Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, while the blurb really interested me, I have been unable to get into the book.

I am no longer interested in this book. Forcing myself to read and review this will increase the likelihood of me giving this low marks,when I know it is not the type of book that I enjoy. I'm not really into fantasy/scifi.. Several years ago,I wanted to try some , which is why I requested this.. I, of course will not be reviewing this book on Goodreads or any other book site.

A great action adventure fantasy book that my son and I enjoyed reading together! There aren't many books that captures my sons attention immediately, but this book did, from start to finish! We loved reading Betwixters: Once Upon A Time! We recommend to any person who enjoys fantasy adventure books with awesome twists and turns that are unexpected.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book - I tried reading it several times but it just does not work for me. I think the concept is extremely promising and appreciated the writing style and characters despite not enjoying them myself, but I personally could not get into it.

This story is a great read for middle schoolers and even upper primary school advanced readers. The book has three twelve-year-old protagonists that are best friends, one girl and two boys. They are challenged by bullying, how far you will go for friendship, and facing their fears of letting their parents down. There is fantasy and intrigue tied up in the story, with a generous dose of mystery! I read this book in a matter of days. I wanted to devour it in one sitting, but unfortunately, life got in the way, but this book is about faeries, magic, demons, and it was just pure enjoyment.
A mysterious forest near the cosy town of Herogate is more than what it seems. The Gnarled trees appear to breathe, gloomy storms follow you around, and prowling shadows come to life before your very eyes. The forest is guarded by a strange old man and creatures, not of this world. Even the locals never set foot in the bewitched woodlands, and trespassers have a way of turning up dead.
When Noah Walters moves to town with his parents, his father makes Noah promise to never enter those woods; but fate has other plans. Noah and his new best friends, Ethan and Skye, are chased into the woods by Grucker, a schoolyard bully, and their lives are changed forever. They are forced into the heart of the forest, where they discover a lost fairy who needs their help to find her way back home before it's too late.
Even though this book is a middle-grade novel, it didn't feel like that. The language wasn't too simplistic, the plot wasn't boring; everything had a nice balance, and there was also diversity among our three protagonists. Skye is a young, black girl who dreams of being a dancer, Noah is a half-Chinese boy who is fascinated by science, and Ethan is a white, smart and funny boy who loves to tease his friends, but will also do anything for them. I absolutely loved all the characters, and I felt like each person brought something to the book that kept on making it better. I do think that the secondary characters such as Olivia, Grucker and Scaretaker could have been developed more and I just hope that there is a book two so that this can happen. I would also love to see a novel/novella from Olivia's point of view as I think that would be so fascinating to see what she dreams, and more importantly, how she copes with them at such a young age.
The three children go on such an incredible journey, as individuals and as a team. We see them go from fearing the school bully: Grucker, to finally having enough of keep having to watch their back and standing up to him. There was one moment in this book that really got to me, and that was when Ethan's parents went to his school and told the headteacher about the bullying that was going on at her school. And instead of her saying that she didn't know but she would check it out, she just turned her nose up at the parents and told them not to tell her how to run her school. I thought that this was just so horrible to hear because unfortunately, sometimes it can be the case with some schools; they just don't want to accept that they don't have a handle on things. Luckily, Ethan's parents stuck up for him and shouted at the headteacher which I thought was awesome! The form of 'the bully' takes on many forms throughout Once Upon a Time, and I loved reading about how the friends came together to tackle each one of them.
I loved Noah, Ethan and Skye, they had such a great dynamic about them. I genuinely felt like I was friends with them. They're feelings were my feelings! I also enjoyed Neevya she was such a sweet little fairy and I was worried about her when it was revealed that she was dying from her injury. I also liked Grucker, the bully. I liked his character because we got to see why he's so nasty. I like how the author gave a back story to Grucker and his bullying ways.
As soon as I started reading this book, it instantly reminded me of The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi. I read and re-read those books when I was younger; I absolutely loved them. Once Upon a Time had a very similar feel to it with the different magical realms that belonged to humans, faeries, gnomes... In the opening chapter, we see the faerie Neevya and how she lives in her faerie world, and then we see her fly through a portal into the human world.
I also adored the magical elements of the book. I thought Neevya was such an amazing faerie with a fantastic personality, and I also loved the idea of the chondoras, trolls and demons that plagued the Dern. As I said before, I really hope that there is a second book, because I need to see what else these kids get up to and I want to find out more about Scaretaker and Olivia.
This is the first book in the series and I am anxious to read the next instalment. The author does an excellent job of writing to the reading level in that it is easy for middle schoolers but not overly simple for adults. I highly recommend this book for both girls or boys, especially those who face or have faced adversity in school.

Magical, delightful, and entertaining until the end! We read this as a family, and my son and husband both loved it. I can't wait for book 2.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was really hard to put it down! Three close knit friends grabbed by the hands of fate and thrown into a world they've never imagined.

