Review By: Jenna Ballard
Published: 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Fiction, Comics
Audience: Middle Grade, Ages 10-14
Goodreads Link: Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life
Content Warnings: None
Publisher’s Summary
To everyone else, the Magical Land of Gumbling is something out of fairy tales. But to Nell Starkeeper, it’s just home. Sure, the town community center might be a castle, her dads run a star farm, and her best friend Myra is a fairy, but Nell is much more interested in finding out if she’ll get the seventh grade apprenticeship of her dreams with world-famous artist Wiz Bravo. She’s pretty sure her entire life has been RUINED when she’s instead matched with boring old Mrs. Birdneck in the town archives. And of course her perfect rival Leabelle gets to work with Wiz, and mean girl Viola won’t let Nell forget it. Meanwhile, suddenly Myra seems more into hanging out with Leabelle and saving the town from some weird strangers who keep talking about turning Gumbling into a fancy resort than being friends with Nell anymore. Can Nell find a way to save everything that makes her world magical, while figuring out where she belongs in it?
Review
This was such an enjoyable read! Steinkellner is great at writing charming and relatable characters: first in The Okay Witch and now in this book with our main character, Nell. The premise is lighthearted and fun: Nell lives in the magical land of Gumbling, featuring fairies, magic, centaurs, and more—but she’s very much a typical middle school girl facing everyday ups and downs with friends, family, and school. Nell’s point of view is funny, self-aware, and engaging, making her journey of figuring out where she belongs feel grounded despite the fantastical setting.
The illustration style is full of humor and showcases a wonderful diversity in the world of Gumbling. There are characters of many races and Nell’s family is led by her two fathers, Pa and Dad, which is a great representation for students.
I could see this appealing to fantasy readers as well as graphic novel readers who don’t usually venture into fantasy, but perhaps want to try something new. I also love the graphic novel/diary hybrid format. This book is shelved with the graphic novels in my library because I determined it fits that format best; however, there are sections of the book (the ones written as Nell’s personal diary) that are more text-heavy than a traditional graphic novel. Again, this format could be an excellent stepping stone for students who rarely deviate from graphic novels when selecting their independent reading but may be ready to take on something with more text. I was excited to see there is a sequel set to publish this fall. I know I’ll be purchasing that for my library and sharing this fun new series with many of my students.
