LoveReading4Kids Says
This is a delightful, newly-minted fairy tale (three sisters, a quest, a witch, a moral) and thoroughly satisfying. The Widdershins sisters – Fliss, Betty and Charlie – live with their granny on the island of Crowstone, a miserable, end of the line kind of place, all damp, and marsh and mist. It’s not somwehere you’d want to live but as the story unfolds, we discover that because of an age-old curse, the girls can never leave. When breaking the curse becomes a matter of life or death, the three girls will have to work together – despite their sometimes spiky relationships – and at least they have a pinch of magic to help. This is an ingenious and compelling story and like the age-old tales that are its inspiration, pitches love, generosity and forgiveness against human cruelty. Superb!
Books in A Pinch of Magic Adventure Series:
1. A Pinch of Magic
2. A Sprinkle of Sorcery
3. A Tangle of Spells
4. A Storm of Sisters
Andrea Reece
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A Pinch of Magic Synopsis
A spellbinding middle grade fantasy about three sisters who go on a quest to break the curse that's haunted their family for generations.?
All Betty Widdershins wants is an adventure-one that takes her far away from Crowstone, the gloomy island where she's always lived. But instead of an adventure, Betty and her sisters, Fliss and Charlie, are given of a set of magical objects, each with its own powers: a scruffy carpet bag, a set of wooden nesting dolls, and a gilt-framed mirror. And these magical objects come with their own terrible secret: the sisters' family is haunted by a generations-long curse that prevents them from ever leaving their island-at the cost of death.
The sisters set out to break the curse and free their family forever. But after stumbling upon a mysterious prisoner who claims to be able to help them, they find themselves in great danger. And in order to break the curse-and stay alive-they must unravel a mystery that goes back centuries, one that involves shipwrecks, smugglers, and sorcery of the most perilous kind.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780358193319 |
| Publication date: |
4th August 2020 |
| Author: |
Michelle Harrison |
| Publisher: |
Clarion Books an imprint of HMH Books |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
416 pages |
| Series: |
A Pinch of Magic |
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Michelle Harrison Press Reviews
'A spellbinding story, steeped in Magic. I adored it' - Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song
'Brilliant' Emma Carroll, author of Letters From The Lighthouse
'This delightful tale fizzes with magic and races along at a fantastic pace. This book completely charmed my socks off!' Alex Bell, author of The Polar Bear Explorers' Club
'Simply phenomenal! A breathtaking quest for survival and freedom, bursting with brave heroines, enchanted objects and deadly dangers. And at its heart is a powerful and beautiful message of sisterly love and loyalty overcoming jealousy and betrayal' Sophie Anderson, author of The House With Chicken Legs
'What a glorious book this is! I was utterly captivated by the Widdershins sisters' Lisa Thompson, author of The Goldfish Boy
'Take three sisters, add the cruelest of curses and a pinch of magic, and you'll have a tantalising tale you cannot put down' Tamsyn Murray, author of Completely Cassidy
Praise for Michelle Harrison's Thirteen series:
'A charming and inventive tale' The Times
'You are in for an adventure' Sunday Express
'The very best in adventure and imagination' Waterstones.com
About Michelle Harrison
Michelle Harrison is a full time author who lives in Essex. Her first novel, The Thirteen Treasures, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and is published in sixteen countries including the UK. It was followed by The Thirteen Curses and The Thirteen Secrets. Michelle has since written Unrest, a ghost story for older readers and One Wish, a prequel to the Thirteen Treasures books. The Other Alice is her sixth novel.
Michelle's path to becoming a writer was inspired by stories told by her sisters as she was growing up, one of which was so vivid it prompted her to dig in the garden looking for evidence of a dead fairy. (She didn't find anything.) Since becoming a published author she still does strange things like asking people to shut her in the boots of their cars – all in the name of research, of course – like Alice.
Michelle has a son called Jack and two black cats. She suspects one of them is a mischief, but hasn't caught her drinking tea . . . yet.
Q&A with Michelle Harrison
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. I'm a 'glass half-full' type of person.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. Elvesden Manor.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Optimism, or at least I like to think it is!
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I sometimes think I'd like to be a cat, just for the sheer amount of sleeping they do.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. My Essex accent.
Q. Who is your favourite fictional villain?
A. Beatrice Lacey in Wideacre by Philippa Gregory.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. It would be Jack the Ripper. I like to think I'd demand to know his identity, but in all honesty I'd probably run.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. People who look down their noses at others.
Q. What is your favourite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. It depends on my mood, but drawing/painting, reading or watching a film.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. Being an author and an illustrator!
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Loyalty, a sense of humour, and integrity.
On Books and Writing
Favourite authors
Hans Christian Andersen, Enid Blyton, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Martina Cole, Roald Dahl, Philippa Gregory, The Brothers Grimm, Julie Hearn, Eva Ibbotson, Christopher Pike, J.K. Rowling, Marcus Sedgwick, Sarah Singleton.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Read lots, write lots, and don't give up.
More About Michelle Harrison
