Sunday, May 20, 2012

Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Ordinary Magic 
by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Pages: 288
Source: Netgalley
Format: ebook


Rating: Absolutely adored it! 


Goodreads Synopsis:


In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an “Ord”—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society.

The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!



Review:



Love! Love, love, LOVE this book! I’ll admit, when I first started it, I expected to “like” it. For MG books, that’s usually how it is. I’ll think its cute, but I don’t expect to fall in love with it. But this, this, I became completely immersed in and adored every moment!!



Abby:


You just can’t help but love this girl. She’s just got one of those voices that I love reading. She’s kind and caring but with just enough toughness and attitude to love. She’s got an easy-going sarcasm about her and simple child-like thinking that just makes her a ton of fun to listen to. I loved her thought process and her explanations for things.

She’s smart but she’s still got that child-like simplicity to her that I adored. She was hardworking and truly wanted to work with what she had (you go girl!). She was one of the lucky few that had a family that still cared, but she didn’t brag, instead she spread her family’s love with everyone. She’s definitely BFF material. Seriously, If I were her age (heck, even at my age :P) me and her would definitely be great friends!

One Big Happy Family:

Perhaps one of the best things about this book was Abby’s family! They were fantastic! Funny, easy-going, caring, sarcastic. Just one plain awesome family. The easy-going sarcasm, making fun of each other, but still caring about each other was pure perfection! I loved every moment with this family. In each situation there was love but also humor, always a plus in my book.

Magic:
Magic abounds in this book! Charms to makes rooms larger, magic carpets, minotaurs, goblins, magically changing staircases. LOVE! It kind of reminds me of the early Harry Potter books. It just gives off the fun, magical feeling.

There’s nothing wrong with being different. Or, in this case, ordinary!

You can't spell extraordinary without ordinary (Tehehe well I thought it was pretty ingenious :P)! I Loved the plot. Completely unique and incredibly engrossing. In this world, magic is normal, and if you don’t have magic you’re considered ordinary(a.k.a an ord). Weird, huh? But I loved it! Such a unique take on magic! And I loved that, although ords had a lot of prejudices against them, they learned to work with what they had and learned to love themselves, even though they were a bit different than what was considered the “norm”. Ords are a whole lot tougher than them magical folks! They don't have everything at their own whim. Think HP from a muggle's point of view. That's Ordinary Magic. Yeah, I just used another  HP reference so you know its awesome. 


Chapter 23:


HAHAHAHA sorry, just had to point this one out. I know I probably should've seen that coming but it was still funny. Maybe I'm the only one but definitely check it out :P 


Overall:


This book was a fantastic mix of magic, humor, and family. It was such a fun book and I loved every moment of Abby's journey. Abby learns to trust in herself and to follow her own heart. Readers young and old will enjoy this wonderful story of love, magic, humor and self-discovery. 

2 comments:

  1. This book sounds wonderful! I love all types of stories with elements of magic in them. You mentioned that this book reminds you of the early HP books...does Abby have other friends who help here along the way (like Hermione and Ron) or does the book just mainly focus on her? I'm adding this to my Goodreads 'to-read' shelf right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! Glad you like the sound of it! And yes, Abby has a group of friends that help her. At her school for "ords" that she goes to, the group her age is small (5 I think including her) and they all become friends and they do help each other a lot. While it still focuses on Abby, her friends and family are always there at her side. Yay!!!!!!! I'm so glad you've found a new book! Woot! I feel accomplished XD Hope you enjoy it!

      All the best ♥
      Mackenzie

      Delete

So what did y'all think? I'd love to know your opinions :)
(P.S. I try to answer all comments so check back often! Also, this is an award-free blog. I absolutely love that you thought of me, but I don't have time to pass it along. Thank you though!)