INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Keller, Tae

Mihi Ever After

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Geraldine Rodríguez. Fourth grader Mihi Whan Park, who loves fairy tales and princesses, wants nothing more than to fit in at school, a place where microaggressions abound. A botched game of Snow White results in Mihi's being sent indoors to the library for recess, where she meets two other misfits, Reese and Savannah. Though the three girls are vastly different--Reese is curious and inventive, Savannah is quiet and cautious, and Mihi is headstrong and bold--they share a love of princess stories and adventure. These qualities and their common interests come in handy when they discover a magical portal in the school librarian's fridge that takes them to the Rainbow Forest, where they find themselves in training to become royalty. But it turns out that learning how to be a princess isn't as easy or as much fun as Mihi expects. The Rainbow Forest is full of mystery and danger and is home to several classic Western fairy-tale characters, including Sleeping Beauty and Goldilocks's three bears. In a tale of kinship and self-discovery, Keller conveys the isolation one feels when faced with racism and stereotypes without steering readers away from the primary story line. In her quest for belonging and creating her own perfect fairy tale, Mihi finds that genuine friendship is what she needed all along.

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