April, Maybe June

April is the book’s delightful narrator, both witty and unintentionally funny, one of those kids people sometimes say were ‘born old, ’ but young and earnest and energetic too. She is fiercely loyal to family and takes this to its logical conclusion in a twisty magical plot full of both humor and terror.

• PAMELA DEAN, Author of Tam Lin and The Secret Country

Maybe magic. Maybe trouble.

Homeschooled siblings April and June Bliss are inadvertently sucked into their older cousin Arlene’s troubled life when that street-savvy 17-year-old disappears and then sends for their help via an inscrutable grimoire and a mesmerizing silver ring.

Although new to the realm of magic, the sisters concoct an assortment of spells (not altogether successfully) as they attempt to find and rescue wannabe sorceress Arlene. Throughout their journey, smart April and brash June explore family values, encroaching maturity (April’s been spying on dishy Justin Fink with a treehouse telescope) and their own stubborn differences. But when life in an adult world takes a turn toward the supernaturally spooky, the two must quickly pull together in order to survive. What is an appropriate sacrifice for family, and what is too much to give for a worthy cause? The girls soon find out what truly matters in life.