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A review by seraphjewel
Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
4.0
I decided to pick up this book because I really like the idea of people having to sacrifice/lose things when they use magic. I think you can go away from this book and not be entirely sure that actual magic occurred, but overall I feel like the story was written well and I liked the mystery aspect to it. A lot of things are lost and found; some losses aren't bad and some things that are found are not good. The book conveyed that idea nicely.
This book has a pretty diverse cast, but it doesn't really shove it in the face of the reader that it's diverse. For example, one of the girls has a hearing aid and another girl has a mixed heritage and is offensively called "Pocahontas" at some point. There are bisexual characters, gay characters and straight characters. Plus scenes of homosexual and heterosexual sex. But again, it doesn't feel like any of that is being shoved in the reader's face; it's just who these characters are. I guess it's the difference between trying to be diverse and just happening to be diverse-- if that makes any sense.
For taking place in Ireland, one would think the author would take advantage of the magic and lore of the area. This is not the case, and honestly I think that works to the book's benefit. It's very easy to picture this book as happening anywhere in the world, and only now and then does it remind the reader that it is, in fact, Ireland. The magic itself is very interesting. It doesn't really follow Wicca practice as far as I can tell, but I don't think it's supposed to. Magic is supposed to be mysterious and unexplained, and Ivy's little speech at the end talks of how magic exists everywhere in everything we do. There are no set rules for what it is and isn't, or how it works.
It's not an overly complex story. There's no real antagonist and honestly not that huge of a climax. It's very much a coming-of-age story and these characters coming to grips with what they've gained and lost and who they've become. This feels like it's for older teens and young adults. It's up to the parents, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers under thirteen.
The only criticisms I have are technical, like I found some words misspelled or just in the wrong place. Not sure if it was just my copy or an editing error, but it didn't distract much from the story. Overall it was good, and I'm glad I gave it a try.
This book has a pretty diverse cast, but it doesn't really shove it in the face of the reader that it's diverse. For example, one of the girls has a hearing aid and another girl has a mixed heritage and is offensively called "Pocahontas" at some point. There are bisexual characters, gay characters and straight characters. Plus scenes of homosexual and heterosexual sex. But again, it doesn't feel like any of that is being shoved in the reader's face; it's just who these characters are. I guess it's the difference between trying to be diverse and just happening to be diverse-- if that makes any sense.
For taking place in Ireland, one would think the author would take advantage of the magic and lore of the area. This is not the case, and honestly I think that works to the book's benefit. It's very easy to picture this book as happening anywhere in the world, and only now and then does it remind the reader that it is, in fact, Ireland. The magic itself is very interesting. It doesn't really follow Wicca practice as far as I can tell, but I don't think it's supposed to. Magic is supposed to be mysterious and unexplained, and Ivy's little speech at the end talks of how magic exists everywhere in everything we do. There are no set rules for what it is and isn't, or how it works.
It's not an overly complex story. There's no real antagonist and honestly not that huge of a climax. It's very much a coming-of-age story and these characters coming to grips with what they've gained and lost and who they've become. This feels like it's for older teens and young adults. It's up to the parents, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers under thirteen.
The only criticisms I have are technical, like I found some words misspelled or just in the wrong place. Not sure if it was just my copy or an editing error, but it didn't distract much from the story. Overall it was good, and I'm glad I gave it a try.