A Gift of Magic

A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan

Three kids are given special gifts from their deceased grandmother: magic, dance and music. They gradually discover these gifts. They have settled down in the town where her mother grew up after her mother and father separated. (Previously they had traveled regularly as the family followed their dad around in a job as a foreign correspondent.) The dancer is able to quickly exhaust the training ability of the local ballet instructor. The girl with the gift of magic can read people's minds and influence outcomes. She gets in trouble when she completes a test before the teacher dictates the questions. She then goes to ESP testing and gets every question wrong. The tester realizes that she has has strong ESP powers and is trying to hide them, so he drops the testing. The boy with the gift of music doesn't do much with it. He can play anything with minimal effort, but doesn't bother to learn to read music. 

The girl with the gift of magic realizes that she can actually cause people do do things when she impacts her teacher. Later she feels guilty for wishing her sister would not go away for dance - and then sees her fall down the stairs. She is able to redeem herself when she is able to hear her brother when he is about ot drown as he is stuck on a sand bar as the tide is coming in. She helps lead his rescue and also learns that her sister will make a full recover and the injury is not her fault. She gains peace with the fact that her parents are not getting back together and will mary others. In the end, her mother has a new daughter, Lois, who has the gift of storytelling. (The author plugged herself into the book.) 

The book does a nice job of using just enough magic to advance the story without letting it become overwhelming. 

Half Magic

Half Magic by Edward Eager

Some kids find a magic charm that grants wish - sort of. It only grants half of what is wish for. How this half ends up outside your control. You may end up halfway there, or get half of something. The kids go oon some crazy adventures and have some bizarre things happen. They eventually realize that they can wish for double what they want to try to get it. It is short and must have been fun to write.

Physik: Septimus Heap, Book Three

Dragons, shape-shifting cats, time travel and female Hanseatic traders all play a role in this third Septimus Heap book. There are also ghosts walking around and a rats that barely escape certain death by escaping on a dragon. There are also alchemist apprentices and other challenges.

And these are just the sideshows.

The main plot centers around Queen Etheldredda and her diabolical plot for immortality. That requires some harm to the main characters. But, of course they are not going to go down so easily.

Flyte: Septimus Heap, Book Two

Septimus Heap seeks the ability to fly. However, most of the book is occupied with the kidnap of Jenna. She is kidnapped by Septimus' older brother Simon who is jealous of him and his apprenticeship to the ExtraOrdinary wizard. Jenna is not a damsel in distress and uses things like a "chocolate spell" to help get out. There is plenty of sibling rivalry in a magical world. 

Acts of Violet

Acts of Violet is an excellently produced audiobook. The novel centers around the life and disappearance of magician Violet Volk as told through past history and podcast segments. Each podcast is done like an actual podcast, complete with different voices being interviewed. It has the feel of a radio play.

Violet and her sister Sasha here daughters of Russian immigrants who grew up in suburban New Jersey. Sasha was also the more popular one. Violet retreated to magic. She became a super-famous, enigmatic celebrity magician who later pivoted into self-help guru. After a break, she appeared in a one-night spectacle. In the performance, she disappeared, never to appear again. A decade later, people are still trying to figure out what happened to her. A podcast host explores the story, connecting with many people that knew her. We also learn that her sister Sasha, while being the "normal" on also has occasionally found herself magically appearing somewhere else. Is it real life? Or is it fantasy?

The Prestige

The Prestige is the story of magicians that take their rivalry a little too far. It has an interesting structure, with a bounding narrative that eventually leads to the bulk of the nobel being in the form of a journal entry. The magicians try to one up each other in their performances. They also try to ruin the other's performance. This eventually leads to some science fiction elements. Nikola Tesla ends up providing a key bit of "magic" that allows people to be transmitted. This also leads to the interesting state of one of the magicians. However, this doesn't stop him from being able to ruin his rival.

The book also presents a story of the "secret lives" of magicians. They have books and information that "common" people do not see. They are illusionists, yet they highly protect their "skill"

Zach King: My Magical Life

My Magical Life is a pseudo-autobiography of Tik-Tok magician Zach King. Many of his friends in the book share the names with his real friends. He also has some of his "magic tricks" occur in real life.

In the book, Zach comes from a family of magicians. Alas, he has not found his magic. Because of this he is required to attend a public middle school to learn like "regular people". Things do not go well. He gets on the bad side of the "mean" girl and the principal. He accidentally finds himself inside a vending machine. This seems to be a sign of getting his magic back. He later finds magic caps that allow him to transport things from one cap to another. He uses this for fun (such as getting popcorn in the movie theater), tricks and even to save the life of the mean girl.

The story blends standard middle school challenges with some of Zach King's magic. It makes for a fun story.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Magic exists, but is not very common. Fairies are also a separate race that can cause all sorts of problems. Other than that, things are pretty much as we would expect in Victorian England. That is the scenario for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The book centers around the two named magician who learn the art of magic and try to document the history. Magic is used to help win wars. However, fairy magic has also lead to plenty of bad historical events.

The book contains a number of "stories" that are related. I found some of them to be quite good. However, I had trouble keeping interested at the end. It is a long book that may have been better if shortened.

Magyk: Septimus Heap, Book One

Magyk is an interesting "fantasy comedy". The magicians and the custodians are in conflict. There are a few "orphan" children that end up playing key roles. One is identified as a princess. One is identified only by a military number, but later shown to be of magical origin. (Thanks in part due to an unintentional mix up.) There are also plenty of "magical" creatures, such as messenger rats.
The narrative was quick and compelling, and full of dry humor. I also loved the end where the other provided details of the fates of all the minor characters. I can think of many cases in other works where I have wondered how these events may have impacted this minor character. Here, the author seemed to have a lot of fun doing just that.