YMMV / Fablehaven

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Gavin is furious when he finds the skeleton of a once mighty dragon put up for display. As a Dragon Brother he feels that dragons should be respected and not held up as museum pieces. Then we learn he's actually Navarog which puts an interesting spin on this reaction. He may have just been faking his anger, rationalizing that it would make his Gavin persona stronger. Or it might be an actual Even Evil Has Standards moment where he is legitimately angry that one of his brethren is strung up like some trophy.
• Base-Breaking Character: There's some debate as to whether the two leads are both strong yet flawed individuals who make up for each other's faults, or if they simply fail in their own way.
  • Some see Kendra as a responsible but still fun foil to Seth who grows into her role as the Chosen One. Others feel she has only superficial flaws.
  • Seth: whilst his rash and bone-headed actions in book one are called out, there's a split as to whether he learns from his mistakes and grows as a person or continues to make reckless decisions and the narrative bends over backwards to justify them.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Despite everything Gavin does in book 4 and The Reveal that he is Navarog some fan girls are still hooked on the idea that he still good and loves Kendra.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Try reading the books during the 2012 election and NOT laughing at Vanessa Santoro's surname, which is only 2 letters away from that of Pennsylvania ex-Congressman Rick Santorum. The name becomes either funnier or more disturbing when you know that, according to Google, his name basically means "ass juice."
  • A piece of work revolving around two children who visit an older guardian named Stanley and finding out about magical creatures?
    • Adding onto this, the children end up teaming up with their older relatives and facing off against a demon with the help of the friends they made along the way
• The Woobie: Raxtus. Being half-fairy and half-dragon would be bad enough, but he's also a "Well Done, Son" Guy to his father, the king of the dragons, who makes it very blatant how he feels about his son. Thankfully, he Took a Level in Badass in the fifth book and impressed his father enough that Celebrant took him back to Wyrmroost to be properly trained.