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| Image copyright Simon and Schuster |
First the blurb...
Three
sisters trapped by an ancient curse.
Three
magical objects with the power to change their fate.
Will
they be enough to break the curse?
Or
will they lead the sisters even deeper into danger? ...
Okay, so that's a pretty short blurb, but
was more than enough to tempt me into reading this. Covering my tick list
pretty efficiently here. An ancient curse, tick. Magical objects, tick.
Sisterhood, tick. Danger and adventure, tick.
The only thing that held me back from
reading this book sooner was the huge number of superlatives being thrown
around in other reviews for it. "Phenomenal",
"spellbinding", "brilliant", "breathtaking", "glorious"... the list goes on, and that kind of makes me hold off a bit. I hate being told I'll love something.
The trouble is.... THEY ARE ALL RIGHT!!
This book is absolutely wonderful. It is a
perfect example of how to unfold a story. There is exactly the right balance of
description and dialogue and every character feels well-rounded and
well-placed. The dialogue is natural and at times I was so swept away by the
story that I properly lost track of time. I had those wonderful times when I
sat down to read and hours later I looked up and found the room in darkness and
my tea cold (don't you love it when that happens?!)
I suppose I should give you more detail
about the story, but I really don't want to ruin it. The story of the
Widdershins sisters doesn't need a longer blurb than the one above and I hate
reviews that spoiler. All you need to know is in those few lines above. This
fairytale/Grimm type story feels traditional, but with a whole load of new
ideas and sparkling adventure. It never veers into stuffy or dull and will make
a great novel to read aloud and share. This is exactly the kind of book that
you will start reading aloud, and your audience will quickly be sneaking it off
to read ahead!
Another thing worth mentioning is the
stunning cover of this book. The design is by illustrator Melissa Castrillón and
her work also peppers the text with tiny silhouettes and a fantastic map. I
love it when a cover acts as a teaser for elements of the story, and this one
really does make the book the full package. It makes such a difference when a
publisher takes the time to make a book a desirable physical object. Book
ownership is an important part of the journey to becoming a lifelong reader,
and making printed books a glorious thing to own is vital.
A Pinch of Magic has the quality and feel
of a classic children's book, and I hope it will take its place among the
best of them.
A
Pinch of Magic is written by Michelle Harrison (and illustrated by Melissa
Castrillón). It is published by Simon and Schuster.
Review by Dawn Finch, children's author
and librarian.
@dawnafinch
www.dawnfinch.com
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2 comments:
Dawn. thanks for this recommendation - and for admitting that too many "utterly spellbinding" reviews can dissuade you a little from reading a much-praised book. Glad to know A PICH OF MAGIC was and is worth the reading time.
PINCH of Magic, obviously. Sorry: the eyes are worn out here with today's writing work.
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