Fairy Tale Reform School Series

Fairy Tale Reform School, or more currently known as FTRS, is one of Jen Colonita’s books. It is about a girl named Gillian (Gilly) Cobbler. She is a thief in the begining of the series, but then she gets thrown into FTRS and meets her best friends who she has adventures with. Jaxon (Jax) Porter, Maxine Hockler, Kayla Wingtip, Ollie Funklehouse, Allison Grace (AG), Jack Spriggins, Hayley Holliway, and Jocelyn.

Flunked
Gilly wouldn't call herself wicked, exactly...but when you have five little brothers and sisters and live in a run-down boot, you have to get creative to make ends meet. Gilly's a pretty good thief (if she does say so herself).

Until she gets caught.

Gilly's sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School where all of the teachers are former (super-scary) villains like the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother. Harsh. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there's more to this school than its heroic mission. There's a battle brewing and Gilly has to wonder: can a villain really change?

PLOT (SPOILERS):
Once upon a time down in fairy tale land there lived a family of cobblers - in fact, that was their last name! All was right with the lady who lived in a shoe and her family... until it wasn't. Now Princess Ella (yup, as in Cinderella and her partner princesses: Rose [the expert sleeper], Snow [White], and Rapunzel) gave all the orders for Hal Cobbler's creation, the glass slipper, to her fairy godmother (that evil fairy godmother- Ope! That's a story for another time)! You can imagine how that left their family (out of business, barely getting by, going hungry, all that stuff).

That's when the oldest child, 12-year-old Gillian (Gilly) Cobbler, decided to take matters into her own hands for the well being of her family (*cough* stealing objects from snobby royals *cough*). The book opens on a heist at a jewelry store, Combing the Sea, in the kingdom of Enchantasia. Gilly makes her move on a couple of snobby royals careless enough to toss aside something that would feed her family for days! How could Gilly resist!? She just had to grab it! It was clear the royal didn't care about it too much, right? Why not just pinch it? Besides, Gilly's little sister, Anna, would love that dragon tooth clip for her birthday today! The royal will never notice it's missing, right?

WRONG! Pete, head of dwarf police squad, comes knocking on the door of 2 Boot Way with a little surprise for Gilly - "You, my little thief, are off to Fairy Tale Reform School" (FLUNKED, Page 29). Yup, that's right! Pack your items, say goodbye, and we're off! Reform school is just what this little one needs to change her ways! Here we gooooooooo…

After a rather unpleasant first encounter with the the former Wicked Stepmother herself, Headmistress Flora, Gilly is paired with the suspicious Kayla Wingtip as a roommate. (*checks off a checklist* one friend down, three to go). Ah, our next friend swinging in from the top of a chandelier! The also somewhat suspicious Jaxon (Jax) Porter at your service (*checks off checklist*).

Grab your backpacks, sharpen your pencils (or quills... if that's possible), and get ready! It's time for the first day of school! But therapy from the former Evil Queen (Professor Harlow)? That can't be good... and it's not. Gilly quickly gets picked on by Harlow and her little sister, Jocelyn (*checks off checklist* and there's the enemy), but Maxine Hockler, the sweet troll/ogre, is there to help Gilly, who then helps Maxine when she gets picked on. Overall, a sweet friendship from the start (*checks off checklist* one more friend to go!).

* clop**neigh**clop**clop**neigh* Do you hear what I hear? Pegasi! Mighty and Macho, to be specific. Gilly and Jax take this story to the skies on a Pegasi ride over the FTRS castle! But wait, what's that? Is that... Flora!? Sneaking into the Hollow Woods–a place forbidden for students and dangerous for everyone!? Why yes, yes it is! Something is suspicious about her... (good goblins, everyone is suspicious! I can't trust anyone!)

Late night party in the dorm room! Not super important but some of the information is necessary: Basically we learn Kayla was a troubled child after her mother, Angelina, wanted her to go to FTRS and then, "coincidentally", Rumpelstiltskin (the tricky trickster/outlawed villain) took them away! Her mother, her sisters, the hollow tree they lived in - gone. (*sniff sniff* - moving on... *sniff sniff*) Now we're in the former Big Bad Wolf (Professor Wolfington)'s class and two important things happen: We meet Ollie Flunkelhouse (*checks off checklist* last friend of the book!), and what was the other thing? Oh yeah, there's a "drill" about a villain break in and the entire school kinda goes crazy over it... In the chaos, Gilly grabs a few brass rings (because why not? She's only been at reform school for a few days, give her a break!) and heads out into the hallway where she sees the suspicious Headmistress Flora being, well, suspicious! Gilly sees Jax in the hallway and forces him to help her and he has to because… why? Let’s backtrack (*rewinding sound effect*): Back to when Gilly and Jax met, he’s on the chandelier, the siren goes off as he tries to escape the school, he gets caught by Wolfington, Gilly lies to keep him from getting solitary confinement, and- AH HA! Looks like Jax owes Gilly for helping him out that day. So that’s how that happens. He goes along with her to help but, unfortunately, they find nothing... Well except a few alive gargoyles.

