How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

by Sarah Strohmeyer
published: Balzer + Bray
pages: 320

When Zoe and her cousin, Jess, get an internship working at Fairyland, they are extremely excited for the chance to act as princesses all summer.  However, Zoe is assigned to be the personal assistant to "The Queen", which she quickly realizes expects the impossible.  On top of that, her fellow interns are competing for the $25,000 Do & Dream grant.  This makes for an interesting summer of mischief and and cut throat competition.  How will Zoe survive?

This book is the embodiment of my childhood dream of working at Disney World for a summer.  It was so fun to read about the chaos that went on behind the scenes of Fairyland.  (Yes, I did enjoy some of the eye rolling teenage angst.)  Imagine living among 50 other high school seniors that are vying for the $25,000 scholarship.  Things get a bit crazy.

The characters were possibly the best part of this novel.  Zoe's humor and wit shine through in her interactions with everyone but specifically Ian, who has a great sense of humor.  I found myself laughing often at what he was saying.  The Queen was so absurd, I kind of enjoyed her.  She wasn't evil by any means, her demands were so outrageous I probably would have snapped but Zoe keeps her cool.

Sarah Strohmeyer has created an entertaining story that made me smile quite a bit while reading.  I will be checking out her other works!

Stars: 3/5

Praise:

"Strohmeyer's humorous details about the park itself (royal characters get better quarters than 'Ordinary Cast Members,' and princes are given exclusive accoess to a pheromone-rich cologne) provide a lively, unconventional backdrop."
     --Publishers Weekly

"For fans of roms-coms everywhere."
     --ALA Booklist

"This clever, happily-ever-after story will charm fans of Meg Cabot and make new ones of Strohmeyer."
      --School Library Journal

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015 Book