Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches
Reviewed By: Alice Mitchell, Youth Services Manager
Genre: Realistic fiction/romance
Suggested Age: Teens (grades 7-12)
What is This Book About? Seventeen-year old Eleanor can’t help it that she’s cynical. She had to move to Salem, MA after her mom contracted Lyme disease, she lost her first love last year, and was then bullied out of her high school. Working at a witch-themed gift store in Salem doesn’t make it easier to believe that mysterious forces might be able to improve her life. All of that changes when Eleanor is sent a mysterious tarot deck, and when Pix and her cousin wander into the shop. Eleanor starts falling – hard – and begins to open up to new beginnings and the possibility of new romance. As Eleanor starts getting comfortable with a new group of friends in Pix’s coven, her past steps in to convince her that maybe she really does mess up everything.
My Review: This book will have you breaking out some tarot cards! I had a great time reading this book for Pride Month, though it would also do well as a witchy, fall read. I kept feeling more and more sorry for Eleanor as I learned about her first love and best friend, Chloe, but every refreshing moment watching her move on with her life with Pix in the current timeline made me feel so hopeful that she would be able to heal from her past. No one is perfect, and Scelsa shows how even good people can sometimes make mistakes. Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches was a great book about toxic relationships, second chances, and a little bit of magic.
Three Words that Describe this Book: witchy, anxiety, optimistic
Give This A Try if You Like… Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne, The Witch King by H.E. Hedgmon, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Rating: 4/5
