Review: Magic Trixie

Magic Trixie by Jill Thompson

Poor Magic Trixie! Her little sister Abby Cadabera is ruining her life. Her sister steals her parents’ attention, her chance for cloudberry pancakes, and even her lunch. Now she has to figure out what to bring to school for show and tell that will outshine her classmates. But her family won’t let her near any real big magic. What’s a little witch supposed to do?

This is a book I went into with low expectations and came out pleasantly surprised. Magic Trixie is a book that is Halloween-y only in its setting. Trixie is, as you may guess from her name, is a witch and goes to school with vampires, werewolves, mummies, etc. But the problems she faces are those of a normal girl her age. (Especially the sibling jealousy. I struggled with that myself quite a bit when I was younger.) In the end Trixie is just a normal kid with missing front teeth… and color-changing hair. But you still get the idea.

This would be a great way to introduce younger readers to the graphic novel format. The book isn’t that long, so it would be a great read for those who are working on short chapter books. As a graphic novel it’s more graphics than text, and the graphics are full of all the zany, gross, and quirky touches that are so popular with kids. The back cover says 8-12, but I think 12 years old is pushing it a little bit. They can still enjoy it, certainly, but Trixie’s character seems like it would be a little immature to a `12-year-old (think annoying little sister).

I can see myself loving this book if I had read it when I was younger. I think there are currently three books out in this series, and I will probably pick up the other two. More for curiosity’s sake, since it wasn’t to die for good, but still a cute book.

Shady Glade Rating 7/10