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A review by the_fabric_of_words
The Magic Misfits: The Second Story by Neil Patrick Harris
5.0
This book is told from the point-of-view of Leila, Mr. Vernon's adopted daughter and the escape artist in training.
A psychic with a secret comes to Mineral Wells, and it's not long before the Magic Misfits figure out something about her act is not right.
Leila is usually very happy being the daughter of the Misters Vernon, but still she wonders about who her parents, particularly her mother, is.
First, B.B. Bosso's monkey tries to steal Mr. Vernon's ledger, and the kids learn it's written in a cipher, the Atbash cipher, to be exact.
Then, one of Mr. Vernon's old magic-gang arrives on his doorstep, Sandra Santos. She's a psychic, a clairvoyant, who receives messages from spirits who've passed on. She's supposedly inherited a house from her deceased mother and moves back to Mineral Wells.
Of course it's not long before she's foretelling the futures of the Magic Misfits, specifically Leila's, reminding her of a very special key that was attached to a ribbon and Leila, when she was left on the orphanage doorstep. She tells Leila to "keep it close."
Izzy and Ozzy adopt two "magic mice" and begin training them, and the Resort's ancient, grumpy bellhop, Dean, steers the kids in the direction of some recent ghost sightings in the Resort's abandoned wing, the one that burned down so many years ago.
Sandra helps the ghosts "move on" and gains a gig at the Grand Oak Resort for her efforts. But the kids aren't convinced she's genuine, and start their own investigation of what happened in the fire, who's been in the wing lately, and they learn about Mr. Vernon's group of magicians, back when he was a teen. This is how they learn about mesmerist and Mr. Vernon's nemesis, Kilroy Kalagan, a dark, mysterious figure who's pulling all the strings in Mineral Wells.
I won't spoil the heart-breaking twist at the end, with Sandra's performance, so I'll stop here. It's a great second installment in the series!
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
A psychic with a secret comes to Mineral Wells, and it's not long before the Magic Misfits figure out something about her act is not right.
Leila is usually very happy being the daughter of the Misters Vernon, but still she wonders about who her parents, particularly her mother, is.
First, B.B. Bosso's monkey tries to steal Mr. Vernon's ledger, and the kids learn it's written in a cipher, the Atbash cipher, to be exact.
Then, one of Mr. Vernon's old magic-gang arrives on his doorstep, Sandra Santos. She's a psychic, a clairvoyant, who receives messages from spirits who've passed on. She's supposedly inherited a house from her deceased mother and moves back to Mineral Wells.
Of course it's not long before she's foretelling the futures of the Magic Misfits, specifically Leila's, reminding her of a very special key that was attached to a ribbon and Leila, when she was left on the orphanage doorstep. She tells Leila to "keep it close."
Izzy and Ozzy adopt two "magic mice" and begin training them, and the Resort's ancient, grumpy bellhop, Dean, steers the kids in the direction of some recent ghost sightings in the Resort's abandoned wing, the one that burned down so many years ago.
Sandra helps the ghosts "move on" and gains a gig at the Grand Oak Resort for her efforts. But the kids aren't convinced she's genuine, and start their own investigation of what happened in the fire, who's been in the wing lately, and they learn about Mr. Vernon's group of magicians, back when he was a teen. This is how they learn about mesmerist and Mr. Vernon's nemesis, Kilroy Kalagan, a dark, mysterious figure who's pulling all the strings in Mineral Wells.
I won't spoil the heart-breaking twist at the end, with Sandra's performance, so I'll stop here. It's a great second installment in the series!
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/