The Charmed List

May 15, 2022
Ellie is thrown together with her ex-best friend in this work that weaves light fantasy elements into a contemporary romance. Junior year is over, and Japanese American Ellie Kobata is excited to start her summer road trip with her best friend, Lia Park. They're driving from Palo Alto to the California Magical Retailers' Convention in Huntington Beach: Ellie, who is from a sorcerer family, will work the trade show while Lia, who is non-magic-aware, visits family. Ellie's family has a tea shop, and the joy charm they use gives their tea a little something extra. Ever since Jack Yasuda, her Italian and Japanese childhood best friend whose parents run CharmWorks ("basically the Walmart version of charm shops"), abruptly dropped her in middle school, Ellie began to feel invisible. She has created an Anti-Wallflower List consisting of 13 things to challenge herself and show who she truly is. Seeking revenge on Jack is on there, but when her prank goes wrong, it has consequences for Lia and their friendship, and Ellie is forced to drive to CMRC with Jack instead. The trip starts off awkwardly, but with time, Ellie sees the old Jack she remembers and realizes that there is more to him--and maybe more to their relationship. Abe's sweet, fun coming-of-age tale incorporates themes of friendship and family in a beautifully described world with captivating details, including enchantments and secret magical cottages. Rom-com lovers will be charmed by this magical story. (Romance. 12-18)

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June 13, 2022
Former best friends Ellie and Jack reluctantly road-trip to a magic convention in Abe’s (Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch) lighthearted contemporary fantasy. Japanese American Ellie Kobata, a rising high school senior, has struggled to understand why her Japanese and Italian former best friend, Jack Yasuda, started pretending she didn’t exist back in seventh grade, despite their connection as two of the few magic-aware individuals in Palo Alto, Calif. Tired of feeling invisible, Ellie develops the Anti-Wallflower List, comprising 13 goals, which include crashing a wedding and getting revenge on Jack; Ellie plans to complete the list before starting senior year. But when the revenge plot goes wrong, Ellie and Jack are forced to travel together to the California Magical Retailers’ Convention to mind their families’ respective enchanted establishments. Despite their constant bickering, Ellie is shocked to realize that Jack is inadvertently helping her cross things off the list—including falling in love. While the magical system is only perfunctorily explored, its fantastical elements, such as whimsical secret cottages and enchanted tea, add nuance to an otherwise straightforward courtship. Equal parts road-trip romp and endearing second-chance romance, Abe’s rom-com is a sweet summer treat. Ages 13–up. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic.

July 1, 2022
Grades 8-11 Determined not to waste the summer before senior year, Ellie Kobata challenges herself to complete a series of "Anti-wallflower" challenges, from "Win a contest" to "The perfect first kiss." She and Jack Yasuda were best friends until middle school, when he ditched her with no explanation. Her initial hurt hardened into anger, a defense that begins to crumble when their parents send them together on a road trip to a magic convention. Like Jack, Ellie was born into a family of sorcerers in Palo Alto. But after inadvertently revealing the magical realm to Lia, who wasn't "magic aware," Ellie is thrown together with Jack just when she's in trouble with her parents and Lia won't return her calls. As the story's narrator, Ellie comes across as vulnerable and articulate. The road trip gives shape to the story, bringing new challenges and opportunities for change. Though Ellie and Jack's romantic destiny is never in doubt, the imaginative details of a magical reality superimposed on the modern American landscape gives this love story a quirky appeal.

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August 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Ellie Kobata has been looking forward to her road trip for months, driving from Palo Alto to the California Magical Retailers' Convention where magical merchants like Ellie's parents can showcase their wares. Traveling with non-magic-aware best friend Lia poses some challenges, but Ellie is used to keeping magical secrets. She is excited to have Lia's help knocking items off her Anti-Wallflower List which Ellie hopes will be able to change her quiet girl persona at school into someone more interesting to her classmates and herself. Ellie's high hopes for the trip are dashed when item four-getting revenge on her ex-best-friend Jack Yasuda-goes horribly wrong, leaving Ellie grounded for the foreseeable future, in a fight with Lia, and, worst of all, driving to the convention with Jack. With so many disasters, Ellie's list is starting to feel as if it might be cursed, but as Ellie and Jack are forced to spend time together, they might also have the chance to rehab their friendship and maybe even check off some other items-like dancing under the stars and falling in love. Abe's YA debut is a delightful standalone filled with romance and magic. Artist Ellie's initially prickly narration will win readers over as she explains details of her magic-aware world. Ellie is Japanese American; Jack is biracial Italian American and Japanese American. VERDICT Fans of the romance genre will recognize tropes including hate-to-love, there's only one bed, and more in this cozy and engrossing story about second chances and new beginnings.-Emma Carbone

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