This is a fairy tale with a difference from the bestselling author of "Wicked". When ten-year-old Dinah and her two siblings are trapped by a terrible storm, Cousin Gage keeps their spirits up with an unlikely story - tooth fairies live in warring colonies right in your neighbourhood. Dinah is sceptical at first, but when the real world seems unbearable, stories told by candlelight have a way of coming true. Dinah starts to - wants to - believe. Don't we all?
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- What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy
What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy
Author(s)
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
10+
Release Date
January 01, 2008
ISBN
1406316016
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User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
2.5
Plot
2.5(2)
Characters
N/A(0)
Writing Style
N/A(0)
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
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Not my type of book
(Updated: June 04, 2026)
Overall rating
1.0
Plot
1.0
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
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I just couldn't get into this book even thought I found the story concept to be very intriguing. I didn't like the writing style and found the characters too difficult to like.
ED
Emily Davis (Heinlen)
Delightful Twist on the Toothfairy Tale
(Updated: June 04, 2026)
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
4.0
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Reader reviewed by Stacey @ book:thirty
By and large, Im a fan of Maguire. I appreciate how he has made a career out of turning well-known stories on their collective heads. He continues that run - to an extent - with his Toothfairies: the True Story fable, What-the-Dickens.
The book cover gives us the storys setting: its a wild, stormy night. The house perched precariously on the valleys edge shelters three young children and their 20-something cousin. The childrens parents have left under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the entire area has evacuated, the power is out, there is no food. How to pass the time, calm the nerves, weather the storm? The cousin begins a story. HIS story, apparently, and the story of What-the-Dickens.
Turns out What-the-Dickens is a tooth fairy - orphaned and born in a tuna can, he doesnt know what he really is until he stumbles upon another fairy at work (Pepper). He is then introduced to the fairy world, its rules and customs and beliefs. He tries to figure out how and where he fits in, while growing closer and more loyal to Pepper. The story is told in fits and starts as we also learn about the condition of the children and the status of the storm.
I think What-the Dickens can be read two ways: as a straight-across fairy tale aimed at mainly 5th-8th graders. Or it can be read with more adult undertones of religious and political themes. There is some discussion of faith, purpose, and sacrifice. And war, aggression, and territory. I wouldnt say there is enough fodder for philosophical debates or personal paradigm shifts, but there is a little meat to gnaw off the bone.
Maguires talent with words does not disappoint, and the character of What-the-Dickens is a wonderfully complicated little skibbereen (the technical term for tooth fairy). He is at times simple, and yet honest and full of heart. If Im being honest, Ill have to say that I cared more about the fate of the little sprite than I did about those stuck in the storm.
By and large, Im a fan of Maguire. I appreciate how he has made a career out of turning well-known stories on their collective heads. He continues that run - to an extent - with his Toothfairies: the True Story fable, What-the-Dickens.
The book cover gives us the storys setting: its a wild, stormy night. The house perched precariously on the valleys edge shelters three young children and their 20-something cousin. The childrens parents have left under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the entire area has evacuated, the power is out, there is no food. How to pass the time, calm the nerves, weather the storm? The cousin begins a story. HIS story, apparently, and the story of What-the-Dickens.
Turns out What-the-Dickens is a tooth fairy - orphaned and born in a tuna can, he doesnt know what he really is until he stumbles upon another fairy at work (Pepper). He is then introduced to the fairy world, its rules and customs and beliefs. He tries to figure out how and where he fits in, while growing closer and more loyal to Pepper. The story is told in fits and starts as we also learn about the condition of the children and the status of the storm.
I think What-the Dickens can be read two ways: as a straight-across fairy tale aimed at mainly 5th-8th graders. Or it can be read with more adult undertones of religious and political themes. There is some discussion of faith, purpose, and sacrifice. And war, aggression, and territory. I wouldnt say there is enough fodder for philosophical debates or personal paradigm shifts, but there is a little meat to gnaw off the bone.
Maguires talent with words does not disappoint, and the character of What-the-Dickens is a wonderfully complicated little skibbereen (the technical term for tooth fairy). He is at times simple, and yet honest and full of heart. If Im being honest, Ill have to say that I cared more about the fate of the little sprite than I did about those stuck in the storm.
G
Guest
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