The Magic Half

ifeelbookish - I just reread this after a year or so, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was younger. It definitely fills a niche for younger readers, but the story is not as light as the cover suggests. The book was spine-tingling, yet adventurous. In the beginning of the book the main character, Miri, moves to the countryside with her older brothers, Robbie and Ray who are twins, and her younger sisters Nell and Nora, who are also twins. Miri is left in the middle with no attention from most of her family. One afternoon, Miri finds a broken piece of glass from an eyeglass, taped to her bedroom wall. Miri looks into the glass and finds herself transported to 1935, but Miri is in the same bedroom, the same house, with four different people living in the house: Flo, Horst, Sissy, and Molly. Horst and Sissy are Flo's teenage children, and Molly's parents abandoned her so she is living with her Aunt Flo. Molly is treated horribly by her aunt and cousins, and she is the only one that meets Miri. Miri and Molly instantly become best friends, and Miri plans to take Molly home with her to the future. There's only one problem, they don't know how to get back to Miri's home in the future. I read this book in the middle of a "mourning period" because I just finished reading the Clockwork series by Cassandra Clare. I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between Miri and Molly. I liked how the author included two sets of twins, instead of four brothers and sisters. This book was a bit of a "ghost story", and I was definitely scared of Horst. The book was suspenseful, but believable at the same time. The ending was exactly what it was supposed to be, but had an unexpected twist to it. I would recommend this to girls that are 10 and older. -ifeelbookish

December 17, 2007
Not only is 11-year-old Miri a middle child, but she's stuck between two sets of twins, neither of which will let Miri tag along as they explore the nooks and crannies of the family's new house. Good thing Miri has a wild imagination to keep her company and a powerful belief in magic, too. She needs both for this clever take on the through-the-looking-glass(es) adventure that Barrows (Ivy and Bean
) spins for her. “Magic is just a way of setting things right,” Miri learns after peering through an eyeglass she discovers in her room and then suddenly finding herself in the company of a girl who could almost be Miri's twin, except that the year is now 1935. Barrows limits the fantasy to the simple but effective time-travel device, using it sparingly as Miri bravely sets about making things right for her new friend—and eventually herself. Readers will savor the author's lively observations (thinking she is trapped in the past, Miri “consider the fact that several of her favorite books would not be published for seventy more years. 'Great.... When I'm in my eighties I'll find out what happens to Harry Potter' ”), while the heroine's adaptability and independent thinking endow her with the appeal of a Ramona Quimby or a Clementine. Ages 8-12.