*I got this book for the review from the publisher*

I thought this book was such a charming read. I really liked how this book was loosely based on Kiki delivery service. I really liked the magic system and loved the side characters kids and animals that was in this book. It was super fun read and really loved the main character journey in this book and was not easy magical path and that was really fun to read. I really loved the quest element and it was such a charming read. Will def read book 2!! ( )

*I got this book for the review from the publisher*

I thought this book was such a charming read. I really liked how this book was loosely based on Kiki delivery service. I really liked the magic system and loved the side characters kids and animals that was in this book. It was super fun read and really loved the main character journey in this book and was not easy magical path and that was really fun to read. I really loved the quest element and it was such a charming read. Will def read book 2!! ( )

Hanukkah gift for L from Didi

Eva Evergreen's mother is one of only two Grand Master witches/wizards in their realm, but Eva herself has only "a pinch of magic," which manifested only recently, and she's about to go on her Novice Witch Quest to prove that she can earn the rank of Novice - if she can't, the Council will take her magic away. Eva loves magic and is desperate to keep it (even if it's only a pinch), and she's also good-hearted and devoted to "help your town, do good all around."

When Eva gets off the boat in Auteri, she finds support in older girl Rin, who works on the boat and agrees to be her Guardian. Rin is also the stern Mayor Taira's daughter, and Eva will do anything to get Mayor Taira to agree to sign off on her papers at the end of the month - but the mayor wants the impossible: defense against the Culling, a new phenomenon in the realm which takes the form of a terrifying storm.

Eva feels she isn't up to this task - a full team of full-grown witches and wizards wasn't enough to protect a town from the Culling last year - but she's going to do her best, and she starts by setting up a "semi-magical repair shop" and befriending young Davy, whose mother was a ship captain lost at sea, and Charlotte, an orphan who craves knowledge about her parents. Eva is also accompanied by a mischievous, dog-like flamefox.

Eva is under-confident about her magic, and while some people seek to tear her down (Grand Master Hayato and his nephew, Conroy; to some extent, Mayor Taira; Soma and other sailors), others (Rin, Davy, Charlotte, Eva's parents, Vaud of the flamefoxes, Ami at the flower shop) build her up, and she experiences true friendship for the first time. And, of course, she completes her quest and brings her signed apprentice papers back to the city just in time for an ominous new mystery to present itself...where ARE Davy's mom and Charlotte's parents, and what is Hayato planning in the north? ( )

I really liked this book -- really, really liked it -- up until the crisis point. So let me talk about what I liked and why I stopped liking it and you can draw your own conclusions.

1: compared to Kiki's Delivery Service, and I think that comparison is very apt. It's totally charming -- Eva's having a hard time believing in herself and her pinch of magic, but she also finds ways to use that pinch of magic extremely well, and she has a true and generous heart. She's clever, she's kind and she's fun to adventure with.

2: The town, the setting, the adventures and misadventures are also great fun to read about and just the right level of sweet without cloying. Really, quite delightful.

Where it all goes wrong -- the huge challenge Eva has to overcome is protecting the town from a magical storm, complete with typhoon and tsunami. Definitely the sort of thing a heroine can prove herself on against all odds! However, the mayor of the town is constantly belittling her attempts to help, and when the storm comes to town is like: so, can you singlehandedly save the town from destruction? NO? Get lost, you're worthless. Also the fact that you are worthless makes my town more vulnerable, not less. Which is the dumbest plot point ever.

People, she's 12. She's in this town for 1 month to grow from being a brand-new witch to a novice witch. I feel like the mayor's reactions are so totally out of proportion to reality that it kinda killed the book for me.

I could totally see dismissal -- do you have anything to add? no? ok, well, the adults are going to focus on what we can do over here and you should go be out of the way with the other kids -- and that would be equally challenging, but in a far more realistic way. And then when she exceeds all expectations and finds a way to save the town, (because of course she does), that's a more realistic journey.

Also, none of the adults really object to this as being an unrealistic expectation, and I just stopped being able to believe in the story.

It's the first of a series, with clearly more stories to come. I honestly don't know if I will pick up more of the the books.

**edited to add** -- I did not realize that this is a debut book. I still stand by my feelings, because I feel what I feel. However, this is a strong start for a new author, and I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here. ( )