Like A Charm

LoveReading4Kids Says

Longlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2023 ages 7-10 | Shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023

The first in a duology from Elle McNicoll, multi-award-winning author of A Kind of Spark, Like a Charm is ablaze with magic, mythical beings, and the indomitable derring-do of its inspirational neuro-divergent heroine. Also underpinned by powerful messages around self-discovery and community, and the power of books and booksellers, it delivers all the thrills and twists of a classic adventure with contemporary verve.

Ramya’s adventure begins with words of warning from her grandfather: “Beware the Sirens.” After she and her family relocate to Edinburgh, Ramya is initially thrown by the magic that’s presented to her when she inherits a mysterious book from her beloved grandfather: “Learning difficulties and magic seem equally mysterious to me. To know that I might have both in me is too much to think about at this moment”. But it’s not long before she’s drawn into a secret world of magical beings - and family secrets - and realises that “Magic is a talent. Something that relies on natural ability”. Teaming up with her cousin Marley (“He is quiet where I am loud, he is polite where I am brash), Ramya harnesses her magic in all its forms, and throws herself into a perilous battle to save the city.

Providing positive inspiration for neurodivergent readers (“I’m dyspraxic and fantastic”. “I am resilience. I have a brain and a pair of hands and two eyes that do things differently to the rest of the herd”), Like a Charm also offers an allegory for our times, with the toxic Sirens of the story linked to the kind of politicians who turn “neighbour against neighbour”, resulting in “people getting meaner”. Unforgettable Ramya will have a huge range of young readers under her spell, and stirred to empowering self-belief.

Joanne Owen

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