Fun magic, faeries, and adventure turn Rufus from a clumsy, bullied child into a confident almost hero of his grandfather's farm. Now that school is out for the summer, Rufus is free to roam his grandfather's homestead. But mysterious things keep happening to his grandfather - one event caused a broken arm. When Rufus and his know-it-all cousin Abigail discover the faylings, they vow to help them get back to their home in order to save Rufus' father and his grandfather's home.

Feylawn, an enchanted family estate is at the center of the book. Rufus loves Feylawn and along with his cousin, Abigail, spends an exciting and magical summer there. There are fairies, goblins, and other magical creatues seen only by those with clear-sight. The kids are on a quest to find all the cars of a train that will take the fairies back to their homeland. But goblins and mechanical beings have other plans. There were parts I enjoyed, but overall it was a disappointment.

As other reviewers have said, while the story started off strong, the plot jumped around a lot to the point of distraction; I didn't end up finishing the book. While I appreciated the combination of magic and realism, I wish Slater had continued to focus on her character development rather than adding more plot points.

I received an electronic ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Rufus remembers each of the "fatal errors" he has made during sixth grade and before. He's the son of two high achieving parents and feels the pressure, especially from his father, to be a high achiever too. Not a new premise but Slater adds some magical creatures and an appropriately named family home - Feylawn. Several generations were raised at this off the grid location but Rufus' father and aunt were miserable there. His grandfather still lives there. Some can see the fairies - Rufus, cousin Abigail, others who admit it along the way; others cannot - father, aunt, mom.
Slater spends time developing her characters early in the book and trades further growth for plot development just under halfway through. The books works and middle grade readers will relate to the two young people but I wish the attention to the characters had remained throughout the story. It feels like they were set in place and described to readers and then never really grew as they interacted and solved the mystery left by a past generation. The book pace is steady with few surprises as Rufus and Abigail locate the missing train cars so the fairies can return to their own world.

This book was a fun read with good pacing and interesting characters. Fans of Fablehaven will enjoy the story as it has some similar elements: only some people can see the fantastic creatures living in the world; these creatures need help/protection,. A good solid middle grade fantasy novel.

Feylawn has always been an unusual place. Whether it's the eyeglasses that constantly vanish or the power that consistently shuts off, strange things always seem to be happening at Feylawn. One summer, Rufus and his cousin Abigail discover the Feylings, fairy-like creatures that live at Feylawn that most people cannot see. The Feylings are sick and many are dying. Can Rufus and Abigail help the Feylings find their magical train that will send them back to their world?

I always enjoy books that fall into the "magical realism" category, so I was immediately drawn to the description. I enjoyed the family dynamics in the book between Rufus, his parents, his aunt and cousin, and his grandfather. The magical elements of the story with the Feylings, the train, the seeds, etc., were fun as well. I did feel like the ending was a little abrupt. I think an epilogue would have been helpful to provide a little more closure, but since there is a sequel in the works, maybe that was intentional.

This is my first time reading anything by this author. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Slater, and I look forward to adding this book to my library collection soon. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The story of Feylawn and the mystery around it was intriguing to me and I loved the glimpses of magic that slipped into the real world. The strengths of character and setting, though, gave way to more plot about a third of the way through, and I would have appreciated more of the former. Still a fun read that I will recommend to patrons.

This book combines the world of fairy with the human world. It makes me wish that I was one of the clear - eyed people so that I could see them too. I loved the adventure of the cousins and the mischievous fairy creators. I will definitely suggest this to my middle school students.

12 yo Rufus is trying to avoid summer camp, so when Grandpa Jack breaks his arm in a fall, and Rufus dad decides that Grandpa's property - Fenlawn, is too dangerous for Rufus to visit, he and his cousin Abigail come up with a way to spend some time there. You see, it seems to be overrun with angry fairies - that only Rufus and Abigail can see. The only way to stop the war and protect Grandpa Jack is to help the fairies find the thing they desperately need - the clues contained in a family jump rope rhyme written by their great grandmother - a famous children's book author.

I loved this story! A solid middle grade novel with a brave boy as protagonist, a spunky fairy and plenty of bad guys - goblins and the like. An exciting page turner that caught me right away. I was familiar with Dashka Slater as she wrote the 57 Bus, so I was intrigued that she had a middle grade novel as well. A brilliant story teller, Slater has filled The Book of Fatal Errors with unexpected twists, an engaging mystery and endearing characters, both human and magical. Oh, I do hope for a sequel!

Rufus can’t wait to start spending his summer with Grandpa Jack at Feylawn, except his father has other plans for him.... summer camp. But when Grandpa Jack breaks his arm, Rufus and his father visit Feylawn. Rufus discovers a piece of a train in an old icebox and thus begins the adventure for Rufus. With the help of his cousin, Abigail , expert at everything and a feyling called Iris, Rufus does his best to undo the chaos created by his great grandmother, Carson Collins. Prepare to finish The Book of Fatal Errors in one reading.

The story seemed to jump around quite a bit, often to the point that I couldn't help but wonder if I was reading the excision from either a much longer first draft or if the book was part of a previously established world in another book series. The cover could use some work too

One summer, acres of land sprawling through fields and forest, tiny little sprite creatures searching for their missing train, and the boy who became clear-sighted to help them return home. The Book of Fatal Errors is an exciting adventure for Rufus Collins as he navigates between childhood, the responsibilities of growing up, and facing the question of grief and loss.

The magic of Feylawn, the farm that Rufus’ grandfather Jack lives on, is a character of its own, going through “moods.” These moods are what those familiar with fairies will understand it as-- the mischief and trickery of fairies to be playful. But unbeknownst to mere glompers, what the fairies call humans, these moods are indignant fairies who are trying to find their way back home, with some taking extreme measures. There is a big chance here for the book to delve into the lore of the different fairy worlds. Good thing it is now part of The Feylawn Chronicles so there is more to come.

One of the great friendships it highlights in this book is that of Rufus and Abigail, his cousin. Twisted in the plot, is their great-grandmother Carson Sweete Collins, the catalyst of it all. Together, they find each missing piece of the toy train. The rhymes are clever and the mystery on the forefront-- find the train pieces -- along with the underlying mystery of why were the trains hidden, unravel in a smart, seamless way. Nothing gets convoluted with the sequence of events and each new train car finds them charting new territories of their small town of Galosh, its inhabitants, and its history.

A recommended read for anyone looking for some magic in their life.

I tried five chapters but just could not get into this book. The writing, to me, seem to jump without much of a reason or more backstory behind it.