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A Pinch of MagicMichelle Harrison
A Pinch of Magic
by Michelle Harrison
Three sisters inherit three magical objects and the family curse that comes with them: no Widdershins girl may ever leave the island alive.
A story about children, families and witches and wizards, spooky and adventurous in tone. We would put it with children of 9–12, and at a reading age of about 10 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
Three sisters — Betty, Fliss and Charlie Widdershins — are bound to their gloomy island home by an ancient family curse: no Widdershins girl may cross the water and live to see the next sunset. When Betty discovers three magical objects handed down through the family, she sets out to break the curse instead of submitting to it. Michelle Harrison spins a properly atmospheric fantasy-adventure with a strong thread of the spooky: marshes, prisons, a travelling fair and a genuine sense of dread hanging over the sisters. The peril is real but pitched for the age, and the heart of it is the fierce loyalty between three very different sisters. For a nine- to twelve-year-old who likes their magic dark-edged and their heroines resourceful, it is a gripping, well-built story with a satisfying mystery underneath, and the first of a series that readers tend to race straight through once the curse takes hold of them.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Children of the QuicksandsEfua Traoré
CoralineNeil Gaiman
Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsJ. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanJ. K. Rowling
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan CrowJessica Townsend
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.