Author: Julie Abe
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner
Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Sometimes all you need is a pinch of magic...
delightful
Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her thirteenth birthday. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test:
One: Help your town, do good all around.
Two: Live there for one moon, don't leave too soon.
Three: Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.
The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets a sunburn instead of calling down rain. And to add insult to injury, whenever she overuses her magic, she falls asleep.
When she lands in the tranquil coastal town of Auteri, the residents expect a powerful witch, not a semi-magical girl. So Eva comes up with a plan: set up a magical repair shop to aid Auteri and prove she's worthy. She may have more blood than magic, but her "semi-magical fixes" repair the lives of the townspeople in ways they never could have imagined. Only, Eva's bit of magic may not be enough when the biggest magical storm in history threatens the town she's grown to love. Eva must conjure up all of the magic, bravery, and cleverness she can muster or Auteri and her dreams of becoming a witch will wash away with the storm.
My opinion: It can be a bit risky, pulling direct inspiration from a popular piece of media like Kiki's Delivery Service. If poorly done it comes off as a pale copy. But if, as in this case, it is well done you borrow the positive associations from our fondness for the source material and uses it to build a whole new world. In this book, Abe has resolve some of my complaints about the movie, namely that there was no clear conflict or point to the plot. Eva's world has a lot more complexity. There's clear rules to magic and a larger conspiracy afoot. Eva is not an exceptional witch. Her powers are such that she has to use extra creativity to solve her problems. She also genuinely wants to help people. Yes, she wants to prove herself, but helping her people takes precedence. The plot is compelling and the characters are pleasant and reasonably complex. One I would easily recommend.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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