Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Ok so this was adorable! I didn't read the first book but it was easy to follow. I really liked the concept of this book it was super unique. We follow Indira Story who is the main character in her own book. After saving the town of Fable she returns to Protagonist Prep with her fellow characters. There they get assigned trials to develop further as characters. She is introduced to more characters who are waiting for their own stories to get written. They travel to Ordinary and along the way a rogue Author ends up in Imagination and starts destroying the Hero's Journey. I really liked how this was a story within a story. The characters were good, and some of them were funny. It had a nice adventure, and shows how a story gets created at the same time.

A great sequel to the first book. Packed with action! I was immediately pulled in, and actually enjoyed this one better than the first. The squad of characters is *chef's kiss* and I can't wait to join them for book three!

I have read and loved all the books by this author and this middle grade series has been so much fun and interest and very original. Different from so many other MG books I've read. The world building still captivates me and so does the characters. The writing is easy to follow and not in a "you can see it's written for kids" kind of way. The book is smart and it's action packed and the plot keeps you glued to the pages. Really really good!

I would read Scott's grocery lists. He is a phenomenal storyteller and I love everything he releases.

I personally liked the previous book better, but my son was obsessed with this one even more than the first one.
We're waiting for the next chapter in Indira Story's story!

Escaping Ordinary was an excellent follow up in the Tale Spinners series by Scott Reintgen! While I don't read middle grade as much as I should, I found that this series has reopened my eyes to the joys of reading #kidlit. This book was somehow even better than the first, and I cannot wait to continue on with this series as more books come out! Highly recommended for fans of the Story Thieves and the Land of Stories books!

Escaping Ordinary, 3rd book in the Talespinners Series by Scott Reintgen, is no ordinary book. If you want a masterclass on how to write a plot through mystery, adventure, and building good friendships with antagonists that may or may not be able to change after they meet the heroin Indira Story this entertaining, darling book is for you! I truly believe that author, Scott Reintgen's Talespinners series should not only be encouraged by Librarians, school teachers, and parents for middle-grade readers who want a great adventure but be used in writing classes on the building of a novel and the elements of writing that novel.

Escaping Ordinary never leaves a gap between it and its older sibling book like other books I have read, Saving Fable. Indira Story has saved Fable and is now being sent on a vacation which includes Tutorial Training on the next level of her journey as book heroin to make her even more relatable to the reader of her next adventure. This becomes no vacation!!! The book is filled with twisting and turning danger, adventure, learning to make decisions in a blink of an eye, and deeper meaning to getting to know strangers and those who are already your friends.

I would not pass on this book! Read it, and you won't have to wait long for the next Talespinners book coming in September 2021!
Scott Reintgen has got to be my favorite author for Middle-Grade and Young Adult books.

Thank you, NetGalley, Crown Children's Books, and especially Scott Reintgen for the honor of reading another fabulous Talespinners book in lieu of my honest review.

This was fun, just like the first book in the series! It’s definitely a series I will recommend for children. It tells a wonderful story while also teaching about how stories work and are built, which makes it stand out as something really special.

I read this with my 8-year-old and the review will be from her perspective since she's within the target audience age of the book. This is the sequel to Saving Fable, which we read and loved. Normally, my daughter loves stories that have real people and characters and fantasy/sci-fi isn't her thing, but she enjoyed The Phantom Tollbooth, so when these books showed up as recommended for people who like that book, we took a chance and I'm glad we did because it opened a new genre to my reluctant reader.

Review: I loved this book because it's fun and it's not too hard to read. The story isn't like anything that I've read before so it's unique and different. It's a really fun story and is an adventure. I want to read more from this author.

Scott Reintgen does it again! He easily re-captures the magic and whimsy of the first book in this serious, Saving Fable, with this stunning sequel. I still adore Indira and loved meeting a new cast of characters and diving deeper into the multi-faceted world that Reintgen has carefully constructed. This is definitely going to be a middle grade classic!

Escaping Ordinary is a sequel to Saving Fable. The story is unique. Authors work with characters. The characters build story houses. The characters are trained in a school so that they can create stories. The main character’s name is Indira. She gets sent on training to improve her teamwork skills. The training gets hijacked by an author who wants to turn the ‘story’ world into a video game. How can Indira and her friends drive away the author?

I did not read the first book so I had questions about story houses, about the Prep, and how the characters have superpowers. Be sure to pick up the first book in this series before reading this one. The concept of editors having superpowers was funny.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Category: middle-grade fantasy
Publication year: 2021

Fun story! I hadn't realized this was a sequel until after requesting as it was suggested to my while I was looking up Blood Sworn by the same author. Still, I'm glad I found this series and really enjoyed reading this one!

Escaping Ordinary is the fast paced and exciting sequel to Saving Fable. We again follow Indira as she works to improve herself as a character. We start out just as she has finished her first novel and is hoping to be chosen for a sequel. She is sent on to the Hero's Tutorial in order to gain the skills and experience needed to star in a successful follow up novel. Of course, things go awry almost immediately and Indira has to learn to trust and empower her team to become the hero's of their own story.

