What Magic Is This?

by Holly Bourne

Overview

From the Everyone Can Be a Reader (Teen Contemporary) series comes a magical tale of friendship, witchcraft, and self-discovery, expertly designed to engage reluctant readers and provide an accessible reading experience for all.
 
When the magic circle is set, I close my eyes and summon the power that I know is in me. I chant the words to this blessing spell like I’ve known them my whole life. “Spirits of Mother Nature,” I say. “I call on you. I ask that you bless us all and bless our friendship that makes us stronger. Grant us strength in our together and strength in our apart.” 
 
Best friends Sophia, Mia, and Alexis are clinging on to a spark of hope that maybe–just maybe–magic truly does exist. Could they really be witches with the power to cast life-changing spells? When the three friends gather to cheer up heartbroken Sophia, they’re ready to put their theory to the test. But then long-held secrets are revealed, and hard truths start to hit home. Suddenly, their night of bewitching fun takes an unexpected turn.

Perfect for anyone seeking dyslexia-friendly books for teens, the Everyone Can Be a Reader (Teen Contemporary) hi-lo book series presents accessible YA books in an easy-to-read style. Union Square & Co.'s EVERYONE CAN BE A READER books utilize dyslexia reading tools like specialized fonts and paper tones, and are carefully formatted to meet readers where they are with engaging stories that encourage reading success across a wide range of age and interest levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454954880
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Series:	Everyone Can Be a Reader Series
Edition description:	High readability
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	24,395
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Holly Bourne worked as an editor and relationship advisor for a youth charity for six years before becoming a full-time author. She is the author of several young adult novels, including It Only Happens in the Movies and the Normal series. Holly is an advocate for reducing the stigma around mental health issues and has a keen interest in women’s rights. She currently lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

2024-01-05
Three tween girls dabble in witchcraft but discover the magic of friendship.

Eighth grader Sophia, along with friends Mia and Alexis, attempt to use Mia’s knowledge of witchcraft (gleaned from the internet) to cast spells. Together, they sit in a circle and call upon elemental spirits, each hoping to find a solution to their emotional wounds. Mia struggles with self-harm, Alexis grieves for her deceased dog, and Sophia is heartbroken thanks to feckless ex-boyfriend Aidan’s cheating, prompting her to cast a love spell to get him back. One by one, the spells appear to come true, but Sophia’s friends help her realize that she deserves a more empowering journey toward self-love. The narrative, told from Sophia’s first-person perspective, develops parallels between her absentee father and Aidan, sources of rejection that prompt her recovery. Sophia’s voice is humorously exaggerated and obsessive when referring to Aidan. The confessional style, written with reluctant and struggling readers in mind, features repetitive dialogue with little exposition. The narrative moves disjointedly through time, however, jumping between the present and flashbacks, before leaping two years into the future, which may cause confusion. The secondary characters unfortunately feel typecast rather than like well-rounded people. Mia’s sudden healing, for example, skips over the nuances of self-harm and her need for non-magical solutions. The book’s physical design offers greater accessibility for those with dyslexia. Main characters read white.

An uneven melodrama. (Fiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews