The only thing worse than not ever receiving my Hogwarts letter would have been not getting one, but three years later seeing my sister get one. Can you imagine being that close but by a simple fluke of I don’t know genetics or something it’s just always out of reach. There are times I really feel for Petunia Dursley (only times!)
Magic for Liars is set in a decidedly less-magical Hogwarts – a school for mages, but one that seems almost down to earth. You know, like high school, except an especially grizzly murder has taken place. P.I. Ivy Gamble is hired by the headmaster to solve it and while she is no stranger to magic, it’s her identical twin sister who was the one gifted.
Despite the magical trappings, the story is pretty rooted in the murder mystery and I think succeeds more for it. “Magic school” has been the setting for a number of popular books in recent years, but Magic for Liars manages to side step a lot of the comparisons by simply being less magical. The “liars” angle is also cleverly interwoven – it refers both to people lying to the private investigator (because what mystery doesn’t have lies) and also people lying to themselves. The conclusion of the book wasn’t exactly hard to see coming, but it was also pretty satisfying, I especially enjoyed the forces at work in identifying the “Chosen One”. This is a book I am comfortable recommending and honestly can’t wait for my friends to read.
Bingo Square: Youths