This book has always touched the part of me that continues to believe in magic. From childhood on, magic with its wonder and amazing splendor has filled me with glee. Yes, I had a magic kit as a kid, but it mostly frustrated me since I could never truly bring off the tricks the way the magicians on the boardwalk at the Shore did. A flip of the hand and poof ** a guinea pig! (A beautiful Abyssinain – my parents bough my brother and me a pair of all white ones after that show, who unfortunately died a few years later by accidental 13 year-old neglect. Still feel sick to my stomach about it today).
But the magic in this book always fascinated me more. This is real magic – created by realistic characters from within. There is no sudden poof! It is a subtle magic that has such power, all within a family in a special town that seems to have a magic of its own.
Each person in the Waverly family has their own power – Claire, with her flower magic, Evanelle, who knows what people need; Sydney, with her ability with hair and young Bay, who knows where things belong.
There is an interesting vibe in the town that everyone’s destiny has been pre-ordained. The Clark women have their sexual prowess, the Hopkins family, whose men only dated older women, and the family who always had a man named Phineus, who was the strongest person around. This town is cut off from the world by the self-fulfilling prophesies of their superstitions. The only characters that do not have this special part of them are the “outsiders,” especially Tyler, who is completely unaffected by the magic of the town.
The other two main “characters” in the book are the Waverly house with its sticky doors and personality, and the apple tree which is surrounded by the special garden where Claire collects her ingredients. These non-human individuals add to the magic of the book making it a joy to read.