July 21, 2026 by Balzer + Bray
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Lilac Black is being raised in Salem, Massachusetts by her Grandma Violet, Uncle Beau, and his husband Uncle Bell since her mother died when she was a baby. Uncle Beau works for the local history museum, and Uncle Beau is a medium. When doing a seance for the mayor, Lilac claims that she can sense spirits. Her mother, Juniper, could as well, and the family gets very excited. They are all part of a secret society of seers, and make plans to send Lilac to the Spindlewood School of Seeing. The prep school is very confidential, and has a traditional uniform involving sweaters and blazers with crests. Suddenly, Lilac finds herself on her way to a remote island to study skills she has no way of developing! Luckily, Emmanuelle is nice to her, and the other residents of Hill House, including her roommate Chloe, give her enough direction that she can fake her way through her aptitude test. She studies up on Esther Prin, a local legend, and pretends to talk to her for the test. She also finds the journal of Lenet Gardner, and learns some secrets about her past and that of the school. She is accused of being Unseeing, but works hard to help when things at the school get rough. There is room for a sequel.
Strengths: Lilac finds herself in a conundrum of her own making, which will resonate very strongly with tweens. If we say something is true, it KINDA is, right? Once Lilac tells her family about her "gift" and they get so excited that they expedite her enrollment into Spindlewood, how can she possibly back out? Think Stu claiming to be a vegetarian in Richards' Stu Truly. The magical school is well set up, with houses, good cafeteria food, legends, quirky staff, and unusual classes. I appreciated that even in a school for magic, there was algebra! There is a little bit of interpersonal conflict, and lots of dealing with spirits. The backstory of Juniper and Lenet adds a bit of interest.
Weaknesses: I had trouble getting invested in the Beyond and the spirits there, so Lilac being involved with Seers, especially since she had no abilities, struck me as a little odd. Perhaps this will be explored more in a sequel, although this could be a stand alone.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a Wednesday Addams vibe and liked Wolff's Aftermyth, Williams' Where There Be Monsters, or Adame's Chloe Vega and the Agents of Magic but doesn't have the freshness of The Missing Magic of Sparrow Zia. I will probably pass on purchase because my students are rarely requesting magical academy books.
No comments:
Post a Comment