She’s independent, creative, imaginative and fun. She’s quirky and kind and just… special.

The Magic of Magnolia Moon is the second Magnolia Moon book by award-winning author Edwina Wyatt, following The Secrets of Magnolia Moon. I haven’t read the first book, but this did not impact on my love of book two or made the read confusing.

In The Magic of Magnolia Moon, Magnolia’s best friend Imogen May has moved away and is going to a new school. 

Magnolia’s year of being ten is now filled with challenges: a new teacher, making new friends and learning to accept that Imogen May will also create new friendships.

But there’s more. Magnolia’s tenth year is also filled with magic. Magical, fantastical things keep happening to her, and each chapter explores a new kind of magic that Magnolia sees, experiences or controls. Magnolia’s eyes and heart are always open to the possibility of magic, and so it aids her through the year, helping to solve problems and bring people together.

But does it? Magnolia’s world sits on the very cusp of the fantastical. There’s broom magic, green magic and midnight magic. But is the magic real or does Magnolia just have a really big imagination? Does the grandfather clock at Magnolia’s house really talk to her? Wyatt lets readers decide, which creates an exquisitely special reading experience.

Magnolia inspires kids to embrace magic and open their mind to possibility. It provides relatable reassurance that there are solutions to kid-life challenges, but those solutions don’t need to be boring or expected. Creativity and imagination (and magic) have power, and this book is a giant celebration of these things.

There are also stunning black and white illustrations by Katherine Quinn sprinkled throughout the pages, engaging readers, and making this a brilliant next-step novel for kids ready for books more challenging than early junior readers.

This book truly is enchanting. It’s a book you feel like hugging when you complete it and a story that lingers in your thoughts.

The Secrets of Magnolia Moon, a CBCA Honour Book, is now on my to-read list. And I thoroughly hope there is still more Magnolia Moon magic to come because I, for one, am a believer!

Title: The Magic of Magnolia Moon
Author: Edwina Wyatt
Illustrator: Katherine Quinn
Publisher: Walker Books, $19.99
Publication Date: 6 October 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760653972
For ages: 7 – 9
Type: Junior Fiction