To start, I really enjoy Indira as a character. She's a great role model and a very strong female lead. We get a lot more of Phoenix also, which made me very happy. There are also a group of new characters who I really really enjoyed. The author does a great job of including diverse characters with unique abilities that may not always be overtly obvious, which is especially great for young readers to see.

I really loved this sequel. It's so creative and whimsical and it embodies everything great about the middle grade fantasy genre. This has a little bit for everyone; strong female lead, action and adventure (a dragon!!), pop culture references and humor. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys middle grade books but mostly to young readers. The concept of this series is so interesting and I think this is a series that could get non readers excited about reading. Highly recommend.

4/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I am enjoying my time with these books. It's creative, Imaginative, adventurous, and perfect for book lovers. I don't want to say too much as this is a sequel. I just had the best time reading this. I read this all in one sitting, I didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend giving this series a read.

<i>"Indira stood. 'Any final words of wisdom?'
Penelope's eyes shone. 'Aim true.'
'It sounds like an awfully big adventure,' Wendy said. 'Do not forget to have some fun.'
Juliet smiled. 'Defy the stars.'"

<i>"Is anyone the same person they were at the start of the story? So much can happen! So much can change! I am the same as them, and at the same time I am who I am now."</i>

Sequels are tricky things, aren't they?
Sometimes, they're just as good as, if not better than, the first installment. (See: <i>Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers</i> or, so I'm told, <i>Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back</i>.)
And, sometimes, they're the least favorite of a series. (See: <i>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</i>.) This isn't to say, of course, that the book is bad; after all, CoS is still an excellent book. It's just not *as* good as the others.

But I have to say: <i>Escaping Ordinary</i> fell into the former category for me.

Goodreads reminded me of what I loved so much about <i>Saving Fable</i>:
<i>To be fair, it has several elements which are automatic pluses for me:
--Meta-commentary in the form of characters who *know* they're characters in a book (I'm looking at you, Thursday Next): ✔︎
--Authors who break the Fourth Wall and directly address the reader: ✔︎
--Strong Female Character: ✔︎
--NO LOVE TRIANGLE 🎉: ✔︎</i>

All four* of those traits hold true for this second book, and yet it's not a rehash of <i>Saving Fable</i> -- thank goodness. Whereas <i>Saving Fable</i> was "<i>a love letter to books -- to characters, authors, readers, librarians</i>", <i>Escaping Ordinary</i> feels like more of a love letter to authors, to teachers -- and to young writers.
Perhaps that's because I know that one of the courses (which I think Scott may have taught...?) at Duke Young Writer's Camp is the "Hero's Journey," and I can vividly recall the campers sharing their Fictional Quests at Reader's Forum.
There are fewer literary character allusions -- with the notable exceptions of (1) the reference to Aragorn running the Boot Camp and (2) the council of Penelope (The Odyssey), Wendy (Peter Pan) and Juliet (Romeo & Juliet -- and much more likable than her counterpart!) advising Indira before The Ordeal (and which gave me total Avengers vibes, where all the strong female characters show up to support each other) -- which was, I think, a smart choice. While I missed them, this book went in a different direction: it was less about Book World and more about the Writing Process.

The theory of the Hero's Journey underpins the whole book -- both explicitly, in the tutorial that Indira & company set off on, and implicitly, in that even when the tutorial is derailed, the book still follows the steps of the quest.
(I don't think it's a coincidence that while Indira & Co. don't make it to the "Approach to the Inmost Cave" step of the tutorial, they do, however, meet Cavern and also literally venture underground, all while Indira comes to terms with what she needs to do...)

I also got strong Rick Riordan vibes, in that the book subtly teaches you while entertaining you. (To use a Disney term, it's "edutainment.") In much the same way that you can't read the Percy Jackson books without retaining at least a bare minimum of information on Greek mythology, young readers will likely retain the info about the Hero's Journey in a similar manner.

I did miss a few of my favorite characters -- Maxi, Deus -- but just when I really got to missing their role in the story, they popped up, and all was well.
The same cannot be said for Peeve, though...and I feel like that was left open-ended, so hopefully she'll make a return in a later installment. *fingers crossed*

Random Thoughts...
--*I did say there was no love triangle -- and that's not entirely true for this book...? We're introduced to the possibility of one, although it doesn't actually manifest. I actually thought (but just for a moment!) that we wouldn't address that third character, only to circle back to it in the end. (I never doubted, truly.) I'm curious as to who this third character could be, even though I don't love triangles (pun intended!), and can't wait to see how this is handled.
--With all this talk of conflict between kingswolves and dragons, I got major Game of Thrones vibes.
--And I know he was a lacrosse player, but.......a navy athletic shirt with the number 23? The ceiling is the roof, man. The ceiling is the roof. #tarheelborntarheelbred
--And finally, I don't know how many people read the Acknowledgements, but I loved the nods to Bland Simpson and Alan Shapiro, pillars of the UNC Writing department, and which made me recall all my time spent in Greenlaw...

