Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy
By Serena Valentino
Hi! Have you ever thought about what Maleficent was like when she was a child? Was she the same cruel person as she was when she grew up? Well, she wasn’t! When she was young, she was left in a tree for the crows to take care of her. And everyone knows that the crows are a sign of evil.
But one day, The One of Legends (The Fairy Godmother’s sister) found Maleficent there and decided to take her as her own child. She asked what her name was and Maleficent couldn’t speak at first. But then, The One of Legends (“Nanny”) gave her the power to speak. After all, she was a fairy! So Maleficent said, “They call me Maleficent.” And Nanny knew why they called her Maleficent – they thought she was evil and the word Maleficent is related to evil. But Nanny thought that she could change her from being evil. So she took her in as her own child and started her in a school. The fairies always made fun of her.
One day, a girl named Fauna asked the teacher if Maleficent could cover up her horns so it would be more pleasant. The teacher agreed with her, but at that moment, Nanny burst in and made a speech. But Maleficent was embarrassed. Once Nanny left, people started making fun of her more and more and Maleficent teleported to her treehouse. Nanny decided that she didn’t need to go to school from now on and she could just use the books that were in Nanny’s house. In these books, she would find everything that she needed to know.
Maleficent had grown into a beautiful woman by the age of 16. The day that she turned 16, she wanted to take a fairy try out test. For her test, she had Snow White and the Evil Queen. Snow White told her that her step-mother had been in her room talking to someone who wasn’t there and she wouldn’t come out. Maleficent went into the room and she found that the step-mother’s father was speaking to her through a mirror, saying how he didn’t love her as much as he could and that he would never love her while Snow White was alive. The Evil Queen asked if he would love her if she killed Snow White and he said that would make him very happy. That’s when Maleficent burst into the room. She broke the mirror that the Evil Queen’s father was talking to her through. Then she was transported back to the Fairy Gardens where she had started the test. When everyone had come back, Flora, Fauna and Meriwether (the three people who made fun of her a lot in school) were the last fairies to return.
Then, when Nanny and the Fairy Godmother were talking, they got into a little fight and Nanny told the Fairy Godmother, “You know as well as I that the fairies that should be granted wishing status are Maleficent, the Blue Fairy, Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether.” But eventually she gave in and they were granted wishing status. But then, Fairy Godmother told Maleficent that she was meant to become evil. Maleficent was furious. She turned into a dragon and she almost killed her Nanny and the Fairy Godmother.
What will become of Maleficent? Will the fate she was always meant to behold come true, or will she become the smart kind of witch that Nanny always hoped that she would be? As I always say, read the book to find out!
I recommend this book to readers who want to know the Villain’s side of the story. There are four books in this series: Fairest of All (Evil Queen), The Beast Within (the Beast), Poor Unfortunate Soul (Ursula), and this one, Mistress of All Evil (Maleficent). They are coming out with a 5th one in July of 2018. I do not know the name of it, but I bet it will be a good book!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor):
There were a few scary parts, but none were like “AHHHHHH! I GOTTA GO GET MOM!” scary.
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor):
Zero. None. Nada. There was no kissing, but there was a kind of saddish part.
I give this book 5 wands.
I absolutely L-O-V-E-D it! I would recommend reading them in order, though. I didn’t figure out there was an order before this book and I have already ready The Beast Within and this book out of order. So, if you do read this book, make sure to read it after the other three books.
