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abbiealwaysreading_ 's review for:
Spellbook of the Lost and Found
by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
*4.25
I went into this not knowing much accept that it's set in Ireland and starts with the aftermath of a party. We follow three sets of characters of which are all connected to the story in some way. This is my first Fowley-Doyle book I've read and I really enjoyed her writing and was pleasantly surprised with how easily it flowed.
It starts off as an innocent spell to try and find lost diaries/lost items after the party, and soon it's discovered that in order to find these items, several other items get 'lost', and this also includes people as well which continued to be a bit of a mystery. You can tell the teens we follow are quite troubled, as we see a lot of alcoholism, implied sexual abuse, and also parental issues. All the characters were broken in their own little way, and come to terms with this during the plots development.
I loved the representation of the book, Olive (POV) and Rose are bisexual, and Hazel (POV) is lesbian and as you can probably tell, there is a f/f relationship which I loved. Also we learn that Rose is possibly mixed-race, as there were racist comments made about her ("Pocahontas"); and Olive (POV) is also deaf in one ear as the use of her hearing aid was used a lot throughout. Even though some of the romantic interests were predictable, they weren't in any way tropy; one character is known for falling in love too easily, which can be linked to her relationship with her parents (which really didn't go well!).
And Mags, in my opinion, was the unsung-hero of the book, always there in the times of need. She's not as physically present as the group of teenagers, but she's still 'there' and mentioned a lot. "How old is Mags Maguire and how long has she had that pub?" " I would've loved to have more depth into her character as she was incredibly intriguing, and I don't think we got enough of her! A whole novel into her past and development would be perfect!
The plot itself developed so well, and the author also left 'breadcrumbs' throughout the book, which all click together when you're near the end. Some of them I felt I should've picked up on because they seemed so simple in retrospect, and discovering the end plot twist was fabulous! I was kicking myself for not having any inkling for it during the book! I have honestly developed more of a love for magical realism and the 'gray-area' between real-life and magic, it also had a creepy vibe to it which was very fitting for October!
I went into this not knowing much accept that it's set in Ireland and starts with the aftermath of a party. We follow three sets of characters of which are all connected to the story in some way. This is my first Fowley-Doyle book I've read and I really enjoyed her writing and was pleasantly surprised with how easily it flowed.
It starts off as an innocent spell to try and find lost diaries/lost items after the party, and soon it's discovered that in order to find these items, several other items get 'lost', and this also includes people as well which continued to be a bit of a mystery. You can tell the teens we follow are quite troubled, as we see a lot of alcoholism, implied sexual abuse, and also parental issues. All the characters were broken in their own little way, and come to terms with this during the plots development.
I loved the representation of the book, Olive (POV) and Rose are bisexual, and Hazel (POV) is lesbian and as you can probably tell, there is a f/f relationship which I loved. Also we learn that Rose is possibly mixed-race, as there were racist comments made about her ("Pocahontas"); and Olive (POV) is also deaf in one ear as the use of her hearing aid was used a lot throughout. Even though some of the romantic interests were predictable, they weren't in any way tropy; one character is known for falling in love too easily, which can be linked to her relationship with her parents (which really didn't go well!).
And Mags, in my opinion, was the unsung-hero of the book, always there in the times of need. She's not as physically present as the group of teenagers, but she's still 'there' and mentioned a lot. "How old is Mags Maguire and how long has she had that pub?" " I would've loved to have more depth into her character as she was incredibly intriguing, and I don't think we got enough of her! A whole novel into her past and development would be perfect!
The plot itself developed so well, and the author also left 'breadcrumbs' throughout the book, which all click together when you're near the end. Some of them I felt I should've picked up on because they seemed so simple in retrospect, and discovering the end plot twist was fabulous! I was kicking myself for not having any inkling for it during the book! I have honestly developed more of a love for magical realism and the 'gray-area' between real-life and magic, it also had a creepy vibe to it which was very fitting for October!