Pixieland Diaries (Book 1, The Pixieland Diaries) - Christina Bauer

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.

Christina Bauer is an American author who writes many fantasy stories. Besides the “Angelbound Offspring” series she has also written the “Pixieland Diaries” and the “Beholder” series plus many more.



Calla is an almost 16-year-old faeling living in Pixieland with the two pixies entrusted with her care, since her human parents abandoned her. Her friend is Dare, well actually Prince Darius of the Winter Realm. He is cute and is soon to announce his future wife, but unfortunately for Calla all he sees is her as a friend, nothing more.

Yet there are bigger problems on the horizon for young Calla. Lazare, the Protector of the Summer Realm, is once again plotting to kill Calla, but this time he is really stepping it up.

And to add to her growing list of problems, the blight of the ley lines is spreading faster and the only one who could do anything to help, is in a magical slumber, and if that wasn’t enough, their body has been hidden away.

So now Calla must find the one person who can help rid the lands of the blight, stop Lazare from killing her and get Dare to see her as more than just a friend or a little sister. Calla will face many trials and perils, but she will also unexpectedly uncover the identities of her parents – the truth absolutely rocks Calla.



“Pixieland Diaries” is a YA fantasy story about a young girl finding herself and discovering what she is really capable of. The story was short and written in the style of a diary - as the name does kind of suggest – so every chapter is a new diary entry. While I know it is a YA novel and the main character of the story is almost 16 – the dialogue style and interactions had a very juvenile quality to them, and I really didn’t enjoy it. This is definitely the sort of story that would be better suited for a much younger audience. That isn't to say someone else wouldn’t enjoy it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

This was so completely different. I wasn't expecting such a playful at time's annoying and frustrating read.
I had time's when I would laugh my head off at Calla and her antics. Other times I would be rolling my eyes at something that was over the top or drawn out.

I like the book as the story is interesting and the characters are very three-dimensional, making it easy for readers to feel for them. I am a tutor to EAL students. I suspect that this one will be a bit challenging to EAL students, not just because of the language used ( necessary as part of language register), but also because of the background knowledge about pixies and fairies required.

Personally, I love the book, but I am not 100% sure about recommending it to my students. It is a great book but not an easy read to EAL students.

A little bit predictable but reading this was a blast! Loved the diary format. Loved the main character, who was hilarious and super sassy. Definitely a well written book.

What a freakin' hilarious book! Teen angst with wings...and pranks and crushes on older boys...err...elves. and all told in diary entries? Dude, how fun!

Only issues I had was a little predictability and a ton of typos but the story kept me laughing so much, how can I really complain?? 😜

Love this author and will read everything she puts out there!

It is well written and the characters well described. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I absolutely enjoyed the main character Calla. This book gripped my attention from the first page. It is a really good book. I can not wait to read more by this author. This story will get your attention quickly.

Finally starting a series at the beginning instead of the middle with Ms. Bauer, I'm thinking this series is not written for people like me. The writing style of breaking through the 4th wall (see this blog post) even if it is through a Diary entry doesn't work for me. I don't like it. I suffered through each diary entry to get to the action.

My main issue with Diary entry style writing is that there is too much talking and not enough action. I don't want to be talked at - which is why I don't watch a reality TV or chick movies. I want action. Or as someone once told me, I prefer "less talkie".

The second part is that somehow once again I pick up a YA book that I should have known better. To be fair, the last 3 YA series I picked up from Ms. Bauer were quite good and I enjoyed them. Perhaps the "sweet sixteen" is too young for me. I get that Calla's personality is typical teenage drama complete with a miss sassy pants attitude. It wasn't endearing to me. She is annoying to me, just like how others see her. It is only about maybe 60% into the book that my liking for the book turns around for the better. This book's rating went from maybe I don't want to rate this book or is it a 1 star to moving up to a 2 star. For me, 2 star means it is okay.

The premise of the story is good. The quest is a nice touch. The annoying monologue is a bit painful to read. The characters are so-so for me. There is only 1 tidbit in this story which shows up at the end that I kind of liked. It is the name of Calla's mother in the human world. I find that interesting. This book is recommended to YA readers who love drama, teenage crushes and sassy female characters.

I loved Calla. Calla is a funny and sassy pixie. She seems to get into trouble a bit. In this story, pixies are supposed to be mean and evil but that's not who Calla is. She pulls pranks and gets herself into trouble. It's written in diary format and I totally loved that.

I said it once, now I am willing to say it again. Meeting Calla was just what I needed and on a bigger scale than the first time I meet her in her sampler. Callie was even more laugh out loud fun. She was still the sassy, sweet -and-sour pixie that I meet back in the sampler. I found that with this one I got a much larger dose. I loved her. She was fun. She was mouthy. She was sassy. She was little mischief. Meeting Dare was just as pleasant and I had imagined it to be. I could fully get Calla's side of things. PIXIE power. Calla love her. Diaries forever. Vivid world.

