A Wilder Magic

by Juliana Brandt

Overview

How far would you go to save your home? When Sybaline's enchanted valley in the Appalachian mountains is about to be flooded, she decides to stay. But will Sybaline's magic be powerful enough to stop the flood from destroying everything she loves?

A Wilder Magic is the perfect…

• fantasy book for girls 9-12
• middle school chapter book for fans of the supernatural
• tween book for girls age 9-12
• preteen gift for girls

For generations, Sybaline Shaw's family has lived in an enchanted valley in the Appalachian Mountains, using their magic to help grow the land. But now the government has built a dam that will force the Shaws to relocate, and they're running out of time before their home will be flooded.

Sybaline and her cousin Nettle can't imagine life without the valley and its magic, so they decide to stay. Using magic, they build an invisible wall around their home. As the water rises, they learn a terrible truth: the water will continue to rise, leaving them to live beneath the lake itself.

There is also a consequence to using magic selfishly, one that might transform both her and Nettle forever. If she can't find a way to escape, Sybaline and the ones she loves could be trapped in the valley forever.

Praise for The Wolf of Cape Fen:

"A stunning seaside fairy tale that will absorb readers until the very end."—Booklist

"A mesmerizing piece of magical realism packed with mystery, suspense, and, most important, love."—School Library Journal

"Intriguing mystery… Laced with dreams, this perplexing fantasy rewards persistent readers."—Kirkus Reviews

"Softly spangled black and white chapter title illustrations preface brief dream interludes belonging to other Fenians, emphasizing that the whole community is bound up in the baron's magic and helping to harmonize the novel's contrasting moods of coastal-town hominess and stark unease."—BCCB

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728245737
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,046,424
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Juliana Brandt is an author and kindergarten teacher with a passion for storytelling that guides her in both of her jobs. She lives in her childhood home of Minnesota, and her writing is heavily influenced by travels around the country and decade living in the South. When not working, she is usually exploring the great outdoors. She is the author of The Wolf of Cape Fen and A Wilder Magic. You can find her online at julianalbrandt.com

Editorial Reviews

08/23/2021

In this gentle rural fantasy set in WWII-era Tennessee, Sybaline Shaw attempts to save her family home from destruction by wielding the natural magic that flows throughout the valley. The Tennessee Valley Authority is evicting everyone so they can construct another dam to assist the war effort, drowning the only place Sybaline has ever called home. Determined to stay, Sybaline evades her implied-white family during the move, and, joined by her cousin Nettle, uses magic to keep the rising waters at bay. After a short period of relief, however, the water keeps coming, eventually covering their refuge and trapping them in a bubble under the growing lake. Now they must escape, but magic has a price: using it unwisely will transform them into trees. Sybaline’s yearning for stability and familiarity is relatable, even if her methods prove predictably shortsighted. The relationship between magic, nature, and intent adds a thoughtful level of complexity and cost to this sophomore novel by Brandt (The Wolf of Cape Fen), adding to the poignant blend of loss and optimism as readers empathize with Sybaline’s rebellion against inevitable change. Ages 8–12. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Bradford Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A Wilder Magic, with its beautiful imagery, relevant themes and inspiring female characters, is vividly enchanting." — Shelf Awareness

"[Kids] expecting a big move may find comfort in Sybaline’s eventual acceptance of her need to leave the valley." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A highly readable look at family, home, and the importance of being true to oneself." — School Library Journal

"Readers who enjoyed the Savvy series by Ingrid Law and Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve will love this little gem." — Rebecca Williams, Portland Book Review

"The relationship between magic, nature, and intent adds a thoughtful level of complexity and cost to this sophomore novel by Brandt....a poignant blend of loss and optimism as readers empathize with Sybaline’s rebellion against inevitable change." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

07/23/2021

Gr 4–6—Sybaline Shaw and her family live in the most beautiful valley in all of Appalachia. In addition to the natural beauty, their home in the gorgeous Smokey Mountains is endowed with magic. When the Tennessee Valley Authority builds a dam (built between 1933 and 1944) that would support the war in which Sybaline's father is fighting, Sybaline and her cousin Nettle decide not to leave their home. With a bit of planning and a few lies, the girls use magic to stay. The warm, tingly magic that Sybaline feels comes with its own rules, however. If used in ways that are contrary to nature, the magic turns people into trees—several family members have experienced that firsthand. As the girls seek to protect their way of life they are joined by Nettle's little sisters, and a curious boy whose father has helped build the dam. But the water bubble in which they find themselves is not at all what they thought it would be and they must use magic to get out. The children's escape is fast-paced and compelling as Sybaline and Nettle find themselves changing into a laurel tree and ginseng root until they reach the surface. Eventually, the girls learn that home is more than a place and that sometimes change isn't all bad. Lush descriptions of the valley and its slow underwater deterioration create a strong sense of place and build tension. Characters are likable and the action is quick. Sybaline and her family are cued as white. VERDICT A highly readable look at family, home, and the importance of being true to oneself. For general purchase in school and public libraries.—Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia P.L.

School Library Journal

2021-02-26
A young Appalachian girl uses magic to try and save her home.

Sybaline Shaw’s family has known for years that their magical valley in the Appalachian foothills would be flooded when the nearby Tennessee Valley Authority dam was complete. Her father is off fighting in World War II, but Momma has already packed up their household. Sybaline alone of her family can’t accept this. Everyone in the Lark bloodline can use magic within the valley to shape the natural world, but they risk transforming themselves into plants or trees—a danger Sybaline and her cousins regularly ignore. After lying to their parents shortly before everyone moves away, Sybaline and her cousin Nettle—each claiming to be going to stay with the other—remain behind and create a bubble around Sybaline’s home, which soon turns into a dark, dank prison on the bottom of the newly formed lake. Now Sybaline and Nettle are becoming trees—how will they escape? Told from Sybaline’s point of view with matter-of-factness, the novel blends fantasy and reality with worldbuilding that leaves unanswered questions. Brief mentions of aluminum plants supporting the war effort, riots by White men over Black construction workers, and the Trail of Tears contrast with the Edenlike imagery of the lush, unspoiled valley and its sheltered occupants living off the land in yet another Appalachian story supporting the trope that technology is predominantly bad. Main characters are assumed to be White.

Inconsistent and messy. (Historical fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews