Half Magic

If Jane and her siblings think that their summer is going to be anything close to boring, they are as wrong as they can ever be. With the discovery of a glint of light reflected on a silver coin, their summer's plans change drastically. But how were they to know that it was really a rare charm that gives out wishes. Well. Partly. So when Jane wishes for something exciting to happen, it does. But only half of it does. This wishing charm seems to only give half of what people wish for. And for the most part, that pretty easy- you just say you wish to have twice of everything. Yet some things are harder to wish twice of. And sometimes they forget. And sometimes, they just wish without really thinking about it. What will happen to the children?

So when the four children: Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha (listed from eldest of youngest) find a lucky charm, on a lucky summer day on the lucky beginning of summer, they take some time to realize that the nickel that they took off the ground really isn't a nickel, and then they decide to have some fun with it. 

Jane is the eldest, so quite certainly the bossiest. She is quite the drama queen and loves to overact unnecessarily, and exaggerate. She runs everything along with Mark. She likes reading plays- second to reading fiction. 

Mark is the only boy and the eldest after Jane. He is respected as he is a boy, and he's old enough to be sure of things and know things. He runs everything with Jane. He is unsure which kind of nonfiction he likes best. 

Katharine is the second from youngest and is docile and a comfort to their mother. She loves boasting about how docile and how a comfort to their mother she is. She is the poetry-lover.

Martha is the youngest, very difficult, a trouble, and a nuisance. She's one to stop in the middle of a street and refuse to move until they did something. 

The four children do fit well with each other, although they do argue constantly. But what can we expect? They're siblings! However, they do stick up for another when it counts, even if some people do stuff others under their chairs! Before this summer, they have only had each other and their mother (barely, as she had work) due to the fact that their father passed on when they were very young, but this summer, even their family were going to have a little change!

Half Magic is amusing, and magical (by half), and is a short but lusciously written book. It is one that any fan of magic is bound to enjoy. There are some flaws- there aren't half as much conflict in the book as I would have liked, but all in all, it is enchanting!

**** I give this book a 8.2 out of 10.*****