The Magicians of Elephant County

August 1, 2018
A classic good-vs.-evil romp finds kid magicians wielding the real stuff.Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert are middle schoolers in Elephant County, named for a distinctive rock at the center of their town. Duncan is a magician, and as Emma will remind everyone, she is his "co-magician," not his assistant. The two kids accidentally get entangled with real magic when they break into the neighborhood witch's house to retrieve Duncan's lost backpack and end up with a piece of her magic wand. When a spell at the school talent show goes awry, Duncan must use real magic to rescue himself, and then the world's elite magicians and journalists descend upon the town--which means that an evil magician bent on getting the wand arrives to town as well. With chapters alternating between Emma and Duncan and black-and-white illustrations that are part of a case file on the entire incident, the novel moves along at a steady pace and culminates in a great battle in which kids really do save the day. The conscious consideration given to the class differential between Duncan, whose Puerto Rican family struggles financially, and Emma, who is well-to-do and white, is just one of the novel's many grace notes.Behind the fun there are thoughtful and subtle meditations on socio-economic class, bullying, and family relationships to boot. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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October 1, 2018
Grades 4-7 Duncan Reyes and his best friend Emma Gilbert team up for a show-stopping magic act. It all starts when the school bully dares Duncan to ring the town witch's doorbell. Matters get worse when Emma taunts the bully and he forces them to sneak into the witch's house, where they discover magic is real and a group of dark magicians is looking for a magical wand?one that the two friends happen to possess. The story is told through Duncan's and Emma's alternating perspectives, as the two talk to the police, recounting the events that occurred. Perry expertly captures each voice, making it easy to set Duncan and Emma apart and get an honest feel for each of their personalities. The two friends are vastly different but balance each other out through their strengths and faults. Emma believes in magic and has a strong attitude, while Duncan is skeptical and a little more put together. A clever and charming story about friendship and magic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Amateur magicians (and alternating narrators) Duncan and Emma stumble upon a witch's wand and use its mystical powers for their sixth-grade talent show act. When a stranger seeks the wand for nefarious purposes, they must learn real magic from the witch to defeat him. Despite shallow characterizations and a too-neat ending, the story effectively mixes humor, danger, and magic. Grayscale spot art is included.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)