Book Review: Happily Ever After Rescue Team: Agents of H.E.A.R.T.
Happily Ever After Rescue Team: Agents of H.E.A.R.T. by Sam Hay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What if you could make wishes and have them granted by fairytale princesses who leap out from the pages of a magical book? What could possibly go wrong? If the princesses you summon call themselves the Agents of H.E.A.R.T., the answer is “a lot”. And that’s a premise that will keep young kids and possibly their parents) laughing their way through this rollicking chapter book.
Evie’s found a magical book after it was left behind in her parent’s diner – a diner she wishes she could do more to help her parents. She really wants to be a waitress and make exciting desserts to impress their customers. Evie’s sincerity is the strong thread the story hangs on. She *really* wants to help her parents in their new café. She wants them to win the ‘best café contest’. She wants to create desserts that will impress the customers. Evie is a genuinely caring and considerate young girl. She’s also overly-enthusiastic and more than a little clumsy.
Somewhere between her parents cautious attitude, and the princesses wildly eccentric, well-meaning but always off-course energy, lies Evie’s middle ground. She loves her parents and likes the princesses a lot, in spite of the trouble they cause. Ultimately, this is the story of a young girl finding her own way in the world by following her passions and talent. Others will always think they know what’s best for her, but Evie needs to find a way to shine on her own terms. Can she do it? That’s the hook that will keep readers turning the pages.
My thanks to author Sam Hay, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Lori Alden Holuta
Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.
