MAGYK by Angie Sage
The day that the Queen was murdered was a tumultuous one for Silas and Sarah Heap. Sarah gave birth to their seventh son, Septimus, who died shortly after he was born (or so they think), and Silas found an abandoned baby girl in the bushes. It wasn’t until later that Silas and Sarah realized that their new daughter Jenna was really the baby princess, rescued from the clutches of the usurpers by the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. By the time Jenna is ten years old, however, wizarding families like the Heaps have begun to face persecution, and it isn’t long before a spy discovers Jenna’s true identity. With the help of the ghost of Silas’ old mentor, the Heap family manages to escape the main city and hide with some eccentric relatives in a forest and a marsh. Unfortunately, the evil sorcerer DomDaniel and his hunters are determined to get the princess back.
This book was about 200 pages too long for me. Still, some of the “Magykal” concepts were pretty cool, and several of the characters were interesting. Kids who like books about wizards and don’t care as much about character depth will certainly enjoy this series.
If you liked Magyk, you might like The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson (which is better, in my opinion), Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Susan the Librarian 