The Secret Science of Magic

by Melissa Keil

Overview

Seventeen-year-old Sophia is a math genius, so surely she'll be on easy street after graduation.
Except she's just learned child prodigies become either smash hits or total meltdowns after high school. Now with her BFF sending off college applications, Sophia's feeling the pressure to lock down her own future before she's left in the dust. But when mysterious playing cards keep turning up inside her textbooks, she's really thrown off course.
Joshua is Sophia's classmate: adorkable, charmingly carefree, and an amateur magician. He's crushed on Sophia for as long as he can remember. With a ton of romantic gestures up his sleeve, Joshua thinks now is the perfect time to tell Sophia how he feels. He doesn't know how very wrong he is.
Told in a dual narrative, this opposites-attract, young adult rom-com offers plenty of laughs as Joshua stumbles again and again to impress the most skeptical audience that magic has ever met: Sophia. But if Joshua truly cares for her, first he'll have to work on his timing and meet Sophia halfway. It'll take a scientific feat of magic to dazzle and bewilder the smartest girl at school.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682630143
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melissa Keil studied cinema and anthropology and has spent time as a high school teacher, Middle-Eastern tour guide, waitress, and IT help-desk person. She now works as a children's book editor and spends her free time watching YouTube and geek TV. She lives in Australia.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—Sophia is a math prodigy who has a hard time connecting with people; as a result, she has one best friend. They do everything together, but stay mostly within Sophia's comfort zone as she tends to panic otherwise. Josh, a magician, believes that Sophia is the girl for him. He initiates a conversation with her to test out this theory. When she begins to finally notice him, he attempts to impress her with his magic skills, but her responses aren't what he imagined. Sophia thinks that she's a freak because of her photographic memory, intelligence, inability to express emotions, and poor social skills. But this novel isn't about saving her; it's about her coming to terms with herself and moving forward despite her fears. Although the book has a dual-perspective story line, it is skewed two-thirds toward Sophia's point of view. This Australian import has a few terms that some American readers might find difficult, but it's not too hard to decipher from the context. There is some mild swearing. Neuroatypical characters, nerdiness, social anxiety, intelligence, and magic make this book stand out among other contemporary romances. VERDICT A general purchase for most middle school collections.—Jennifer Rummel, Cragin Library, Colchester, CT

School Library Journal

2018-01-22
A quirky high school romance unfolds in the alternating voices of math whiz Sophia and aspiring magician Joshua.Sophia's social awkwardness forms the crux of the plot. Joshua is not anyone's typical boyfriend but is madly in love with Sophia. Josh and Sophia end up going to a party together, where their budding relationship sparks, but it fizzles soon after. Keil adds in a couple of wacky friends and difficult siblings to amplify the drama. The book's Australian origins explain the numerous references to its pop culture, and Keil's fans will be excited to see Sam and Camilla, of Life in Outer Space (2013), make an appearance. The story intricately explores the teenagers' quirky relationships and the notion of what it takes to feel comfortable in one's own skin. Sophia's character is authentically geeky, and readers will empathize with her anxiety. Although that aspect of Sophia's character is well-plumbed, however, her South Asian culture gets short shrift. There are multiple references to Sophia's brown skin, and her best friend, Elsie, is Indian, but their South Asian identity is not built into the story in any meaningful way, and some readers may feel that the acute lack of parents in the story is rather contrary to prevalent South Asian cultural norms.A meandering story sadly lacking the right dose of magic. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

"The story intricately explores the teenagers' quirky relationships and the notion of what it takes to feel comfortable in one's own skin. Sophia's character is authentically geeky, and readers will empathize with her anxiety."—Kirkus Reviews

"Neuroatypical characters, nerdiness, social anxiety, intelligence, and magic make this book stand out among other contemporary romances."—School Library Journal

"Readers struggling with social and personal interaction issues, awkwardness about fitting into their community, and uncertainty about where their future may take them will embrace this novel"—Booklist

"Excellent character development of the protagonists (Sophia and Elsie are 'brown girls' of South Asian descent; Joshua is white), their diverse group of friends, and their families (Elsie's brothers, especially, are a hoot) makes the romantic relationship just one among several satisfying story strands, and witty dialogue keeps pages turning."—The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher