Abby Carnelia's One and Only Magical Power

February 15, 2010
New York Times
columnist Pogue debuts with the charming story of 11-year-old Abby, who discovers that she is a part of “a rare, very special breed of children who can bend the laws of nature—in tiny, pointless ways.” Her ability? Making a hardboiled egg spin when she tugs on her earlobes. Eager to make sense of this “power,” she attends a summer camp for magicians, and is soon sent on to a “Super Camp” for kids with similar supernatural abilities. It quickly becomes apparent that the camp is a front for a darker operation, and Abby and other gifted campers (one can fog up a window by counting by twos in Spanish in a weird voice; another can levitate, slightly, by imagining buffalos walking backwards in diapers) find purpose in their seemingly pointless powers. One gets the sense that Pogue family in-jokes may be a source for some of the dialogue, and the author even inserts himself into the story. But this in no way diminishes the kid-pleasing nature of Pogue's brand of humor or the message that all gifts, no matter how absurd they seem, have value. Ages 8–12.

May 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-While preparing a salad one afternoon, sixth-grader Abby Carnelia makes the astonishing discovery that when she tugs on her earlobes, she can make a hardboiled egg spin. The library and Internet research give her no insight into this seemingly useless power. Then her dad suggests that she attend a summer magic camp. Abby hopes that it might help her find out why she is able to cause this strange phenomenon. Pogue's first novel for children has an original enough concept to keep readers entertained. Short chapters and plenty of dialogue move the story along, and Abby is a protagonist many readers can relate to as she tries to discover if there is something more sinister going on at Camp Cadabra. Marred only by a slightly schmaltzy ending, this book will please fans of Bruce Coville's "Magic Shop" series (Harcourt) or other readers looking for a little magic."Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Grades 3-6 New York Times columnist Pogues debut novel is a youth fantasy about magic and, eventually, a shifty pharmaceutical company. Abby Carnelia discovers that she is endowed with magic when she makes a hard-boiled egg spin after tugging on her ears. Her power is specific, inexplicable, and thoroughly useless, and her attempt to find an explanation leads her to Camp Cadabra, where she meets other children just like her. The story progresses at a leisurely pace, kept buoyant by the snappy dialogue between kids, until the last third of the book, when Camp Cadabras hidden agenda is revealed. Abbys emergence as a leader among her peers is not entirely convincing, and the intrusive narrator, who we later discover is Pogue himself, is at times jolting. Still, the premise that every child is magical is clearly expressed without ever being heavy-handed. Abbys triumphant finale will have young readers contemplating how they, too, are special.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)