A fifteen-year-old boy from an abusive home desperately seeking his older brother’s love and approval starts pushing drugs for him and suffers the consequences.

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With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby’s life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby’s senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby’s never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn’t choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that’s finally within reach.

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But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.

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When Jenny returns to her body, she finds that someone has been living her life while she was away. She doesn’t remember being Billy’s lover or defying her family. But now she is faced with the consequences. And Helen, who has returned to warn Jenny—to help her—finds herself trapped, haunting the girl she wished to save.

In this captivating companion novel to A Certain Slant of Light, the love story between Jenny and Billy begins out-of-body—where they can fly and move the stars–and continues into the tumultuous realm of the living, where they are torn away from each other even as they slowly remember their spirits falling in love.

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More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever.

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings his unique brand of epic storytelling to the teen audience with an engrossing tale of danger and suspense—the first of a series. With his trademark skills in world-building, Sanderson has created a magic system that is so inventive and detailed that that readers who appreciate games of strategy and tactics just may want to bring Rithmatics to life in our world.

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5 stars

The line on the cover of this book truly sums it up: “A dose of magic can save the world.” A delightful story about friendship and love, The Apothecary takes our world and shows it to us through the veil of just a dose of magic.

Janie Scott has to move to England with her parents in 1952 because they’ve been accused of being Communists. She hates leaving her warm and sunny California home behind, and London is dreary and still shell-shocked from WWII. But a ray of hope shines on her when she meets Benjamin, the son of the local apothecary. Janie’s simple crush on Benjamin ends up leading her into a world of magic, espionage, and war. When Benjamin’s father is attacked and then goes missing, Janie and Benjamin are entrusted with his father’s ancient and secret volume: the Pharmacoepia, a book of scientific magic spells. Armed with their new knowledge, Janie and Benjamin set about to save the apothecary, and then the world.

This book hops from one adventure to another, never letting its momentum break. Janie and Benjamin are soon joined by the charming pickpocket Pip, who adds to the humor and evens the cast of characters. Whether they are using potions to make themselves tell the truth, turn invisible, or even turn into birds, each chapter brings more excitement and more from the pages of the Pharmacoepia.

The historical setting, while at first seems rather innocuous, ends up being the crux of the whole plot. Because Benjamin’s father isn’t just an apothecary who also happens to own a book of magic: he’s also trying to use that magic to save the world from atomic bombs. When Janie, Benjamin, and Pip are pulled into this intrigue, they really do end up saving the world–or at least a little part of it.

A really wonderful read; lots of fun and very well written.

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