Unseen Magic by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Abstract

Reviewed by: Unseen Magic by Emily Lloyd-Jones April Spisak Lloyd-Jones, Emily Unseen Magic. Greenwillow, 2022 [352p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063057982 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063058002 $8.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 Eleven-year-old Fin moves through her life with great trepidation—she's sure that it is her fault that she and her mom keep moving and she's equally certain that avoidance of her significant list of anxieties is the only key thing keeping her safe. Despite her mother's admonitions, Fin continues to go to a mysterious tea shop that sells magical tea blends for the cost of a memory—the more important the memory, the longer the impact of the drink, which might bring courage, calm, or health, to name a few. After Fin accidentally creates a twin of herself literally made of tea and her sacrificed memories, she knows she will have to step up in a significant way to save her loved ones and her town. Secondary characters come and go as it serves the plot, but as the two major players here, Fin and Teafin are a compelling study in the ways we divide ourselves, compartmentalizing rather [End Page 157] than understanding that our identities are often a mix of good, bad, vulnerable, and flawed all at once. The plot is well-developed, and the action builds toward a memorable conclusion, but the element that will linger in readers' minds is Fin's courage to push past a lifetime of anxiety and self-doubt to accept herself, and therefore become the right person to save the day. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois