Faylinn by Julie Lytle

About the book

Eleven-year-old-Quinn Butler McEwan has always thought her island home felt a bit magical, and she's right. Quinn lives on the island of Snokoma in northwestern Washington state with her family. Just beyond Quinn's backyard is an enchanted tree called Faylinn, where fairies make their home. The fairies' history and Quinn's family's have been intertwined for several generations.

Quinn's Granny Butler saved the life of a fairy queen when she was a young girl and the fairies of Faylinn have been watching after the Butler family ever since. The fairies even followed Quinn's grandmother from Ireland to the United States. But these days, the fairies are invisible to the humans, except when the wee folk are in desperate need of a human's help.

On the first day of summer vacation, Quinn awakens to find a tiny fairy hovering in the air. "Cat got your tongue?" asks Princess Pixie. Quinn is drawn into the fairy world in her backyard, which is made especially poignant because of her grandmother's recent death. Quinn quickly figures out that Pixie needs her help because a fairy is trying to steal the crown of Faylinn from Pixie's mother, Queen Violet.

If the Queen is not able to claim her throne by midnight on the Summer Solstice, either Faylinn will disappear forever and the fairies will be forced to leave Snokoma, or a new leader will seize power and destroy the wonderful lives the fairies enjoy.

Benjamin Willow, Quinn's best friend, and his guardian fairy, Dew Drop, soon get in on the action. Quinn and Ben are transformed into fairies complete with wants, magical skills, and new names -- Sunbeam and Whirlwind.

Clues start to pile up and a few fairies in Faylinn begin to look very guilty, including a bossy fairy named Pepper. Pixie is convinced a fairy from Faylinn is after the throne, but a ground fairy, or forest fairy, is acting very suspicious. Quinn decides to keep an eye on her too. Things are looking up, until Queen Violet is suddenly kidnapped.

The progress the children and Pixie have made quickly unravels and Quinn is forced to take matters into her own hands. Can she figure out who's behind this plot to topple the crown of Faylinn in time? Or will the fairies of Faylinn be forced to leave their enchanted home, and Quinn and Ben, forever?

About the author

Julie Lytle spent her childhood in the San Juan Islands in northern Washington state, where her backyard was a large forest that always seemed like the perfect home for fairies.

After receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College in Washington state, Julie moved to Seattle and started a career as a technical and marketing writer. It was in Seattle that she met her husband, Brett.

After getting married, Brett and Julie started their own communications business. Working from home allowed Julie to return to her first love in writing, fiction. After studying Gaelic and traveling through Ireland, Julie was ready to write her fantasy trilogy, which begins with Faylinn.

Julie now lives in Olympia, Washington with her husband Brett and their one-year-old daughter, Zoe Bella.