When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

Abstract

Reviewed by: When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey Kiri Palm Gailey, Sarah When We Were Magic. Simon Pulse, 2020 [352p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-5344-3287-1 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-5344-3289-5 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12 High school senior Alexis didn’t mean to kill fellow classmate Josh Harper, but that’s what happens on prom night when her first attempt at sex ends in dangerous, explosive magic. Her crew of five friends, girls who have bonded over their magical gifts, are quick to try to help her dispose of the evidence and repair the damage, but nothing is working according to plan. As the girls burn, bury, and obliterate Josh’s remains, they begin to pay a high price, and Alexis is terrified that she’ll lose [End Page 303] her beloved friends in the process. Hugo Award–winner Gailey doesn’t pull any punches in Alexis’ narration, spinning a tale of consequences, flawed characters, and detailed accounts of gore. Many of the acts the girls commit should be unforgivable (and are often stomach-turning), but the strong bond they share make the characters impossible to hate. Alexis is both naïve and jaded, certain she’ll be abandoned while determined to fix everything alone by leaving her friends, a selfish plan that never succeeds. Her romantic pining for bestie Roya is sure to make readers remember their own first loves, and the constant will-she-won’t-she back and forth is as believable as it is frustrating. Thankfully, everything doesn’t work out in the end, but Alexis and her crew learn how to live with what remains and support each other in the aftermath, a lesson every reader is sure to appreciate. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois