Shannon's Library

LET’S GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!

Eleven-year-old Fin has lived in Aldermere for the past three years. It’s a magical town where shops can vanish without warning, doors lead to mysterious places and a sip of tea can grant your deepest wishes. This is the first place Fin has felt truly safe and is the first place where she has found a way to deal with her constant fears. With a school science fair project approaching, Fin turns to magic to ease her fears. The cost is a memory, but there are things from her past that Fin doesn’t mind forgetting. But things don’t go exactly as planned. Instead of easing her anxiety, Fin accidentally unleashes a mischievous doppelganger on her beloved town. Fin will have to face her fears and find the courage inside of her to stop it!

Keep reading below for my full review!

Shannon’s Rating — PG

---

LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!

This book came into my life at a very fortuitous time. I picked it up at the library because I loved Emily Lloyd-Jones’, “The Bone Houses,” and hadn’t realized she had written a middle-grade novel. I thought I was going to be reading a cute little story about a magical, off-the-beaten-path town. And it was that. But it was also so much more. Little did I know I was about to read a book perfectly geared towards children struggling with anxiety.

My 8-year-old son, Ty, has had a rough start to the school year. I’ve always known he’s had some latent anxiety issues – which I knew we would be dealing with sooner, rather than later. Well, this might be the year it all starts. Just this week, he had a bit of an anxiety attack after school and wasn’t able to walk home with his friends. For the first time, I sat Ty down and explained about the word…”anxiety.” Anxiety isn’t new to our family. My 20-year-old daughter has struggled with it, and I’ve struggled with it my whole life, as well. But figuring out how to help my son through these struggles at such a young age is going to be a challenge.

As I was reading, “Unseen Magic” I was struck by how pertinent this book is for those facing anxiety issues. Yes, on the surface it’s a cute book about magic, friendship and mystery. But beyond that, we see a young girl trying to live with crippling fears. My heart reached out to Fin, especially as I’m watching my young son learn how to cope with his fears and anxieties. As Fin comes to realize that she can’t just bury her fears and learns how to appropriately deal with them, I was totally cheering for her!!

I loved everything about this book! Fin’s friendship with Eddie was adorable. The town of Aldermere was delightfully charming. The little bit of mystery was fun.

My favorite quote about the magic in the town was…

Magic wasn’t bright flashing spells or turning people into toads. It was quiet and creeping, and it had a way of steeling into the cracks of the sidewalk and into the very water.

I’m so grateful I discovered this book! I plan on reading this book with Ty and, hopefully, it will lead to some great discussions on fears and how to best handle them. If you know a child who has some anxiety in their lives, I highly recommend this one!

(Just a heads up…there is mention of domestic violence towards the end of the book. It’s not heavily dwelt upon, but it’s enough that I would want to read those parts with Ty and talk to him about that certain situation.)