Alyssa and the Spell Garden

By Author / Illustrator

Alexandra Sheppard, Bex Glendining

Genre

Magical Realism

Age range(s)

Publisher

Faber Children's Books

ISBN

9780571377428

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

04-04-2024

Synopsis

Alyssa must save a magical spell garden with her new unreliable powers.... When 11-year-old Alyssa is forced to spend the summer holiday with her mum's family, who she's never met before, her latent magical powers explode into life. Her great aunt runs a secret school in her spell garden where local kids can hone their power. The garden grows spell ingredients that have protected their family and the wider neighbourhood for decades - ever since they arrived from Jamaica with their mother Effie in the 1960s. But something is going wrong and the magic is running out! Can Alyssa use her new, unpredictable powers to set things right?

A contemporary fantasy set in a small community in North London facing eviction and gentrification with a magical garden at the centre of it. Stunningly illustrated by Bex Glendining.

'Enchanting and heart-lifting.' Sophie Anderson. 'Bursts with glimmering magic.' Jasbinder Bilan. 'A delight . . . funny, heartfelt and packed full of magic.' Abi Elphinstone. 'Magical and empowering.' G M Linton. 'A magical, cosy, spellbinding treat!' Kieran Larwood. 'Utterly charming.' Lizzie Huxley-Jones. 'A heart warming read with a blast of magic!' Janelle McCurdy.

Find out more in this video by Alexandra Sheppard, and read our Q&A with the author

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Reviews

Alyssa and the Spell Garden is an enchanting fantasy story that is set in a small London community. Alexandra Sheppard uses the story to highlight the reality of gentrification within a poor urban area of London that has its heart in the centre of a magical garden.

Alyssa is an 11-year-old girl whose parents have just separated and is forced to spend the summer holidays with a relative of her mothers that she has never met. Her mother never really speaks about her family due to a family feud and she has never really introduced Alyssa to her Jamaican heritage. So when Alyssa goes to live with her mother's Aunt Jasmine and spend the summer helping her with the tea shop, she is not prepared for what she discovers.

The tea shop is no ordinary shop and Alyssa soon realises that she is no ordinary 11-year-old. Aunt Jasmine explains to Alyssa that she has magical powers within her blood that descend from her great -grandmother -Effie. The tea shop fronts a magical spell garden that contains a magical school for the community - Silverleaf. The children of the community are invited to learn about magical plants and their qualities, but to their parents, the garden is just an allotment as adults are unaware of the magic that protects them. The magic produced in the garden helps to protect the community and keep it safe.

Alyssa along with her cousin Rue are soon taking part in their grounding ceremony that allows them to practice magic as a Keeper-in-training. However, as the days pass, the magical protection on the community seems to be faltering. New business are popping up overnight and long-term residents are being pushed out. With Aunt Jasmine not feeling her-self, Alyssa and her cousins begin to investigate why the magic is running out. With the developers hounding the community residents and the bulldozers ready to demolish the shop, they must find a way to fix everything quickly.

This book has an excellent story line that will intrigue any young reader that likes to read magical realism novels. It also has themes on non-binary, gentrification, dyslexia and family feuds. I feel that this book takes an ordinary situation and makes it extraordinary by adding in the magical elements. Children will be able to empathise with characters and their situations and understand how emotions and actions can be dealt with. This would make an excellent end-of-day story or be an excellent addition to any school library.

326 pages / Reviewed by Hayley Summerfield, teacher