REVIEW: The Charmed List by Julie Abe

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Ellie Kobata loves her little magical community – the shops, the spells. Everything but her ex-best friend Jack and his grouch of a father. In fact, it’s a prank on Jack that goes so wrong it might cost Ellie her current best friend, her parents’ trust, and her magic. It was an item on Ellie’s “Anti-wallflower” to do list – a list of tasks she wanted to do to come out of her shell. But “Get revenge on Jack Yasuda” went all wrong.

As penance, she has to take a business road trip – the trip she was supposed to take with Lia before everything fell apart – with Jack. How can she endure hour after hour in close quarters with the best friend who abandoned her years ago?

Review


This was an unexpected delight. I wasn’t sure about this at first. It took me a bit to get into the flow of the magical world. And Ellie and Jack were hard to like early on with all of the mysterious hostility. I’m still not 100% sure Jack’s explanation was sufficient. But the two of them are delightful together once they set their feud aside.

By the end I was deeply attached to this magical world. I loved the village and the cottage and the convention – brilliant! The supporting cast is lovely; they were a great anchor for me to keep reading when Ellie and Jack were at odds.

The bucket list plot has been done often, and I generally enjoy the stories. I enjoyed how the list comes into play here. It’s a constant thread in the book, but not a driving one. It’s part of Ellie’s journey to define herself and take up space in the world and that whole journey was enjoyable.

Readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers should definitely check this out, especially of you like stories with an extra layer of magic.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: April Fools’ Day

Happy April Fools’ Day! I have never loved this “holiday,” especially as a teacher. But I do like to READ about pranks and pranksters. Here are a few prankster books to enjoy this month:

My Lucky Day – Hilarious picture book about a hungry fox who finds a pig on his front porch. How lucky! By the time it is all over, though, it just might be the pig who is the lucky one!

 

 

 

 

April Fools’, Mr. Todd! – I haven’t had a chance to read this one yet, but I LOVE Judy Moody. This early reader series with Judy and her friends is perfect for kids in lower elementary grades who are growing as readers and are ready to try some longer stories. The illustrations are full color and fantastic. I can’t wait to read this one!

 

 

 

The Terrible Two – A prankster arrives at his new school ready to show the other kids his skills. But there is a pretty impressive prankster already there. Is this school big enough for TWO master pranksters? I get a huge kick out of this series by Mac Barnett. There are two books already with a third slated for 2018. Great for fans of the Wimpy Kid books.

 

 

 

The Last Boy at St. Edith’s – This book about the only boy at an all-girls school (the school tried to go co-ed and it didn’t work, but his mom teaches at the school, so he is stuck) who tries to prank his way to expulsion is on my TBR! I’ve been trying to get to this one for awhile. This might be the perfect time to read this one!

 

 

 

 

Codename Zero – A prankster is recruited to help a secret government agency. This is on my TBR, too, This is the first book in a series. I love books where the grown ups have to seek out a kid to save the day!