Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Author: Graham Joyce
Publisher: Doubleday
Date of publication: July 2012

For twenty years after Tara Martin disappeared from her small English town, her parents and her brother, Peter, have lived in denial of the grim fact that she was gone for good. And then suddenly, on Christmas Day, the doorbell rings at her parents' home and there, disheveled and slightly peculiar looking, Tara stands. It's a miracle, but alarm bells are ringing for Peter. Tara's story just does not add up. And, incredibly, she barely looks a day older than when she vanished.

I had to take a few days to think about this book before I could decide if I liked it or not.  Some Kind of Fairy Tale was an interesting book.  Tara Martin disappeared 20 years ago and has now returned.  She thinks she has only been gone for 6 months.  She even looks like she is still 15.  The story she tells her family is unbelievable.

For the most part, the book was pretty good.  I liked the interaction between Peter and his family.  While all of this chaos with Tara is going on, real family moments keep happening. It added some comic relief to the story.  The overall story of what happens to Tara and the aftermath when she returns was well written.  The question of whether or not you can ever go back is explored.  Do we ever stay the same?

There were a few things that I didn't  like about the book. The passages where the psychiatrist analyses Tara's story were very dull.  I found myself spacing out as I was listening to them.  They really added nothing to the story and made the book too long.  I also thought the fairy land was pretty disgusting.  I'm not a prude, but I don't think I would want to go to a place where people were having public sex all the time.  I really didn't find anything appealing in that at all.

For the most part, Some Kind of Fairy Tale was enjoyable.  I think it is worth a read.  The audio book was entertaining.  John Lee did an excellent job narrating.