Haffling by Caleb James

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I was really enthralled by this Young Adult novel cause, aside from being fast paced and full of turn of events, it was also really funny, not a “light” funny, but more a subtle irony which was probably the author’s voice, clever and loud.

Alex is an Haffling, half-human, half-fairy (no pun intended), but of course at the beginning he doesn’t know it. What he knows is that he has to protect is little sister Alice from the Social Services on account of the fact their mother, Marilyn, is a schizophrenic. Better they don’t know that Alex is seeing a little fairy, Nimby, all the time flying around him and telling him things. And to complicate his life, Alex has also a crush on Jerod, the best looking guy at school, the sport champion, who happens to be also a very nice guy who suddenly is very interested in being Alex’s friend…

Haffling is a novel right for many ages, as an old medieval romance lover, I enjoyed the part regarding Lance and Katherine, whose love, even in tragedy, preserved an almost comedy tune; as a current gay romance lover, the young love between Alex and Jerod was sweet, but nevertheless love, and actually, I found Jerod, the apparently straight boy, to be “gayer” (a little pun intended) than half-fairy Alex (again, pun intended). An adult reader will find innuendos, but a young adult reader will simply appreciate this quest towards happiness, like a videogame with hints and enigmas, with scores and spare lives: pick the characters you want to be, and follow them into their run.

Paperback: 274 pages
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (October 11, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1623809304
ISBN-13: 978-1623809300
Amazon: Haffling
Amazon Kindle: Haffling

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