A Taste of Magic

by J. Elle

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

J. Elle’s whimsical middle grade debut about a 12-year-old girl who enters a baking contest to save her inner-city magic school is a sweet contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers. Young readers will eat this charming tale right up.

“An enchanting adventure that will leave readers hungry for more.” – Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author

NYT bestselling author J. Elle enchants with this story of a young Black witch who must save her magic school–now in paperback!

Kyana Turner has found out she's a witch! This means lessons every Saturday at the magic school hidden in the back of her local beauty shop, learning spells, and a wand made to match her hair's curl pattern. The hardest part will be keeping her magic a secret from non-Magick friends.

But when the school loses funding, the students must either pay a hefty tuition at the academy across town or have their magic stripped. Determined not to let that happen, Kyana decides to enter a baking competition for the huge cash prize. After all, Memaw taught her to make the best desserts. But as Kyana struggles with magic and regular school, the competition, and her secret, she wonders if she can save her friendships, too.

J. Elle's debut middle grade fantasy is full of humor, heart, and mouthwatering desserts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547611980
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	161,361
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

J. Elle is the New York Times bestselling author of the YA novels Wings of Ebony and Ashes of Gold and is an advocate for marginalized voices in both publishing and her community. J. is a first-generation college student with a Bachelor of Journalism and Master of Arts in Educational Administration and Human Development. In her spare time you'll find her volunteering at an alternative school, providing feedback for aspiring writers, loving on her three littles, or cooking up a dish true to her Texas and Louisiana roots.

authorjelle.com @AuthorJ_Elle

Editorial Reviews

Delightful and charming, A Taste of Magic bursts with adventure, mischief, and so much heart. Readers will turn ravenous for all things magic and their opportunity to enroll in Park Row Magick Academy.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author

“A Taste of Magic is an enchanting adventure that will leave readers hungry for more.” —Kwame Mbalia, #1 NYT bestselling author

“Successfully illustrating themes of class separation and economic opportunity across a mostly Black cast, Elle (Wings of Ebony) builds a story of familial love and friendship and tops it with pure culinary enthusiasm.” —Publishers Weekly

“Elle tackles weighty topics—including educational equity and dementia—with tenderness and thought. . . . Positive female relationships and fantastical humor (particularly around animals) round out this warm food- and family-centered story.” —Booklist

“This fast-paced, heartfelt story deliciously blends realism with the whimsy of the mystical. . . . A charming story of magic, love, and community.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

07/04/2022

A Black sixth grader with a lot on her plate goes up against professional cooks in this whimsical culinary fantasy. Finally old enough to be in on the family secret, Kyana Turner learns around her 12th birthday that she’s a witch. She’s excited to train her blossoming magic—white sparks that “fizz from my fingertips”—during her mandatory training at Park Row Magick Academy, a free Saturday school run out of the back of a Black-owned beauty salon. But magic must be kept a secret, and the necessary lies Kyana tells to keep hers under wraps begin to take a toll, as do her dropping math grades and looking after her increasingly forgetful grandmother, Memaw, while Momma works. When the magic school faces threat of shutdown, the students’ families must either find a way to swing tuition at another academy or be sanitized of their magic. Desperate to save her school, Kyana enters a baking competition with a $50,000 grand prize—where using her powers backfires, threatening the powers of Park Row’s magical residents. Successfully illustrating themes of class separation and economic opportunity across a mostly Black cast, Elle (Wings of Ebony) builds a story of familial love and friendship and tops it with pure culinary enthusiasm. Ages 8–11. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-05-25
A sixth grader discovers her magical abilities and must navigate her new world while holding on to what means the most.

Kyana Turner didn’t believe her mom when she said that she’ll get to learn the family secret now that she’s turned 12—not until her fingers sparked. Once Kyana learns that she’s a witch, life drastically changes, which means lying to her best friend, Nae. She begins attending Park Row Magick Academy, a secret school located at her hair salon, but normal life doesn’t stop, and Kyana juggles learning new spells and improving her math scores with keeping an eye on her Memaw, who has Alzheimer’s, to help ease Momma’s burdens. When financial pressures threaten to close her magic school, Kyana jumps into action by entering a baking contest that offers a $50,000 prize. However, her magic gets out of control as she’s baking, things go terribly wrong, and Kyana must work with unlikely allies and push past her fears if she wants to save her magical community. This fast-paced, heartfelt story deliciously blends realism with the whimsy of the mystical. Themes of inequity and self-worth are explored through Kyana’s narration as she rises to the additional responsibilities she receives, but they are balanced with sweet moments like time spent in the kitchen making Creole food with Memaw, who is from Louisiana. Kyana and the majority of the cast are Black.

A charming story of magic, love, and community. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews