Tales of Triumph and Disaster! Books in Order

Tales of Triumph and Disaster! is Deb Caletti's middle grade fantasy series, and it has the feel of a classic quest told with a wink. The books take place in Timeless Province, a place that looks a little like our world and a little like a feverish fairy tale. Magic is real, danger can arrive fast, and the person in charge is Vlad Luxor, a vain, childish ruler who uses spells and fear to keep everyone in line.

At the center of the story is Henry Every, a lonely boy with cruel parents and a good heart. His real family, in practice if not by blood, becomes the noisy, loving circle around him: Apollo, Jo, Pirate Girl, Apollo's little brother Rocco, and Henry's dog, Button. One of the nicest things about these books is that the heroes are not grand chosen ones. They are kids who are frightened, curious, funny, and decent, and who keep stepping forward anyway.

Nobody here feels like a prefab hero.

In A Flicker of Courage, Vlad turns Rocco into a lizard, which sends Henry and the others on their first spell-breaking mission. They have to climb toward the ruler's stronghold, solve problems on the fly, and survive a world full of magical traps, odd creatures, and adults who are not always much help. The adventure moves quickly, but the deeper story is about Henry learning that courage does not mean feeling fearless. It means acting while scared.

The second book, The Weird in the Wilds, opens the world even more. Vlad is pushing people into neat, cruel categories, turning neighbors into outsiders and difference into a weapon. When he casts another spell, the children head into the Wilds, a place full of beauty, menace, and the kind of strangeness that keeps the pages turning. This time the series leans hard into questions of belonging, bullying, and what it means to stand up for other people.

That is really the heartbeat of the whole series.

For all the chases, spells, cliffs, forests, and near disasters, these books keep circling back to empathy, kindness, friendship, and love. Caletti also plays with tone in a fun way. The humor is deadpan, the villain is ridiculous as well as dangerous, and the books are filled with eerie, funny public-domain images that make the whole thing feel like a scrapbook from an alternate universe. Music, stories, and shared wonder matter here just as much as sword-like bravery. So if you are wondering what kind of fantasy this is, think adventure first, but with warmth and a sharp eye for how power works. The stakes are real, yet the books never lose their sense of play.