This is a great story that I can recommend to anyone who s a fast-paced middle grade read.
It was an exciting read and at times I felt as though I had an adventure/sci fi movie playing out in my head.

The Trixies are a nasty group of characters that get out of hand and wreck havoc on the town because the forces that had held them in check are suddenly removed. It’s Olivia’s accidental involvement that gives hope to the one remaining ancient Guardian.

The dynamics of Olivia Stone’s group of friends at school and her interactions with teachers rings true in both dialogue and action. The main thing that I d about the story was that no matter what happened to Olivia, with all of her problems, she kept on trying to help her new and very strange friend Yip, and the town, survive.
1 Debra ClewerAuthor 12 books15

This book is aimed squarely at the middle-grade (or junior fiction) age level and I think it hits the mark. The story line keeps moving, and there is plenty of action and suspense to keep the reader interested and wanting to proceed to the next chapter, which of course, is the ultimate aim for the author. It sometimes even has elements of a junior Stephen King novel, without being too graphic for sensitive children.
It should appeal to confident readers; however, I believe that even children in the age group who struggle with reading would enjoy it being read to them. While the Trixies are girl figures, I would hope that this novel would appeal equally to both sexes in the genre. My rating is 4 out of 5.
1 Billy ButtonsAuthor 19 books126

This book was entered and was a RED RIBBON WINNER in The 2016 Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:

Title: Olivia Stone and the Trouble with Trixies
Author: Jeffery E Doherty
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of 15 Readers:
Stats
Editing: 7/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 8/10
Cover: 8/10
Of the 15 readers:
10 would read another book by this author.
11 thought the cover was good or excellent.
8 felt it was easy to follow.
9 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
10 felt the author’ strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
11 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
10 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.

Readers’ s
‘Wow! What an exciting story. Scary too. I love scary books.’ Boy, aged 12
‘Fun story. Bit creepy in parts, but kids love ‘creepy’. The childen in my class had a few problems working out who was who, but they soon go into the plot. Plenty happening. They d Olivia a lot. She was pretty tough.’ Primary school teacher, aged 34
‘The title is oddly misleading. Oooh! A book about ‘trixies’ which sounds a lot ‘pixies’. Sort of Enid Blyton. Very sweet. But, actually, it’s more children’s horror. Not a bad thing. But children might get a surprise. Well-written, present tense is always a difficult sell, but it worked for The Hunger Games.’ Editor, aged 63
‘Strong female lead is always a good thing in a childen’s book. Plenty of problems for her to overcome. Thrilling stuff for the most part. The present tense killed it a little for me. I find it really difficult to enjoy a book written in that way. Cover’s exciting. I d the blurb too.’ Girl, aged 13
‘Too many characters at the beginning. I got really confused. Then, after chapter 3, I started to enjoy it. I d all the twists and the magical elements. I think the author is a good writer.’ Boy, aged 12

‘Exciting, engaging, and a little bit creepy! A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards Rox BurkeyAuthor 33 books116

Author Jeffery E Doherty adores storytelling with a vivid imagination perfect for children’s fantasy. Olivia Stone is an engaging character with all the determination of a 12-year-old on a mission. Helping Yip the grotesque that Olivia thought was a gargoyle is her mission against the trixies who are deceitful and evil. The trixies are deliciously evil with specific characteristics which make them plausible.

Olivia Stone learns she not only has magical powers, which she learns to control with the help of Yip. Olivia later overcomes her disability as she becomes stronger than she believed possible.

The story, designed for children is similar to fairytales where the scarey parts are vivid. Twists and turns keep it interesting, even with the possibility of injury or death. Olivia is driven to succeed and beat the trixies.

Mayah Clarke has an interesting acccent that suits this story. The pace throughout is a little fast for a childrens book. The narration came across as monetone for the first half of the book, but the second half Mayah provided additional emphasis for the dramantic effects of the story. Oddly, the music that separates the chapters didn’t work for me, but it might for others.

I recommend this for children that love imaginative stories, but I do suggest parents listen in advance if their children are under 12-years-old.
Johanna555

The setting and magic system are clear and well-described, the side characters don’t feel cardboard cutouts, the prose was easy to read, and the plot had a few twists within it. But. For me, the pacing was too hit and miss. At some points of the book things are rattling along quite the thing, and then we seem to stall for a while. And then things rattle along again… and then they stall. It really threw me out of the story, particularly in a short book this.
Having said that, I loved the disability rep. When Olivia acquires her injuries early in the story, the impact is explored in depth. We see how she copes at home and at school, and we see a little of her parents trying to help her deal with what’s happening to her and come to terms with it themselves. Olivia uses this to help her get away with things, which I thought was a very realistic reaction from her, but it’s portrayed with a very sympathetic eye.
disability disability-mobility-physical-issues spec-fic Lisa8

Normally I don't read genres aimed at any age less than adult, but this book reminded me of how magical children's fantasy / horror can be.
The myth of trixies and grotesques was un anything I have ever read before, and the fast paced action kept me turning pages all the way to the end.
Jeffrey has a humorous style of writing that draws amusement from observations of his characters and their interactions with each other. The elements of gore were delightfully horrifying without being overly graphic.
I am very much looking forward to the next book and what new monsters it will bring. Claire F11 6

This review is from my 10 year old daughter, Isobelle. :)

***

I love how Yip actually helps Olivia even though they randomly connected through their minds. And I’m so glad that the teenage trixie actually gets defeated even though she is able to be up at the day. I really enjoyed this book as it’s sort of scary but not very scary. I would give this book infinity out of five but five is the max.
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