Book Review: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 288
Received: ARC from author
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary

From Goodreads:

In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an “Ord”—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society.

The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!

Review

I'm a character girl

Abby is cute as a button and totally real. She's shy and awkward in some situations, but she's laid back and fun around people she feels comfortable with. She wears her emotions on her sleeve, which makes her a great first person narrator, but sometimes gets her into trouble when dealing with other characters. She can also be a little slow to pick up on things sometimes, but that's because she's still a kid.

Buuut, Abby is very much a young character. She evoked all of my "Oh honey!" adult responses where I just want to hug her until her cute little eyes pop out of her head, but I'm not looking to invite her to any sleepover parties. I'm sure she'll be a hit with the target audience, though.

The other characters were all very nice, but they were all either just as young as Abby, or they were older but presented through Abby's younger eyes. So, very sweet to read, but I didn't get that personal connection from them (though I think I would love to be older sister Alexa's roommate. She's all prim and proper and I bet she's a heck of an organizer. I'd also tease her SO HARD about her romantic relationship Abby hasn't quite picked up on yet).

The strength of the characters for me came more from their interactions with one another than from any one individual character. I love that "big happy family" feeling where my face starts to ache from smiling so much and Abby's family made my cheeks ache they were so heartwarming. Abby's family could have gone the more typical route of evil step mothers and Cinderella-like shunning, but instead they were like a dream come true. Think the awesome Weasley family.

How about that plot?

The plot was pretty good, but for me it was all a little too slow and "lite." The plot reflects Abby's age, and while I'm sure it will be an edge of your seat adventure for the target audience, it was a little too predictable without enough high stakes for me.

True, there is a darkness to everything (they sell children in this world! And then put them to work in dangerous situations until they die young!), but I never felt like anything truly BAD would happen to the characters when it was all said and done.

Speaking of working in dangerous situations, is it just me, or does that sound kind of cool? These kids are immune to magic, so they're basically used by adventurers to go on quests thwarting magical spells and stealing treasure. And yeah, sure, ok, maybe they do often, you know, DIE, but I wish the story had focused on that life path. It sounds a heck of a lot more interesting to read about than following Abby as she learns how to non-magically scrub dishes.

It's like Harry Potter!

The world building is top notch and I am such a sucker for good world building. I was the kind of kid who spent about 90% of my play time setting things up (my Barbie always had her wardrobe and hairstyles planned for the next seven days before we even began to think about actual imaginative play), so the stellar world building was enough to carry the entire book for me.

The world reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, but it is different enough that it doesn't feel like a cheap copy. It's more like, imagine the world of Harry Potter, and then imagine what it would be like if within that world there was a school for squibs (non-magical kids born into magical families, like Abby). Now combine that with the idea of a Defense Against the Dark Arts class for non-magical kids who are immune to magic, and you pretty much have Abby's school. Isn't that cool?

But the world building doesn't end there. There's political world building, too! There's a king with a hidden past and he may or may not be a totally good guy (though I so want him to be good). This first book only hinted at the king's secrets, but I'm guessing the next book will peel back more layers and set straight some of the questions I have about him. I am VERY intrigued.

But let's get serious for a sec—is there kissing?

No, no there is not. Sorry. Abby is young so she's not really old enough to understand swoon. And even though there are adults, it's not like they're making out in front of her and she's pretty clueless about picking up on any lingering looks.

BUT, *I* picked up on some, and even though Abby doesn't realize it, there's a certain someone who totally has a crush on her. So no kissing NOW, but I'd bet money there will be at least a little hand holding in future books.

Bottom line

Ordinary Magic ends, not exactly on a CLIFFHANGER, but things are left pretty dangly. There's a character still in peril, a villain on the loose, and of course there's all those courtly secrets I want answered. I'm hooked enough to check out the sequel, but I'm also content to wait (my favorite characters aren't the one in danger, thankfully).

While I don't feel the burning need to keep my copy for myself, I have ordered a copy for my library kids and I think they're going to love Abby and her world. Ordinary Magic is perfect for kids who are old enough for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but still a little too young to handle Order of the Phoenix through Deathly Hallows.

A note on those stars? They reflect my personal enjoyment only. This is the kind of book where my star rating would be much higher if I gave out objective ratings, because I really do think Ordinary Magic will be a hit among the target audience. 

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

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