The stolen slippers

Filomena and her friends are back for another adventure as they try to save Never After. Filomena Jefferson-Cho, 12, has just returned from stopping the evil ogre queen in Never After, the world she once thought to be just fiction. Suddenly, her friends Jack the Giant Stalker; Jack's sidekick, Alistair; and Gretel, the Cobbler's daughter, appear at her door in North Pasadena asking for help once again. It seems Cinderella is not the innocent orphan bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters that the mortal world believes her to be. She is actually a thief who stole a pair of glass slippers--which hold magic powers--from her stepsisters, Hortense and Beatrice. The four friends travel across multiple kingdoms of Never After to retrieve the glass slippers and stop the Prophecy that spells out the end of their world. The journey isn't easy, and many creatures want to eat them along the way, including the gingerbread-house witch and the Beast. As Jack struggles with what it means to be a hero, Filomena learns how important words are and how truths and lies can completely change the end of a story. This entertaining sequel is full of humor and daring escapades, and the ending nicely sets things up for the next entry. Ethnic and racial diversity are naturally woven into the story. Switches up well-known fairy tales and fantastical stories in an exciting way. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.