E. Lockhart

{My thoughts} – I really am a huge fan of this series. I think it is brilliantly written and I always look forward for the new releases in the series. I have enjoyed getting to know Nory and the other students that are a part of the Upside Down Magic Class. This series truly helps you to explore your imagination.

In this all new book Nory and her friend Marigold decide to start a peaceful protest. They are upset because the principal has banned the newest toy fad from being allowed at their school period. He found the toy to be obnoxious and disruptive therefore he banned them from school grounds. Nory comes up with the idea to plan a protest and Marigold is the one that has to help her execute it.

The whole idea is to shrink as many children in the 5th grade class as a means of proving that they all stand together. Marigold is the only student that has the ability to shrink others students. She agrees to go along with the plan because she has been practicing making things big and she believes she will be able to make all the students bigger after they are done with the protest. Which she is hoping will result in them being able to bring their toys back on school grounds again.

I’m sure you can guess that it turns into a bit of a disaster, I mean what can one expect. Marigold is an Upside Down Magic kid, which means she doesn’t always have full control of her magic. A lot happens in this book that makes you understand that friendship, unity, and sticking to one’s beliefs are key to a successful peaceful protest. However, I’m sure that they could have found a more logical means of protesting had they considered the possibility of putting more thought towards it.

This book was a great addition to the series. It had all the key elements of all the previous books and it kept me interested in the story line. I look forward to when my littles will be able to read these books with me, or when I can read them to them, because I really enjoy the stories that unfold within their pages. I also look forward to reading any future books written by these three authors as well as previous books I have not yet had the pleasure of devouring.… (more)

{My thoughts} – Nory and her class from Dunwiddle Magic School get to go on a trip to the Dragon Haven. She and her classmates are extremely excited about this trip because they get to go overnight and see and interact with real dragons. This is a really really big deal for her class. Only one of her classmates isn’t able to go because her magic might cause more harm then good.

When Nory and her classmates get there they learn that they are one of two student groups that are going to be attending this retreat. Nory gets a bit anxious because she’s afraid the other group of students won’t like her and her class because their magic isn’t cookie cutter. Nory ends up going for a walk with her friend Elliot and they see a Kittenball game going on. She ends up joining the game and learns that one of the other girls is a kitten that can breathe fire. She quickly learns that girl has two talents and that she can’t always control it, like Nory and her classmates.

When they go back for lunch Nory learns that the other group of students there is from Sage Academy. That is the school where her father is the headmaster. She ends up being thrust at her father by her new friend and they have an awkward conversation, but he does admit that she’s his daughter at least. The rest of the book is her working out her differences with her magic and her father for the most part.

It also revolves around Andre’s story and how he finally starts to better understand his magic. This is a huge thing, because up until that point he had no control over how high he’d float up in the air, because he had no idea how to get back down!

If you’d like to learn more about both of these situations, I highly recommend reading the book. It was fantastic and a wonderful addition to the series!… (more)

{My thoughts} – Willa and Nory help to make this book an engaging read from start to finish. It is all about how Willa is trying to better understand her magic and that her and her friend Marigold are trying to figure out if her magic isn’t upside-down but in fact a completely different classification of magic all together. Her and Elliot both think they have more or less a type of the same magic. Together they come up with a name for that type of magic.

Nory is still doing loads of upside-down magic and turning into all sorts of strange critters in this book. It is always fun to read the descriptions of what kind of animal she will turn into and what the animal is capable of doing and being.

Willa and Nory have a hard time getting along in this book, because Willa feels constantly judged, which makes her feel like Nory is judging her while they work on a school project together. Nory feels like her friendship with Elliot is threatened because he and Willa have tutoring together for their type of magic.

Willa also has learns more about her magic in this book then she had ever known in the previous books. She learned how to take a number of the tips and tricks she’d been being told about and taught and how to apply them. Sometimes there was a good result and sometimes there wasn’t but it helped her to understand her magic more.

I recommend this book for any child that enjoys reading about magic, quirky characters and just all around fun. This series in a whole is full of laughs and interests while also teaching children morale and problem solving as well as life skills.… (more)

{My thoughts} – This is a beautifully written sequel to Upside Down Magic. Nory and Bax are still attempting to find their rhythm with their upside down magic. They are both still in the Upside Down Magic class at Dunwiddle Magic School with the same classmates. However, this time they have tutors within the school to help them try to have a better grasp on their magic and why it keeps turning out so much more different then everyone else.

They are being tutored by the coach is is helping them to learn techniques that can help them stay centered while they are transformed into animals or rocks as the case me be. So, far things seem to be going well for them, however, there are a lot of odd things going on at the school in terms of magic and no one wants to admit whether or not they are behind it. The upside down magic class swears it isn’t them and the rest of the school swears it isn’t them.

It makes one wonder just who it might be that is causing all the trouble. Especially since there is a rift between the up side down magic class and a number of the other students. Some of the other students don’t want the up side down magic class to continue at the school and are trying to find ways to convince other students as well as the principal to side with them and do away with the class all together. Could those students be the blame for the strange occurrences? Or is is the upside down magic class and they are afraid to be called even more things because they can’t keep their magic in check?

If you’d like to know you’ll need to read the book. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did. It is well written, has a lot of playful banter and silly catch phases within the pages. It is also rather entertaining to read the names of the animals that Nory seems to be able to transform into. I look forward to reading book three in this series in the near future!… (more)