CHAPTER BOOK: The Magic Cake Shop by Meika Hashimoto

Emma, raised by self-absorbed, judgmental, and snooty parents, is as sweet and genuine as can be. But she "fails" her parents at her 10th birthday party, and they punish her by leaving her with her rude, abusive and gluttonous uncle for the summer. The people in her uncle's community recognize Emma's genuinely nice nature, and they nurture and care for her where they can. But Emma's uncle and his business partner are up to no good, threatening Emma's new friends and the bakery where she loves to hang out. Emma will discover the magic of baking in a way she never expected - and she'll have a chance to make her own life a little better, at least for the summer.

Emma's parents and uncle are appalling (for Harry Potter fans, they are the Dursley's and Snape rolled together - cruel and thoughtless and selfish and mean). Readers will have to set aside their revulsion over these characters to get to Emma's story which is a delight. A fun story with food, friendship, baking and magic. There's a set up at the end that seems to make way for a sequel. While this story deals with Emma's awful uncle, her parents are off-stage for most of the book and remain unchanged by the story's end.

4 out of 5 stars
AR reading level of 5.2

Recommended for:  middle and older elementary readers who still enjoy stories with an element of magic and clear good vs. evil.

Cautions: I have talked with students before about stories with parents like Emma's and some students want no part of the story because they just can't stomach parents treating their children in such a verbally abusive way. Such students might benefit from reading this story in a group setting so they can process their frustrations and so they have an opportunity to see the story all the way through to the end.

EARLY READER: Twin Magic #1 - Lost Tooth Rescue! by Kate Ledger

Cute story about twins who use magic (they have fairy-like super hero costumes and a magic unicorn to help them) to help a friend who misplaced a lost tooth. A new friend discovers their magical secret which sets things up for this to become a series of stories where the twins and their friend can have adventures together.

Three out of 5 stars
AR Reading level of 2.0

This will be a great transitional story for my students working from first to second grade reading material as well as being fun for younger readers who will enjoy the magic and fairy-like qualities of the story.

FICTION for ADULTS: No Quest for the Wicked by Shanna Swendson

After solving the main mystery from books one through five, Katie is bored with her job at MSI (Magic, Spells and Illusions, Inc.) But before she can spend too much time thinking about what that means for the future, a new crisis looms. The Eye of the Moon - a magical stone created by Merlin has resurfaced attached to an elf-crafted brooch. The Eye works something like the Ring in Lord of the Rings - drawing people to it who crave power. Owen and Katie need to find it and secure it before it can be used to case mayhem - in the magical world or the regular one.

This book had a fun Lord of the Rings feel to it, with a collection of magical folks working with Owen and Katie (as well as those working against them) to find the brooch and keep it safe. I felt like the middle dragged some, with Owen and Katie running for hours and hours, trying to fight off everyone who wants the brooch. That distracted from some of the awesomeness of the story (like the scenes with the person who ends up with the brooch). No news on when book 7 will be out, but the ending of this book opens up all sorts of fun possibilities for the future.

3 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: fans of the series, fans of science fiction/fantasy/magic/romance stories.

FICTION for ADULTS: Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson

Katie and Owen are back from Texas, and not a moment too soon. The former chair of MSI (Magic, Spells and Illusions, Inc.) is back, too. While everyone treats him like a hero, Katie's not too sure she trusts the guy. And the competition, Spellworks, has amped up the business attack on MSI with loads of magical trouble and some "miracle" amulets that protect the wearers. Something is just not right about the whole thing. But before Katie can work out everything that's going on, the attack against MSI - and specifically against Owen - goes from sneaky to direct. Can Katie get to the bottom of things and protect Owen? Or will she lose everything her life has become since she discovered magic?

This has been the best book of the series, in my opinion. Everything from the first four books comes to a head in this story. The mysteries are well developed and played out, and there's great development of some of the secondary characters like Owen's parents.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: fans of the rest of the series, fans of science fiction/fantasy/mystery/romance stories. (This great series doesn't fit neatly into one category!)

FICTION for ADULTS: Enchanted Inc Series by Shanna Swendson

    

A few weeks ago I posted a review of the first book in this series, Enchanted, Inc. I have posted about this series before as I read it a few years ago. At the time, there were only four books in the series and the publisher had decided not to publish anymore. But I found out recently that there are now two more books in the series. So I re-read these, on my Nook, and I have the next two downloaded and ready to read next.

