THE MAGIC NATION THING
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Yearling
Hardcover: 0385730853
Paperback: 9780440419310
Ages 8-12
192 pages

The one thing that 12-year-old Abby O'Malley never wants to be is a private investigator, like her mom, Dorcas. Abby longs for a regular life, which would include living with both of her parents (and not in a detective agency!) and also not having visions other people don't have. But Dorcas keeps reminding her daughter how her special gift, including an amazingly good and timely "guess," saved the day with a previous case.

Abby wishes she never had inherited her sixth sense from her mind-reading ancestors. She tries to deny her "magic nation thing," which is what she named her special powers after misunderstanding when someone told her that what she was experiencing was "just her imagination."

Dorcas takes on the case of kidnapped six-year-old Miranda Moorehead. The mother suspects her ex-husband of taking their daughter. Abby is especially interested in the case because Paige, Abby's best friend, believes she saw the victim shopping before she was kidnapped. One day, Abby picks up a locket belonging to the little girl. She begins to experience her "magic nation thing" and has visions of the girl having fun with a man at Disneyland. Abby, however, does not want to admit, even to herself, that she has these weird powers. Therefore, she can't just come out and tell her mother what she's seen. On the other hand, if she doesn't tell her, maybe Dorcas won't figure out where Miranda is. Finally, Abby thinks of a way to set the right wheels in motion.

Abby's powers lead her into one adventure after another in this exciting book. Unfortunately, they also threaten her friendship with Paige. When someone close to the two girls vanishes, can she muster up her sometimes-unpredictable visions to save him?

The characters in THE MAGIC NATION THING seem like real people. They include a frequently irritating mother, a beautiful adult friend who hates being considered gorgeous, and a best friend whose spunkiness sometimes lands the two girls in trouble. In addition, Abby's special powers are described so thoroughly and convincingly that the reader nearly experiences them! This book is an excellent read, with a fast-paced plot and a subtle but thought-provoking theme about self-acceptance.

   --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

Back to top.