Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Genre: YA Fantasy
Published: May 25, 2010
Pages: 294
Acquired: Borders Sale

Goodreads Summary

It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp… 

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble.  When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.  

 Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does.  Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…


My Opinion

I recently finished the IRON FEY series by Julie Kagawa and was looking for another faerie story to read when I found GLIMMERGLASS. The two books are totally different, and I definitely recommend GLIMMERGLASS to fans of YA Lit, even if you're not usually into the faerie genre.

In the world Jenna Black created, Avalon is an area in England where the mortal world and the world of Faerie intersect. Both humans and Fae can go there, and everyone knows that it exists! Meaning that everyone knows the Fae exist, too. This was really cute when there were human tourists in Avalon wearing "I <3 Avalon" t-shirts. There's also a Starbucks in Avalon, and a Victoria's Secret! If it existed in real life, I would definitely add Avalon to my itinerary while visiting the UK :)

Our protagonist, Dana Hathaway, is half-mortal, half-Fae. But of course she's not a normal half-blood -- she soon finds out there's something special about her, and suddenly it seems like everyone in Avalon and Faerie is after her, leaving her no idea with who to trust. She also meets a few friends who are around her age. Ethan, the hot Fae boy who she's not sure she should trust or not, but still wants to believe the best in him. Ethan's sister Kimber, who I think is awesome and could definitely see myself being friends with if she existed. And lastly Keane, the rebel Fae who appears later in the book, hinting at a possible love triangle for the rest of the series. At this point I'm torn which boy I want Dana to end up with, and am excited to see her relationships with both of them develop.

There was a big cliffhanger at the end, and I can't wait to pick up SHADOWSPELL, the next book of the series, so I can see what happens next!