Review: what i wore to save the world

By Maryrose Wood
Read her guest blog and my review of HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS
Review copy provided by Penguin



This is the third in the series that began with WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT. There may be spoilers for the first two books in this review, so be warned. The half-goddess Morganne, generally known as Morgan, needs to figure out what colleges she wants to apply to. It doesn't help that her grades and SAT score are mediocre, and her resume has a distinct lack of extracurriculars. But the thing to distract her from her search just came up - an e-mail from her boyfriend, desperate and needing her help in Wales.

I must admit, I enjoyed her prospective university being Oxford. It's really fun to see something about the Bodleian in writing and think, "I stayed next door." (I don't think it matters now to say that I was staying at Brasenose, if I haven't said it before. Not like anyone can track me down there now.) However, it really bothered me that people kept talking about her applying to Oxford. You don't apply to Oxford, you apply to one of the colleges that make up Oxford.

But the reason I can worry about little things like this is that the plot runs so smoothly. Morgan is worried for Colin, but at the same time worried he'll discover that faeries are real. He does remain amazingly oblivious despite being in the center of some majorly weird activity, including cheerleading unicorns. (Why would unicorns have a passion for pom poms? We do generally think of them as blonds.)

My only regret is that the end makes this Maryrose Wood's last novel about Morgan. (From her site, she is beginning both a new middle grade and YA series next year.) I suppose she could write more in the world, but she does tie everything up for now. I'll miss an enjoyable series, but be glad that Wood did not drag it out. And I must say, I think this series makes a good gift with the gorgeous covers. I know I gave a friend WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT for Christmas since she's studying in Ireland this spring and summer. (I am both excited for her and jealous.)

If you liked the previous novels in this series, you'll like WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD as well. If you haven't read the first two, it stands fine on its own but will probably have more emotional resonance if you know the characters already.