A Wicked Magic

Gr 9 Up–In this fantasy debut, high school seniors Dan and Liss are best friends grappling with the pressures of shifting allegiances, romantic relationships, family dynamics and college applications. They are also newly minted witches who have inadvertently summoned a dark spirit that has abducted their classmate and Liss’s boyfriend, Johnny. In their efforts to rescue Johnny, the girls enlist Alexa, an outsider and fellow senior who befriends Dan. All three must learn to trust each other as they embark on a quest along the rocky California shore to defeat Kasyan and bring Johnny home. The novel includes mature topics such as depression, self-harm, and child neglect, yet readers will cheer as the girls overcome their demons. The contemporary fictional town of North Coast is a moody place of damp fog, narrow roads winding between thick forests, and sharp drop-offs to the sea, drawn so clearly that it becomes another character in this deftly told mystery.