Review: Sticks and Stones (Upside-Down Magic #2)

Title: Sticks and Stones (Upside-Down Magic #2)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, Emily Jenkins
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Format: Paperback
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The kids in Upside-Down Magic know their magic is a little out of control. But that doesn’t make them weird–it only makes them human.

Strange things are happening at Dunwiddle Magic School-and the Upside-Down Magic class is getting blamed!

Yes, Marigold did shrink Lacey Clench to the size of a gerbil. But that was an accident. And, yes, most people weren’t prepared for Nory to transform into a squippy (that’s half squid, half puppy)-but it’s not like Nory meant to mix up paws and tentacles. And while Bax does have the unfortunate magical condition of turning into a stone, he swears he has nothing to do with the rocky magic that’s been happening in Dunwiddle’s halls.

When things get messy, it’s easy to point your finger at the kids with the messiest magic. But the Upside-Down Magic students aren’t going to let themselves get in trouble. Instead, they’re going to find out what’s really going on-and get their school back on track before something really wacky happens.

Review:

The kids in this story have special magic powers. Nory and her friends have upside-down magic because their powers don’t work the way they are supposed to. Though these kids have special powers, they still have to deal with ordinary school problems in this story.

Someone at the school is turning everything into stone. The other kids think it must be the upside-down magic class who is pranking them. Bax seems like the most obvious culprit because he can turn himself into a stone, but he claims he didn’t do it. Nory and her friends have to fight to remain in the school while they investigate the strange pranks.

What I love about this series is that it’s a well developed story. I enjoyed it and I was intrigued until the end, even though it’s aimed towards a younger audience. I didn’t guess what was happening, so I was surprised at the end but it also made sense.

This is a great series and I’m excited to see what happens next.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett

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