Magic Repair Shop Series
Here is the capsule review I wrote on the Chapters website for the book The Multiplying Menace by Amanda Marrone. This book is the first in the Magic Repair Shop series.
Picture from www.chapters.ca.
As a parent of boys, I have noticed a tendency among adults to steer boys toward books that feature male protagonists doing stereotypical “boy” things. This is a book featuring a female protagonist that would easily appeal to boys and girls. It is well written, creative, and populated with colourful characters. It also has elements of mystery, suspense, and the supernatural, along with a good deal of humour. The protagonist is an excellent role model for both boys and girls and the book, while dealing with themes of magic and the machinations of a “bad guy”, never gets too dark for children to handle. My 8-year-old loved it, but it would also suit children in the recommended age range of 9-12.
The Shape Shifter’s Curse, the second in the series, is also excellent.
The book includes the same themes as The Multiplying Menace–magic, mystery, and adventure, albeit with a little more peril. The story involves mythical creatures called selkies, who live like seals in the water but can shed their seal skin and “shape shift” into any form they choose on land. To return to the water, they must don their skins again. Herein lies the problem for the two selkies in this book. Sir Roderick, high-ranking magician, husband of one selkie and father to the other, hid the skins so his wife and daughter would not leave him. To be sure he never found them again, he cast a spell to erase his memory of the hiding spot.
Image from chapters.ca
The strong gender portrayals from the first book continue in the second. In addition to Maggie, her classmate Fiona shows herself to be brave and courageous–she’s the one who demands that her friends help the two selkies. Even Maggie’s nemesis Darcy helps out with an act of courage. And Raphael remains a steadfast friend to Maggie who makes his own contribution to the children’s plan to find the skins.
The book includes subtle references to gender stereotypes. When Maggie makes Raphael a friendship bracelet and he says that he is too manly for jewellery, Maggie reassures him that there is nothing unmanly about it. When a male character notes that he doesn’t like to play a game against girls because it can get “rough,” Darcy tells him girls are just as tough as boys. There is also the prevailing theme, which may go unnoticed by young readers, of women being freed from a man who has deliberately trapped them. Although he acted out of love and a fear that his wife and daughter would return to the sea, Sir Roderick realizes the error of his ways and tries every spell he can think of to recover the seal skins. My only criticism is in the occasional negative comment about the appearance of various characters. Such comments, although rare, take away from the positive messages that dominate the book.
The next book in the series is scheduled for March, 2011. Looking forward to it!
