Everyone wants to be the first to discover a new writer. In today’s age of Print-on-Demand, there are so many amateurs out there that are simply just begging for any kind of feedback on their work, I always look at a book review from an unknown author with a little trepidation. I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Just Like a Fairy Tale, the debut novel of Sophia Babai, a young fifteen year old author from Seattle and as one would expect, I was a little nervous about investing my time in a book that would neither be entertaining or interesting.

Imagine my astonishment when I discovered not only was I engrossed in the story, but amazed that such a young person could spin such an amazing fanciful yarn.

The story follows the trials and tribulations of an amnesiac named Anima. She stumbles into a local eatery, the Eva After, and is immediately confronted with all kinds of negativity. Little did she know, she’s been there before and left on not-so-great terms with the restaurant’s owner – Kevin. Kevin’s got a secret of his own, as he provides shelter to a strange, god-like being named Taliesin. If the name sounds familiar, it’s indeed the same Taliesin that is prevalent in many of the Celtic fantasy writing and poetry, including the legendary Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Anima discovers that Taliesin holds the key to her past. Taliesin, meanwhile, needs Kevin and Anima to help him gain power to defeat his evil brother, Morfran.

Babai has excellent pacing to the story, her writing is impeccable, and she spins a great tale. The only issue I truly had with the book is I felt it really was a little too “chatty” for my taste. The story seemed to be driven by the characters conversations and disagreements. That tends to make us, as the reader, work more and lumber through the story.

With that one small negative aside, Just Like A Fairy Tale grabs you from the very first sentence. You find yourself caring about Anima and her self discovery. You yearn to understand why Kevin is the way he is and why Taliesin puts up with his constant harping. The ending was very satisfying and that’s impressive for a young author trying to open up a new series of books. Many times, they leave the story seemingly unfinished – trying for a cliffhanger effect that just seems to leave the reader wondering why they even bothered in the first place – this is far from the case with this novel. Babai ties up many of the book’s loose ends in a nice little tight bow while leaving plenty of room for future installments.

Despite her age, Babai has a great literary voice, skilled at delivering an outstanding and entertaining tale that is not only fanciful, but about the human condition as well.

Babai is a discovery that I will be proud to say I reviewed before she became the next Chris Paolini.

Just Like A Fairy Tale (Luna Brillante Publishing) will be released on February 26th, 2007