5th grade will enjoy this magical adventure. Fans of harry Potter, The Hobbit and other books with magical creatures will find this an enjoyable story.

From the summary, I thought I would really enjoy this book. Fairies, nature magic, enchanted forests, secret alternate worlds, all of that sounds wonderful. Unfortunately (for me), I did not. The writing was a bit constrained, as if the writer did not fully commit to believing in the story. Like watching a ballet with a lot of waving scarves and colorful costumes, but no real story underneath. I just found it to be not very engaging.

Positives: This might make a lovely story to read aloud to young children, up to about 8 years old, over the course of a school year, or every day for about 30 minutes.

No review will be forthcoming as I accidentally clicked on a link that was an invitation, which I didn't realize when I only wanted to see what the book was about.

My son has read this book, so we discussed its premise and entertainment value after I finished my copy, and we agreed that reading the first book in this series would be beneficial. Overall, a decent read, but neither of us will continue on with the series as it didn't hold our interests (personally).

This wasn't the type of story for me, but I can see why some younger people might enjoy the story. It has Tinkerbell vibes.

This book was not for me. The language was nicely done for what it was but I just couldn't get into it:)

Cantu, Laura C. Once Upon a Time (Betwixters #1), 288 pages. Winterwolf Press, 2017. $17. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some bullying and danger).

The fairy Neevya knows that of all the different worlds, the human world is off limits. While she is fulfilling her duties of catching sunbeams and planting acorns, she is dragged through a Precarious Portal and into the human world. Noah, Ethan, and Skye exist day-to-day in their bully-ridden school in England. Running from the biggest bully one day, they escape to The Dark Wood. They find Neeyva, who has been injured and pledge to do what they have to in order to return her to her home. The trio will encounter danger unimagined in their quest to help their new friend.

Cantu has crafted an excellent beginning to a new fantasy series for younger readers. We do spend a lot of time meeting the friends and learning about their situations; my hope is that means we will have more adventures coming quickly.

EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

This book is the first in a series of children's fantasy adventure stories. We meet Neevya, a faerie custodian of the magical forest of Ayin, who gathers sunlight beams to nourish the land. In a nice twist, Neevya doesn't believe in humans, thinking of them as mythical, monstrous beings. She is forced to change her mind when she is pulled downstream and through a Precarious Portal into the human realm. There, in the Dark Woods on the edge of Herogate in northern England, she meets 12-year-old children Noah Walters, Skye Williams and Ethan Castleton - and of course they had had no belief in another, faerie, realm either. The novel chronicles the characters' growing understanding and fondness for one another, as the children try to help Neevya return to her own world and rescue one another from many dangers.

This novel explores the world of school; the relationships of adolescents with parents, teachers and peers; bullying; friendship; compassion; and caring for the earth. It does this alongside telling a fantasy adventure story of faeries, gnomes, bellweathers, chandours, betwixters, humans and magic, with scary moments and suspense.

My only quibble with Betwixters is the writing style: I find personally that all the adjectives pull me out of the story and dilute the atmosphere of danger; and why set the story in England but use a very American voice (Noah is from the US but the others are not, eg Ethan would have a garden not a yard)? Just set it in the US. Again this stopped me being immersed in the novel, which is a shame because it is a fine story.

I received this book free from NetGalley.

I asked for this book to enjoy with my 10 year old, and it didn't disappoint. It's a story with all the magic my kids love, adventure and friendship.

What it means to truly be a friend. The characters work together over the course of the a delightful tale to solve a problem.

I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series.

My children have enjoyed this book. Great talent.

Wonderful book for middle-graders! Magic, gnomes, a foreboding dark forest and fairies are part of this wonderful and vivid world. The characters seemed a little flat at times but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Not everyone can see fairies. It takes someone with a bit of Merlin's blood in them. The three oddballs at school that hang out together have that power...

Winterwolf Press and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published July 1st.

The fairy that shows up in our world got there by accident. She manages to get in reach of a portal that whisked her through. But she ends up in the forest, where her enemies roam. The only thing that saves her is the fact that the neighborhood bully has driven the trio into the woods. He intends to beat them up, it's the only place they can escape him. They've been forbidden to enter there but they are getting away from harm. Or are they?

The man that lives in the forest is an enemy to the fairies. He is also an enemy to the children. They survive their first visit but when they find the fairy and have to work on getting her back to her portal, they get into an even more dangerous situation. It's not just the old man looking for them. There's a big shadow wolf...

There's lots of excitement, worries all around and even when they get her back, the story isn't done yet. This is the first in a series that looks like it will be good fun to read. I'd be worried about that big monster if it was me...

This book had everything, Magic, fairies and such! It was a great book that was easy to get lost in after every page it got harder and harder to set it down.