I can't wait to read what's next.

Escaping Ordinary by Scott Reintgen (Talespinner #2) 4.5 stars

A sequel to last years "Saving Fable", we find Indira Story looking forward to well earned break after being the protagonist of "Indira Story and the Thunder Brothers". However, she is assigned to a tutorial called "The Hero's Journey" with other students from Protagonist Prep. The tutorial is to teach her the value of teamwork and maybe see if she has some chemistry with her friend and fellow student, Phoenix. What follows is an action packed adventure, filled with scary scenes, teachable moments and witty dialogue.

I really enjoyed this book, it fulfilled my expectations and then some. Not only an adventure book for middle graders, but the plot illustrates the creation of the "story". From the need for a beginning, middle and end, to the elements of the "Hero's Journey" - Star Wars anyone... Indira has to rein in her impulses to rush in and save the day and accept that other characters can contribute to the desirable outcome. I can't wait for the next Talespinners book - Breaking Badlands (September 2021)

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children"s for this ARC.

Just as awesome as [book:Saving Fable|44093028] which I also loved! This series is so fun. While this is the second book in the series, and reading the first book would be helpful in getting to know Indira's backstory and the magic system and the workings of the world, I feel like you could probably read this as a standalone. The storyline is not really connected to Saving Fable, and while there is some overlap of characters they are on a completely different adventure. You should still read Saving Fable because it is excellent.

If you like middle grade, have a young reader, or are in need of a whimsical adventure story pick this up. As a mom of a young reader I love that this has such great messages about teamwork and friendship, and encourages such a love of reading. I love how vividly Reintgen describes the reader's connection to the story, and gives life to his characters. As you read want all of the characters to get selected for their own story because you come to like them so much. I recommend this series to everyone who is looking for a good fantasy story because it makes me remember why I love reading and it is so much fun.

Much like in Saving Fable, Indira and her friends are on another journey that goes haywire and they have to save the land before everything is destroyed forever. This time they are up against a powerful foe, and Indira and her team have to learn to work together and use their strengths to complement one another or they will fail and some of our most beloved stories will be lost forever. Again I loved that this is a nod to not only book lovers, but books in general. It has references to other great books and some of the other heroes that Indira and her team encounter on "The Hero's Journey" tutorial are characters everyone will recognize. I was glad to see that some of my favorite characters were back to help Indira on this quest and that they will hopefully be back in the next book.

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Escaping Ordinary is the second story in the Talespinners series. It is a fascinating way to tell how stories come together. In this book, you go through the beginning, middle and end with the big plot. This lines up well with what I am studying in english class.

Another thing I like is it explores how no one person can be perfect or do it alone. Indira really needs to learn to work with others and not rely entirely on herself. This is something middle graders to see/read/hear. I think we can often believe we have to be perfect at everything and not ask for help. I know it is something I am working on. I can see asking for help as failure but it is not. A story like this really shows how the failure is not asking and trying to do it alone.

I really recommend this series to kids who like adventures, those stories that break the fourth wall but don’t entirely, those curious the mechanics of storytelling and well kids who just need to escape. I can’t wait for another adventure.

As a huge fan of Saving Fable, the first in the TaleSpinners series, I have been eagerly anticipating this sequel - and it did not disappoint! I loved getting to know Indira and her friends in the first book, but I loved seeing the connections go deeper in this book. The story opens just as Indira's first book is finished. Looking forward to a vacation, she is surprised to be given an assignment: the Brainstorms want her to lead a group of hopeful characters on a Hero's Journey tutorial, which will hopefully help her learn to work with a team. I really loved the dynamics of the team as they encountered the phases of their journey, and then faced a very unexpected threat. Touching on first crushes, the balance between head and heart, and how to be a good leader, the story is still full of humor, adventure, and endless wordplay, as well as some amazingly cool video game tech!
Scott Reintgen has created a fantastically creative and clever world that readers will love exploring once again.

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. Opinions are all my own.

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to review this title.

In this sequel to Saving Fable, Indira and her group of friends are going through the tutorial for The Hero's Journey, things begin to go wrong and they have to figure out what to do and how to fix it. In the town of Ordinary, where they are going through the tutorial, they find that there's an intruder who's taking over and trying to change the town into a giant video game. Indira and her friends have to figure out how to outplay and outsmart the intruder to protect the town of Ordinary and the land of Fable and they have to learn how to work together to do it so they don't lose any of the beloved stories or characters.

This was an exciting adventure full of great storytelling, learning experiences, and examples of how to work together as a team. It was another hit for me! I cannot wait to join Indira and her friends on their future adventures.