The book “Small Magics” is about a girl called Molly Flynn who is sent to live with Pat O’Neill and Priya Chaudhary and their other foster children, Wren and Lorcan. One day, curiosity gets the better of her and she opens a door she isn’t supposed to open. Behind it, she discovers Pat and Priya’s real shop — a magic shop!
The people who work in the shop are Pat, Priya, a banshee called Ciara (who is the manager), and a goblin called Frank. Pat begins teaching Molly about magic and starts testing her powers. Frank discovers that Molly is a “Collector,” which means she has special magical abilities. He brings her to Shannon Airport to sort through magic, but things soon start to go wrong.
People are being found drained of magic and are petrified. It is up to Lorcan, Wren, Frank and Molly to work together to discover who is responsible for this.
I thought this book was excellent. It was addictive and intriguing, and there were no boring parts. The cliff-hangers made me want to keep reading, and I finished it in just three days. My favourite part was Molly’s birthday scene at the end, when everyone surprised her with pancakes before she and Frank went off to save the world again. I also liked when Frank and Molly were in town making references to Star Wars.
The book was also funny, and even though all the characters were very different, they were connected in interesting ways.
I would rate this book 9/10. I really enjoyed it and would definitely read it again. I would recommend it for ages 10–13 because Molly is around that age and easy to relate to.
By Caitlin (12), 6th Class, Clonmoney NS, Co. Clare.
“Small Magics” by Alex Dunne, published by O’ Brien Press, is now on sale for €9.99 (P/B).
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher, O’ Brien Press, free of charge to Seomra Ranga for the purposes of this review.