As I mentioned with book one, this is a series about a regular woman caught up in a magical world of wizards and gargoyles and fairies. Katie is a "magical immune." Magic doesn't work on her; she sees through the illusions and magical deceptions, which makes her an asset at her magical corporation.

In Once Upon Stilettos, Katie starts to lose her magical immunity just as she's trying to track down a spy in the company, which makes her vulnerable to the spells of their enemies.

In Damsel Under Stress, an inept fairy godmother does NOT help Katie and her crush get together, and she complicates their efforts to find out what their enemy is up to in the magical world.

In Don't Hex with Texas, Katie has gone home to protect Owen from having to choose between fighting their enemies or protecting her. But in what Katie thought was the least magical place on earth, magical things start happening and Katie needs her magical friends to help her sort things out before her family discovers everything.

I have enjoyed the series as much in my re-read as I did the first time through. And I'm even more excited this time because I have two more volumes to enjoy (and #5 is considerably longer than these - so more great story yet to come!!)

4 out of 5 stars for books two through four.

Recommended for: fans of "light" paranormal romance. There's a little language in books three and four, but the story line is not violent or "dark" in any way.

FICTION for ADULTS: Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson

Katie Chandler is one of those rare folks in the world without an ounce of magic in her, making her a perfect person to work for a magical company. Katie can see concealed clauses in contracts or people masking themselves to change how they look. These skills come in handy when a rogue wizard decides he doesn't want to play nicely with the magical community any more.

When this book was first published, paranormal romance/mystery stories were not as prevalent as they are today. Some places shelved this book with general fiction while others tried to categorize it as "urban fantasy." Can you imagine this cover in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the book store? Me neither. It's much lighter fare than what people call urban fantasy these days. And I like it that way!

I reviewed this book several years ago, but I recently discovered that the author had two more books in the series available for my Nook, so I downloaded the whole lot of them and started reading again. When I first reviewed this, my blog was only a few months old and I didn't give ratings and such. I would give this book 4 stars. I'm really looking forward to re-reading the next three books and then diving into the new material! If you like paranormal stories, but not the darker ones with vampires and demons and zombies and such, take a look at Enchanted, Inc. and the rest of the series!

MONDAY: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Summary
Benevolence wasn't supposed to be princess. Her uncle was the king and she was happy with her life away from the castle proper with her parents. But when the king is killed, along with Ben's mother, and her father is missing and presumed dead, Ben is next in line for the throne. Grieving and put out over all she has lost, Ben and the queen enter into an epic power struggle that leaves Ben locked in a tower cell. But that cell leads to a secret room where Ben begins to learn magic. And her new skills lead to an adventure that will change the direction of her life and will impact the future of her kingdom.

Review
This was a great story! Beautiful language - more intricate than typical middle grade fiction. Frankly, it is more intricate than a lot of adult fiction. Ben is a sympathetic character at the beginning, but the transformation that comes through time, trial, insight and maturity is even more satisfying. Plenty of material for discussion at home or school - body image and weight, assumptions and pre-conceived notions about people, etc. Excellent story!

4.5 stars out of 5
AR level of 7.9

Recommended for: strong readers 6th grade and older, fans of prince/princess stories

Cautions: none

FRIDAY: Mind over Magic by William Rabkin

Summary

What do Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Ghostbusters, Monk, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have in common? They are all references in this clever Psych mystery. Shawn and Gus return to the Fortress of Magic (after a trip in their youth) to do a favor for Henry and end up as witnesses to a magic trick gone wrong.

P'tol P'kah - the "Martian Magician" does an illusion where he dissolves in a tank of water and reappears in the audience. Pretty amazing - until he disappears and there's a body in the tank.


Review


Plenty of twists, turns and illusions in this magic-related story. The many ways Shawn tweaks the magician's name (P'can P'kie, P'teter P'karker, P'erry P'Mason, P'stuffed P'imento, P'torky P'kig) lead to giggles throughout the story - I can just hear James Roday doing those names! The story of why Henry sends the guys there in the first place is fun, too.


3.5 stars out of 5


Recommended for: mystery fans, fans of the TV show


Cautions: some minor language