Wait, what!? GARGOYLES!? Yup, then they struggle for their lives to get away! Boom, zap, scratch, screech, fight fight fight, one last blast by the former sea siren (Madame Cleo) and... safety! Oof, but detention. Bummer. But not just any detention! It's dancing with Madame Cleo (the mermaid... does anybody else wonder how that works?)! One and a two and five, six, seven, eight! Fire step here, fire step there! Jax shows off his incredible dance moves (how does a farm boy know how to dance so well? Can someone say "suspicious"?), but everything is ruined when Jocelyn and Gilly get into it with their words and, well, it did not end well. Let's just say there was screaming, jumping, physical fighting, glass cracking, running, more screaming, and then a somewhat-possessed Madame Cleo declaring "Once a villain, always a villain. Evil is coming, and it can't be stopped. Enchantasia, beware... Fairy Tale Reform School will burn." (FLUNKED, Page 144). ... Spooky, right?

Hear ye, hear ye! Royal Day is here! Presenting the royal court: Princess Ella, Princess Snow, Princess Rose, and Princess Rapunzel! Welcome to Fairy Tale Reform School! Who decided it was a good idea to host Royal Day at a reform school? All within that day, Madame Cleo’s tank bursted and soaked Princess Snow, and Princess Rapunzel was sent to the infirmary with a nasty peony-ant bite on her nose! Well, at least it can’t get any worse, right? WRONG! And who decided it was a good idea for a couple of reform school kids to show how their school reforms them instead of injuring them by using swords in fencing? Oh well, who am I to judge?

PROFESSOR HARLOW GONE ROGUE! GARGOYLE ATTACK! GET THE RADISHES (Because that makes them sleepy for some reason - and Kayla knew it… *sing-songs* su-spic-ious)! Harlow throws swords at Princess Snow! Run, Snow, run! Oh wait, she can’t, she’s trapped in a bubble! A bubble that Jax gets thrown into as well! What is Gilly going to do now? She has to do something! She still owes Jax for saving her from those gargoyles that one day! (so was his debt repaid when he helped Gilly but now she owes him because he saved her? Yeah… sounds right…) Without a second thought, Gilly bravely grabs a sword and charges toward Harlow, sending them both to the floor as sharp swords rain down on them, knocking them both out like a light…

''Psst, Gilly! Wake up, Gilly! Wake up!'' Is she? Yes! She’s waking up! Oh good, she’s been out for a week in the infirmary! Quick, to Professor Harlow’s classroom, she has something important to tell us. What? She was under a spell? Who’s powerfull enough to put a spell on the Evil Queen!? Come again? Gilly’s free to go home! Well what are we waiting for!? Pack your bags, Gilly! You’re going home!

But what will her friends think? Oh, and with the anniversary ball coming up! Her and Maxine had spent so long deciding what to wear, and Ollie offered to personally escort them, and Jax even offered to practice steps with her, and Kayla- where’s Kayla? (Suspicious) Oh well, the point is, how could she bail on them? But... on the other hand, she has five siblings at home that need her. The desicion is made. Or is it?

Gilly goes straight to the cafateria to break the news to her friends, but only manages to tell Jax, who is not thrilled with the idea. Especially since Harlow has never ever let someone go early because of good behaviour. Something’s fishy... (no, it’s not Madame Cleo). He takes Gilly away into a secret garden to tell her a big secret... Which we will find out after this commercial break! (PSYCH)

JAX IS A PRINCE!!! He’s Rapunzel’s long lost little brother (wow, they both go long lost for a while) and he’s been under cover at FTRS for a year trying to find a mole! Someone is leaking information to villains about the royals... but who? You see, Gilly, this is why you can’t leave! You’re a fighter! Jax needs you on his side! What should Gilly do? She wants to go home so badly... but she needs to stay. The villains- they know who she is- they will come after her- she needs to stay and help. But where to begin? Come on, take a guess. Go on, who has been suspicious this entire time? That’s right (well, I’m assuming you got it right - concidering this is prewritten, I would have no clue who you actually guessed)! Kayla! Where would she be hiding now (don’t bother guessing if you haven’t already read the book, I doubt you’d know)? The observitory! Quick, find Kayla hiding out somewhere in there!

And there she is. Hiding, cold, alone. Truth time! Let’s find out what’s really been going on with Kayla. Grab your popcorn, folks, we’re gonna be here for a while. Say what!? Kayla asked Rumpelstiltskin to take her family away? Say what!? After that, she went and found Gottie (Rapunzel’s capture/outlawed villain) for help? Say what!? She offered to help as long as Kayla helped her get around from the inside of FTRS? Say what!? Kayla took on Gilly as a roommate so she could “show her around” and be seen in more places without getting noticed and THAT is where Kayla has been all this time? And here come Ollie and Maxine! The team is all together now and ready to fight for their kingdom.

Anna, Gilly’s little sister, isn’t very happy about that plan. She wants Gilly back! She’s not as good at thieving (Anna! How could you! You’re supposed to be the good child... I’m sensing a character change a brewing). But it’s what needs to be done. So now we’re here! The anniversary party! Waiting around for villains to show up... nope, nothing yet... a little longer... they should be here by now! I’ll just skip to that part:

Ah, yes, Jocelyn sabatoge! This part gets good.

Charmed
Sometimes it's good to be bad...

It takes a (mostly) reformed thief to catch a spy. Which is why Gilly Cobbler, Enchantasia's most notorious pickpocket, volunteers to stay locked up at Fairy Tale Reform School...indefinitely. Gilly and her friends may have defeated the Evil Queen and become reluctant heroes, but the battle for Enchantasia has just begun.

Alva, aka The Wicked One who cursed Sleeping Beauty, has declared war on the Princesses, and she wants the students of Fairy Tale Reform School to join her. As her criminal classmates give in to temptation, Gilly goes undercover as a Royal Lady in Waiting (don't laugh) to unmask a spy...before the mole can hand Alva the keys to the kingdom.

Her parents think Gilly the Hero is completely reformed, but sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. Sometimes it's good to be bad...

Tricked
Things are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School.

At least, that's what Gilly's heard through the Enchantasia rumor mill. Word is, notorious trickster Rumpelstiltskin has taken over management from Headmistress Flora, and he's locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper's pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly. She's been released from FTRS and is now attending (suffering through) Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet. Truly riveting stuff.

But when Gilly's little sister Anna gets whisked off to FTRS thanks to her troublemaking new friends, Hansel and Gretel, Gilly knows she's got to get Anna out of there. There's only one thing to do; make some serious trouble and get thrown back into FTRS.

It's time to out-trick a trickster.

Switched
Reform or relapse?

Things at Fairy Tale Reform School are great. Rumpelstiltskin has been ousted, and everyone is buzzing about the fact that Beauty and Prince Sebastian (aka the Beast) have joined the teaching staff. Everyone, that is, except Gilly, who can't seem to focus on anything but Anna. How is it that her beloved sister somehow went bad and joined up with Rump? And why doesn't anyone seem to care? Sure, the Royal Court says they're working on it, but they've got exactly nothing to show for it.

But when new-kid Jack joins FTRS with tales of his own family being snatched by Rump, Gilly knows she's in good company. Jack wants answers, just like Gilly. And if the Royal Court can't get the job done, then maybe it's time to break some rules...

Wished
Be careful what you wish for...

With big-time villains Rumpelstiltskin and Alva still on the loose and the citizens of Enchantasia on high alert, things at Fairy Tale Reform School have been a little...stressed. So when Maxine finds an old lamp that turns out to house an overly-enthusiastic genie, she knows exactly what to do; wish for everyone to be happy! But the wish has some unexpected consequences...suddenly, ex-villains are singing, trolls and ogres are getting along, and the whole school is more focused on putting on a musical than figuring out how to deal with Rumpelstiltskin.

Can Gilly help Maxine break the spell before it's too late?

Cursed
The evil Rumplestiltskin is planning to cast a curse that will erase Enchantasia as the world knows it, and a fairy prophecy declares that Gilly Cobbler will play a key role. Never one to shy away from adventure, Gilly and her friends embark on an epic, swashbuckling journey to stop Stiltskin from getting the ingredients he needs before it's too late.

Gilly can't help but wonder if it's already too late for her beloved sister, Anna, who's still a member of the villainous Stiltskin Squad, and will seemingly stop at nothing to thwart Gilly and her crew. Only by harnessing the skills she may have inherited from her fairy grandmother can Gilly stop Stiltskin and reunite her family. But with time running out and her fairy skills lying dormant, does Gilly have what it takes to prevent the evil curse and ensure a happily-ever-after for the Cobblers? Or will she lose Enchantasia and her friends forever?