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A review by yabetsy
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
5.0
This debut novel follows Felicity Pickle, a wordsmith unlike most others you will have come across in your travels, as she is a girl who sees words emanating from people, words tell her about those people, and let her make poetry. Traveling is something with which all the Pickles are familiar, as it turns out they have been cursed with a wandering heart, until they enter Midnight Gulch, their new town, once known as a place where the people "had magic in their veins." As Felicity and her friend Jonah uncover all of the secrets in the town, meeting an astonishing number of unique denizens and allowing Felicity to blossom, the story behind the town's magical curse to be told and, unsurprisingly, a very satisfactory ending.
The joy in this tale is in the wonderful language, that would make this a great read aloud or book to share. Any young logophile would enjoy Felicity's satisfaction in the many stories being told, far beyond the enjoyable details such as the varieties of the local specialty ice cream (Bobby's Buttered Avocado, Virgil's Getta-Outa-My-Face Fudge Ripple), or the idea of the combination Curl and Lube, that make Midnight Gulch such a unique setting. Felicity's descriptions of the words that she sees, such as "enchanting" that "perched...like a tiny songbird" while she is also experienced enough to know that her mother uses "was" and "them" as "distancing" words. Felicity's journey, in the end, is one that is well worth joining.
The joy in this tale is in the wonderful language, that would make this a great read aloud or book to share. Any young logophile would enjoy Felicity's satisfaction in the many stories being told, far beyond the enjoyable details such as the varieties of the local specialty ice cream (Bobby's Buttered Avocado, Virgil's Getta-Outa-My-Face Fudge Ripple), or the idea of the combination Curl and Lube, that make Midnight Gulch such a unique setting. Felicity's descriptions of the words that she sees, such as "enchanting" that "perched...like a tiny songbird" while she is also experienced enough to know that her mother uses "was" and "them" as "distancing" words. Felicity's journey, in the end, is one that is well worth joining.