Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and The Tea Dragon Society, this is a magically heartwarming graphic novel about self-acceptance and friendship.
Sophie is a young witch whose mother and grandmother pressure her to attend the Royal Magic Academy--the best magic school in the realm--even though her magic is shaky at best. To train for her entrance exams, Sophie is sent to relatives she's never met.
Cousin Sage and Great-Aunt Lan seem more interested in giving Sophie chores than in teaching her magic. Frustrated, Sophie attempts magic on her own, but the spell goes wrong, and she accidentally entangles her magic with the magic of a young water dragon named Lir.
Lir is trapped on land and can't remember where he came from. Even so, he's everything Sophie isn't--beloved by Sophie's family and skilled at magic. With his help, Sophie might just ace her entrance exams, but that means standing in the way of Lir's attempts to regain his memories. Sophie knows what she's doing is wrong, but without Lir's help, can she prove herself?
Review:
This is a sweet graphic novel with strong messages about family, friendship, and growing up. I didn’t particularly love the main character. She seemed to be allergic to listening to her family….And I didn’t really grow to empathize or love her before she went off and did stupid things, like you usually do in these kind of “Sabrina the Teenage witch” type tropes. That being said, I eventually grew to tolerate her…
Her family wasn’t much better either. The Great Aunt she’s sent to live with is brutal and unkind to her in a Dursley kind of way. This does get addressed by the end of the story, but yikes it’s hard to get into this book if you are a character reader like me. You really have to rely on the artwork. Good thing the artwork is unbelievable.
Mostly, what makes this book a standout is the art. It’s just stunning. You both feel like you are watching a masterful anime and staring at a beautiful rendition of “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.” While typing this review, my eyes keep wandering over to the book, and it’s not because the story was anything new. or the characters were great. I do think kids at the library will flock to this book because of the artwork, and I won’t blame them. I did.
There’s also this really unique folklore element to the whole thing, involving water dragons and weather magic! I think the dragons were my favorite characters. The world this takes place in, the magic, and the artwork are just remarkable. The characters and the character development needed a little work. I give it an 8/10.
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