Book Review: A Pinch of Magic
Author: Michelle Harrison
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2019
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Pages: 352
Date Read: March ‘26
Main Characters:
Betty Widdershins (The middle sister who is thirteen years old)
Fliss Widdershins (The eldest sister who is sixteen years old)
Charlie Widdershins (The youngest sister who is six years old)
Bunny Widdershins (Grandmother to Fliss, Betty and Charlie)
Sorsha Spellthorn (A mysterious sorceress who died falling from a tower)
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?
My review:
I loved this book! I bought it on a complete whim as the artwork looked interesting and the blurb made it sound like a nice cosy, simple, magical read. In short, it delivered exactly what it promised. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book about magical objects (always a bit of a fascination of mine), and having just finished a thick non-fiction text, I needed something light-hearted to act as a sort of palate cleanser before I dipped into anything lengthy again. I wasn’t expecting to read this book as quickly as I did. Obviously, being a children’s fiction book, it was a very easy read. That’s not to say that it doesn’t include some lovely adventurous vocabulary and description. In fact, the book is marketed at ages 8-13 which I would say is spot on for both the plot and terminology. I guess I was just surprised by how quickly the story reeled me in and piqued my interest. I really found it a hard book to put down. I found that the chapters were a good length. By that I mean that they are not stupidly short, but they are also not laboriously long so that it leaves you wanting to just read a bit more... and a bit more…etc.
In many ways the storyline is kind of obvious. Three sisters are told not to do something, so they decide to go and do it anyway. Who could have predicted that? In someways it is a coming-of-age book as the girls are getting older and testing boundaries. They soon discover that having the responsibility of magical family heirlooms and using them wisely isn’t as easy or as fun as they first imagined. But for me, the overarching themes of this book are family loyalty, sisterly love, and bravery in the face of danger. What is there not to love? There is a slight twist near the end as the sisters learn about the true origin of the family curse, but there are hints to it in the book leading up to the reveal and the conclusion is well thought out and explained. Some darker elements are explored in the book too such as betrayal and grief which is also why I think it is a great book for pre-teens. I was delighted to find out that this is now the first book in a series of four. Apparently, it was not the author’s original intention to make this into a series although I can easily see why this book has become so popular and why more have since been written. There is certainly a lot of scope for more adventures with this family.
A fantastic bildungsroman filled with magic and sisterly love.
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5.
