Trouble With Violet (Sister Magic)
Grade 2–4—Mabel is annoyingly organized—a real perfectionist—while her younger sister, Violet, is a free spirit with magical abilities. This revelation comes after many subtle clues appear throughout the novel—whispered secrets among parents, a mysterious ability to find Mom's missing wallet, watching a Frisbee heading toward a window suddenly change directions. (Okay, they're not all that subtle.) As Mabel prepares lists for school shopping, organizes her life and her mom's, and carefully keeps a gift book from Uncle Vartan from Violet's grubby hands, events unfold that reveal a long-kept family secret. While this is a delightful beginning chapter book, the intended audience may stumble over Mabel's lists written in cursive. In fact, she is just entering the third grade where one traditionally learns cursive, so readers may wonder why she writes that way. Fans of Mazer's Abby Hayes will welcome this entry in a new series.—Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.