Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur

 
Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Clarion Books/HMH Children's Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dani and Dorian, twins, are excited to start the new school year. There’s just one problem: they missed the bus, and the location of the magic school is top secret. Instead of going home, they decide to stay with their aunt and have her teach them magic all year. Things seem to be going well with their aunt until things take a turn for the worse when they get dubbed as traitors to all witches. Hunted and on the run, they find themselves studying under a soothsayer and befriending non-magical folk their parents always forbade them from being in contact with. With the help of their new friends, can their clear their names and see their family again?

When I picked this up, I was expecting a cute story about witches. What I didn’t expect is that the characters would be so well developed that I was sad when I reached the final chapter. Initially, we follow Dani and Dorian as they find themselves in a bit of a pickle in the magic community. As the story continues, more characters join them, so we also follow a princess, an orphan, and a popular boy in town. Their personalities clash, but they quickly grow to become close friends running headfirst into adventure after adventure.

One of the things that I love about the story is that none of the characters are perfect. We watch each of these characters struggle with their insecurities and focus on their flaws rather than the good. As the story progresses, we watch them form a strong bond and begin to focus on their strengths. We also see them start to realize that they’re stronger as a team, so they need to stop trying to leave each other behind. I loved watching how each of them developed as characters and the messages it sends to young readers.

All in all, this was a truly magical read. I’m looking forward to checking out the author’s other works in addition to seeing more of their beautiful artwork.