Worry Magic by Dawn McNiff (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 

April 2015, Hot Key Books, 256 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Content: parental relationship issues, illness, 

Summary from Hot Key Books

Courtney is a worrier - she's worried about EVERYTHING, from her mum and dad's constant fights, to her Gran being ill, to the fact that her best friend Lois suddenly seems to be more interested in growing up and hanging out with mean girl Bex than with her.

But then one day, during a particularly bad argument kicked off by her dad's discovery of a pig in their lounge (don't ask...), Courtney begins to feel a bit funny... a bit woozy... a bit like a dream is coming on - and then when she wakes up everything is better! Mum and dad are being nice to each other, the pig is going back to the animal shelter (really, don't ask...) and even Kyle, her older brother, seems to be making an effort.

Courtney becomes sure that each time she feels woozy and has her dreams, she's magicking her problems and worries away. Her mum, dad and brother aren't so sure though. Can Courtney convince everybody that her worry magic dreams are the perfect way to solve her problems? Or should she learn to worry a little less and to ask for help in some non-magical places more? 

Nayu's thoughts

Whoohoo! I adored Dawn's other book, Little Celeste so was delighted to get my hands on this latest book by Dawn. Worry Magic is a bittersweet read centring on parents whose rocky relationship has a negative effect on Courtney. I could understand and feel her pain when life went wrong, and had a theory about her worry magic which was mostly true. I came to love Kyle and want him as my big brother (I have no brothers whatsoever and happen to love them in most stories) by the way he looks out for Courtney even though she thinks he is being horrid to her.

This isn't quite the best wording but I enjoyed how Courtney felt about her grandmother being ill – adults can try to hide the full reality of illness to children, which makes them frustrated for being left in the dark and not being able to visit when they feel it will help them cope. It made Courtney resort to drastic measures, which had a happy outcome (& features Kyle!) despite the seriousness of what Courtney did. The end is realistic, it isn't sugary sweet, life still could go very pear-shaped for Courtney, but the realism made it more captivating and secured its place on my reread shelf. Dawn has done it again! You'll be as glad to hear as I was that book 3 will be out next year – a similar style to Worry Magic but different characters, different problems and a different story. Yay! 

Find out more on Dawn's website.