Finished my re-read of A Pinch of Magic and I love it even more than I did when I read it last year. I didn’t think it was possible.

A Pinch of Magic follows three Widdershins sisters - Fliss, Betty and Charlie - who are cursed to always live on Crowstone. If they go beyond, they will die by the next sunset. This is only the beginning of their incredible, magical adventure. It’s a race against time to save their lives and each other.

One of the reasons why this is one of the best middle grades I have ever read is due to the characters. Betty is our more predominant heroine, though her sisters have a huge presence too, but Betty’s character is so determined and funny, she drives this story forward. Fliss is the eldest and comes across as quite vain, but she has the best character development out of all of them! And Charlie, oh Charlie, the youngest - she is just incredible! For being a 6 year old, she is a force of nature. These three sisters work so well together, and seeing their relationship in this is so genuine, it adds to the charm of the story.

I love the plot more than anything!! It can be dark and Harrison writes the most pitch-perfect atmospheric scenes I’ve ever read in ANY book, let alone middle grade. Everything is so vividly pictured with the language. The plot also takes turns I couldn’t have expected because I didn’t know how the sisters were going to come out victorious. I mean, this is a re-read so I did know haha, but when I first read this, it took me completely by surprise.

All in all, this book will go down in history as one of my favourite children’s book of all time. What’s better is that the sequel, A Sprinkle of Sorcery, is even better!

This book was so good.
The family dynamics in this book might be my favourite part of this. The relationship between the sisters felt so real and believable as a way to understand why the characters make the choices they do.
A pinch of magic is truly full of magic and whimsy and I loved hearing the history and law of the island and their family's magic.
Michelle Harisson's writing style flows so easily that listening to this was a breeze and I was immediately sucked into the world. Nicky Diss does a wonderful job with the audiobook and made a very clear distinction between the characters, not just in their voices but their mannerisms too. She sets the tone and I almost felt like she was in the room with me when I was listening. I'd happily listen to more read by her.

I do wonder where the sequel will go considering the ending of this one but it is definitely something I plan to pick up in future.

I really enjoyed this adventurous tale for children. A magical adventure with a heartwarming story of loyalty at its heart, a tale of three sisters working together to defeat all odds and break a family curse.

Fliss, Betty and Charlie are in a race against time to save themselves and one another. Magical items, sisterhood and a family curse - the perfect middle grade fantasy.

The audiobook for A Pinch of Magic is wonderfully narrated and the narrator's subtle shift in tone really brought the three sisters to life and added a lovely element to this story.