review

Clemency Pogue, Fairy Killer by J T Petty (2005)

Clemency Pogue comes from a family of story tellers. Her parents tell her stories over supper of the things that they have been doing during the day. And Clemency tells her parents of her own daily adventures. Of course, Clemency Pogue is a very remarkable person, so it should come as no surprise that her own daily adventures are remarkable too...

What makes Clemency Pogue remarkable? Well, for a start, she wears a very fine pair of burlap pants that she made herself. Burlap? It's a kind of sacking, so those pants must be pretty rough to wear, don't you think? Actually, I think they chafe a bit. Anyway, out bright and breezy one morning Clemency is plagued by a nasty stinging little insecty thing:

The otherwise peaceable Clem, thrice stung, lost her gentle disposition. She slapped the insect against her side mightily, with a gesture like a very fat man swarthily admiring his own girth.
The insect took no heed, and stung her again, by the navel. She slapped it again, with surely enough force to kill a cow, let alone this bug. Despite the blow, the tiny scoundrel stung her again on the arm.

Beastly thing, and I dare say you'll be as surprised as Clemency is to discover what the tiny creature actually is:

The tiny aggressor was a fairy, and a mean one. In its hand it held a wand like a tiny cigarette, dull white all the way up with a searing orange tip, which it thrust into the end of Clemency's nose.

Lucky for Clem that she remembers all those useful stories her father tells her. She knows how to dismiss a fairy easily enough. Unfortunately, her aim isn't very good and six innocent fairies drop dead before Clemency fells her wicked opponent.

Well, obviously, Clemency's a good girl and she will be busy for the rest of the day putting everything back to rights, if she can. It's a bit of a challenge but it does mean that she will have plenty to tell her parents about over supper in the evening...which leads me to wonder if it really does all actually happen to Clemency, or whether it's just a story?

You'll have to decide for yourself. A bit of a romp. Lots of fun.

What can I read next?

If you enjoy Clemency's company you might like to meet Odo Hirsch's Hazel Green:

And if you didn't really realize that fairies can be quite so deadly you'd better have a look at these brilliant books by Eoin Colfer:

Also, the Bookchooser has found these books with a similar profile:

Clemency Pogue, Fairy Killer features in these lists: