Gina Rae Mitchell

Book Review | Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem by Dana Hammer | $10 Gift Card #MiddleGrade #GreekMythology #Fiction @GoddessFish 

A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem by Dana Hammer
Published by Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC on February 6, 2024
Genres: Fiction, Middle-Grade, Myths & Legends, Greek Mythology
Format: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 170

Dion Isaacs (the reincarnation of Dionysius), Athena's brother, is wreaking havoc. After to an unfortunate bee-venom poisoning at his wine business, he is down on his luck and crashing at Athena's place. But the former god of wine, feasting, and excess is a bad influence on Fanny's best friends, with his partying, wacky business schemes, and general debauchery. Sure, Dion is a fun guy. But there is such a thing as too much fun, and Fanny seems to be the only one who sees it.

Meanwhile, Fanny's mother is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which basically means she pukes all the time, because she's pregnant. With her mom unable to work, her dad is taking extra shifts to make more money, and things are getting tense at home. Fanny is excited to be a big sister, but all this sickness and stress over money are starting to take their toll on her.

Can Fanny save her friends from Dion's negative influence, while also solving her family's money problems? Of course she can. She's Fanny Fitzpatrick.

Source: Goddess Fish Promotions, Received from the author or publisher for review.

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Excerpt from Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem

I hope Mom doesn’t have breast cancer. She would have told me about that though, right? You don’t hide cancer from your only daughter. That would be messed up. I get out of bed and pad down the hallway until I get to the bathroom. The puking is louder now, and I can hear Mom gasping between retches. I knock on the door.

“Mom? Are you OK?”

“I’m fine, Sweetie.”

Then she retches again.

“No you’re not Mom! You’re sick! Do you want some Sprite?”

Mom gives me Sprite when I’m nauseated, and it usually helps.

“Mom? I think you need to see a doctor. You’re not getting better.”

“Fanny! Go away!”

I don’t know what to do. My dad has already left for work, so he can’t help. I think about calling an ambulance, but then I remember that 911 is only for emergencies, and I don’t think this counts as an emergency.

“Mom, I’m gonna call an ambulance,” I say.

“NO!”

“But Mom—”

“Fanny, go decorate the tree!”

This stops me for a moment. Decorate the tree? Why?

“Why?”

“I’m not feeling up to it. Go decorate the Christmas tree. It’ll be a big help.”

I stand by the door, not knowing what to do. Is Mom trying to be tough, like the time she hurt her ankle and refused to go get X-rays, and she just limped around the house for a week until it swole up to like twice its size, and Dad finally made her go to the hospital, and it turned out she’d FRACTURED IT? Should I be like Dad and put my foot down and call an ambulance?

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem

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My Thoughts on Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem

“Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem” by Dana Hammer is a delightful middle-grade Greek mythology fiction that skillfully weaves entertaining storytelling with subtle lessons. 

In this tale, Fanny faces a dual challenge: her best friend Athena’s brother, Dion Isaacs, is causing chaos with his wild antics, and her family is struggling with her mother’s hyperemesis gravidarum and financial stress.

Hammer crafts a compelling narrative as Fanny navigates these challenges, showcasing her caring and helpful nature in her efforts to save her friends from Dion’s negative influence while also tackling her family’s money problems. Despite the lighthearted tone, the story touches on important themes such as friendship, responsibility, and familial support.

Fanny’s character shines with her determination and resilience, making her a relatable and endearing protagonist. While the story stands well on its own, readers familiar with Hammer’s previous work, “My Best Friend Athena,” will find themselves drawn to explore more of her imaginative world.

Conclusion

“Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem” is a charming and engaging read that entertains and enlightens, making it a must-read for fans of middle-grade fiction and Greek mythology enthusiasts.

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!

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Guest Post by Dana  Hammer, author of Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem

Pregnancy

In my newest novel, Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem, Fanny’s mother is pregnant, and is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum — she pukes all the time. As a nausea-and-vomiting-phobe, this is one of  the worst conditions I can imagine. Fortunately, I didn’t suffer from this during my own pregnancy. I just had regular nausea and puking.

Still, it was super unpleasant, and went on longer than it should have. If that had been my only pregnancy problem, I wouldn’t have complained. But that was far from the only issue, because pregnancy is the absolute worst.

First of all, there was the facial hair. I’m not an especially hairy person, and I’d never had to deal with this situation before. So imagine my surprise when I looked in the mirror one morning and noticed that I had a mustache. Not a full, manly one, but a thin, wispy one that made me look like an ungroomed teenaged boy.

To solve this problem, I decided to go to a threading salon. If you have never been to one before, it’s a strange place, where women use literal threads to kind of rub off your unsightly hairs. And it hurts. It hurts really bad. The woman who did my threading was impatient with my clenched fists and flinching, but I couldn’t help it. It felt like I was receiving hundreds of tiny paper cuts on my face. When she was done, my face was red like a sunburn, and the chair beneath me was drenched in my stress-sweat, but my mustache was gone.

Then there was the acne. Like everyone, I’ve had the odd pimple here and there, but never this kind of acne. It was more like a hideous rash, all over my forehead. My forehead looked like a big festering blister. And nothing I did helped it. Not changing my face wash, or using acne creams or witch hazel or expensive facials. Nothing worked. All I could do was get some bangs cut, which is its own blog post, and a deeply unfortunate mistake on my part.

Then, there was the prenatal diagnosis of a life-threatening heart defect. Yeah. At my twenty week scan, I learned that my baby had transposition of the great arteries, and could very well die.

Obviously, this is not the news I wanted to hear. In a flurry of meetings and doctors appointments and tours of medical facilities, I got a crash course in all things congenital heart disease, and slowly lost my mind in the process. The combination of hormones, nausea, facial problems, and neonatal medical problems made me into a crazy person.

Which leads me to the next problem. I went crazy. Not just a little crazy, like all pregnant ladies do. I went full-blown-major-depressive-episode-with-massive-paranoia crazy. I followed my husband to work to make sure he was actually going to work, and not meeting up with a mistress somewhere.

I decided that all the locks in all the rooms in the house had to be updated for reasons that are not super clear to me now, but felt very important at the time. I spent huge amounts of time on the internet, researching all the ways I might have caused my baby’s heart defect, and then crying over the things I might have done to bring this curse upon my family.

I still had really bad acne, too, and my face had blown up to a shape that was unrecognizable. And I was still puking and nauseated.

Then, there was the gestational diabetes. Now let me be clear. I’m pretty sure I did not have gestational diabetes. But my doctor said I did, because I failed the glucose test. And yeah, I guess if I were the type of person to drink an entire bottle of straight glucose on the regular, then it would be a problem. But after I got diagnosed, I checked my blood sugar several times a day, after everything I ate, and do you know how many times my blood sugar was elevated?

Once. One time. And it wasn’t even that high, it was like, 155, and I’d just eaten a burger and fries and a milkshake. Still, I tried to obey the doctor’s orders and limit good tasting things from my diet, subsisting instead on lean fish and organic steamed kale and brown rice, stripping the last remaining bit of joy from my pregnancy.

I am enormously grateful for my daughter, who is ten now — in perfect physical health and very bright. She is the kindest person I know. But if I could have got her in some way other than pregnancy, I would 100% rather have done it that way.

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If the above link does not take you to your country’s Amazon page, please let me know, and I’ll gladly get a link for you.

Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share. Every penny helps to support this blog.

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Giveaway!

Dana Hammer will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for Fanny Fitzpatrick and the Brother Problem

Full Tour Schedule:

February 5: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
February 6: Westveil Publishing
February 7: Literary Gold
February 8: Sandra’s Book Club
February 9: Kenyan Poet
February 9: Long and Short Reviews
February 12: Straight From the Library
February 13: Fabulous and Brunette
February 14: The Avid Reader
February 14: The Pen and Muse Book Reviews
February 15: Gina Rae Mitchell – review
February 16: Read Your Writes Book Reviews

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