This was a light-hearted and fun book. It's aimed at the younger half of YA. Not something I typically read, but I enjoyed this book. The diary format, while not my favorite worked for this story.

I liked Calla as a character, she had a unique sense of humor that goes well with her young age.
The synopsis doesn't funny fit the content of the book in a way. Calla doesn't hate Dare, they are friends. And how she ended up on earth attending a high school isn't his doing and doesn't actually play that much of a role in the book. I am looking forward to where this series goes. It's a lot of fun.

This book was provided to me via Netgalley and Xpresso Reads Tours in return for an honest review.

Calla is a prankster with a good heart, even when her adoptive parents wish she could be crueler. But at times she can be so naive and childlike, nothing like you would expect a 16-year-old to act. It's easy to see her as a twelve-year-old. Dare is a bit more fun to read about, his character stands out more at times.

That being said, like all of the other books I've read by Christina, this was just as enjoyable. While the writing could use some work, the story is fun. The diary entry style is also something unique that you don't see a lot in books for younger readers.

This book was so much fun to read with its fantastic protagonist, the author's great sense of humour, and action-packed plot. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I would like to thank Monster House Books and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

You have to like loud talking, really cool and immature elves to read this book.

It features Calla who was expelled from Pixieland to go to a human high school on earth.

I immediately hooked on the story, which is so gripping, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters. Can't wait to read the whole series.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

This was a hoot. The book is written like a diary where Calla is telling us her days and what she believes is lessons to learn for herself and sometimes us. We go through how she ends up where she is and learning why Pixieland is where it is now. She has mysteries of her parentage solved but also more come about. We have her romance and her practical jokes. She is sly and cunning but also sweet and funny.

Calla puts everyone through alot and herself through the ringer as she tries to save Pixieland and find out the truth as to what is going on. The story is fun and entertaining and Calla has you in stitches with her thoughts and ways. I love watching her go on her adventure to find out the truth while she is outside of Pixieland and how from the outside she is able to save her home and reveal what is really going on.

A fun tale.

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

An enjoyable and fun read in diary format

3 stars!

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This books was a complete surprise. I absolutely loved it. I was unsure about the concept of diary instead of chapters but it made a world of difference in a good way. It was a fun quick read. it kept you guessing and took unexpected turns. I will 100% read the next one or any others in this series. Highly recommend.

I am received an ARC of this book in order to read an ARC of CALLA (Book2) and in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

*contains spoilers*
I feel like I need to preface this with - my reading experiences in the last 6mths have been limited, Covid-19 has made reading more of a challenge and I wish it wasn't but I cannot ignore this in my review because I feel like if I was reading this at a different time I would have had a different experience. Reading has been on the back burner essentially, and so it has taken me longer to read books that would normally be devoured in a few days.

I love Christina Bauer's other series - Angelbound and the subsequent books that extend from that universe - so when this Arc was offered I jumped at the opportunity without looking to see if this book would be a good fit for me. This was a little bit of a risk to start with combined with my reading slump it meant It has taken me several weeks to read.

Calla is a new breed of Main Character that I am not that familiar with, she doesnt fit the mold of abandoned heroine, traumatic childhood. I'm so thankful for that, we get a light hearted character who loves to play pranks and look out for her friends and actually finds it tricky to be nasty. She shows compassion and attributes this to her human-ness. But overall she has had a loving childhood for a faeling.

The story is written in a diary format, so her voice comes across strongly - If you don't like Calla, you wont like the book. Her cheeky-ness is fun and the story was easy to follow but I just wanted more, if often felt like a running summary because the format lent itself for Calla to brush over things that happened. Her tone meant that the stakes were often not there too - and the nature of a diary meant she was writing about the past and she was safe in the future so I was never concerned for Calla.

Her love interest is outlined in the book and there are fears for some sort of love triangle at the start but this doesn't happen and I actually want to read the next book to see where the potential romance goes as the surface was only touched. I'm more concerned its something sinister - but I guess I have to read the next book to see.

Overall the book was enjoyable to read but it won't become one of my favourite Christina Bauer books.
Saying that I am looking forward to starting book2 - Calla.

This was a fun and magical read. I loved the characters and storyline very much. Definitely a good book for young readers.

Very sweet fairy story. Skews a little juvenile for me but very engaging. I look forward to the next book! I’d say a solid YA fantasy read.

I received a review copy of this book.

I thought I wasn't going to like this book because it didn't look like it was for my age group. I guess this is where the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' comes in, huh?

Much to my surprise, I actually really liked it. It was magical while also being hilarious. It was nice to submerge myself in this world. It felt nostalgic, as if it were something i would read when i was younger while also being tailored for my age group.
I am totally ready for the next book.