Book Review: OLD MAGIC

Author: Marianne Curley
Number of Pages: 369
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: December 22, 2009

Kate Warren isn't your average girl. She has what her grandmother, Jillian, calls the gift. This includes feeling people's emotions, getting inside their heads, and performing spells. Jillian, who raised Kate after Kate's mother abandoned them both, has even greater magical abilities. Having always been an outcast, Kate is surprised when a boy moves to town that shows signs of also having the gift. His name is Jarrod, and he refuses to acknowledge anything magical at all. But when Kate and Jillian start suspecting that Jarrod's entire family line is cursed, things start to get interesting. Will Jarrod open his mind up to the fact that he just might have magical powers? And most importantly, can Kate and Jarrod lift the curse off of his family before it is too late?

At first, I wasn't too sure about this book. Jarrod's obliviousness and his inability to open his mind up to new ideas quickly grew annoying. However, as the book progressed on I started to like it more and more. Especially the second part of it- it isn't often that that sort of thing happens in books, so it was really cool to read about. (You'll know what I mean if you read the book.) I really liked how Jarrod's personality changed and grew as different events occurred, and how his relationship with Kate developed rather realistically. They went through ups and downs, just like actual people do in real life.

Also, I liked the fact that this wasn't your usual fantasy novel, filled with fairies and such. Although I have nothing against that sort of fantasy, it is always nice to see a different perspective on this genre. Even though this book is about magic and does include spells and sorcerers and such, it isn't what you think. It is written in a way that makes it more realistic, more believable.

All in all, this was a great read. Jarrod irritated me quite a bit, and the first part of it was sort of slow and a little weird at times, but the rest of the book made up for it in my mind.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys.

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes.

Yours,
NutFreeNerd