"I'm not the Chosen One, the Queen of Dragonsong, or the 'somebody' of wizarding realm. Heck, as Su pointed out, I'm not even the somebody of my family. But that doesn't mean I'm insignificant."

Playful and funny wiizard school story, of an "ordinary" girl, with some spunky characters and adventures. I enjoyed the voice of the diary-like sections more than the narrative.

Beautiful reminder that everyone is valuable and to look at the people around you.

This is such a funny, delightful story about friends, family, and feeling distinctly less magical than the folks around you. Cara's voice is so snarky and the book made me laugh many times. I hope that kids who might be dismayed about a certain wizarding author's bigotry will happily find themselves reading about Dragonsong.

Being a part of the coveted wizarding world is a dream come true for everyone except for seventh grader Caradine Moone. Instead of learning to wield magic and adopt her own animal companion, Cara’s level of magical skill places her in the ranks of the spell sweepers, where she learns how to clean up the messes left behind by other wizards. And because she comes from a Bliss—or non magical—family, Cara has to keep the true nature of her time at Dragonsong Academy a secret. Though initially struggling to fit in everywhere, when mysterious events begin to take place at Dragonsong, Cara finds herself more deeply involved than she could have ever predicted while on a journey to discover where she truly belongs.

Reflections of the wizarding world popularized by the Harry Potter series are pervasive in this story that is at once a tale of self discovery and a commentary about what human traits are most valuable. Despite Cara feeling like her role as a spell sweeper is a demotion, the story frequently proves that this is not the case; though she does not follow the traditional wizarding path, Cara’s role is no less important.

The world-building in this book is done unconventionally, through the use of intermediary chapters that go into more detail about relevant aspects of Cara’s story. Whether speaking about the wizarding world specifically or Cara’s life outside of that, these brief interjections give readers a deeper understanding of Cara’s reality while allowing the plot to continue separately.

Colloquial phrases and social media references form the backbone of this narrative, connecting readers to a magical world that is not so different from their own. From a hashtag-spouting grandma to mentions of Instagram and TikTok, this story is placed squarely in the present day. Juxtaposed against familiar dialogue are vivid and complex descriptions that expand a reader’s vocabulary while using just the right combination of words to appropriately depict each moment.

Magic is the tether connecting this story of family, friendship, and finding one’s place in the world. Though leading to a satisfying conclusion, readers are left with many unanswered questions that make a sequel likely. This is a delightfully constructed magical adventure for middle grade readers who do not always recognize their true worth.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Such a fun fast read. I loved the characters they because friends.

This was a charming story about a young wizard trying to find her place in the world. It mostly takes place at a school for wizards called Dragonsong in the Pacific Northwest.

The protagonist, Cara, is a "Spell Sweeper" or more formally known as a "MOP" or "Magically Occurrence Purger" who is tasked with cleaning up after the magical messes made by other wizards. She is frustrated at not being able to participate in "real wizard" things like her classmates and feels isolated at home with her family because they are "Blisses" and aren't supposed to know about her magical skills.

The pace of the book was good with interesting plot twists and a good variety of characters. I was impressed at how it portrayed the complexities of relationships that Cara has with her family, peers and teachers, as well as how they evolved over time. The plot and world building was unique and the author did a great job weaving together Cara's two worlds - the one at home where she is a sister and a daughter, and the one where she is a broom-wielding wizard.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of quirky fantasy fiction.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a review voluntarily.

This book was a bit of a disappointment. I liked the premise and the magic system and world building was very unique. Unfortunately I had a lot of trouble connecting with the main character. She seemed very jealous and bitter and it really made me dislike her instantly. It's understandable given the trickiness of her situation, but I just couldn't get past it.

This is an adorable magical tale about the realities of NOT being the chosen one. I loved that there wasn't an easy fix and everything didn't get wrapped up in a neat bow by the end. I sincerely hope the author continues to write books about this world.

Spell Sweeper was a fun twist on the typical magical school and Chosen One story.

The main character, Cara, is a student at a secret magical boarding school off the coast of Canada. However, Cara is not an amazing student. She doesn't have enough magic to be a wizard, so she's been moved to learning how to be a Magical Occurance Purger--a MOP. Whenever the magical Field is accessed by a wizard doing magic, they leave behind magic dust that can cause all sorts of problems if it isn't cleaned up. Hence the need for MOPs.

But Cara hates being a MOP. And she hates Harlee Wu, the greatest wizard the school has ever seen, and the supposed "Chosen One".

However, when tears are being left in the Field after magic is used, Cara begins to wonder if Harlee isn't as magical as she seems and if her magical abilities are coming about through darker means.

Cara has an awesome character voice. She is full of so much spunk and sass. The other characters had great voices too.

The story is set in the real world, and only people with magic know about magic. The rest of humanity are called Blisses, because "ignorance is bliss". This creates some interesting tension for Cara, as the rest of her family are Blisses.

One of the things I really appreciated about Spell Sweeper was the fact that things that seemed random and insignificant were tied to the plot and not just random things.

For those who are careful about reading about magic: the magic in Spell Sweeper doesn't require spells (least not verbal spells). Characters are wizards or training to be wizards since they have magic. Wizards use talismans to help them access the magical field. A talisman used by someone other than the wizard who created it is an occuli, and is essentially dark magic.

Overall, Spell Sweeper was a fun read, and I think that fans of magical schools and snarky heroes will enjoy it.

Cautions: brief uses of rude humor; brief mentions of side characters vaping and smoking; brief mentions of a side character having two moms; brief non-graphic violence

Caradine Moone was thrilled when she was accepted to the secret wizard school on Dragonsong Island, but her Harry Potter dreams seemed to crash and burn pretty quickly when she flunked a sixth grade standardized test and wound up a Spell Sweeper. As far as Cara's concerned, that's a magic custodian, and definitely not what she wants to be, certainly light years away from the world inhabited by so-called Chosen One Harlee Wu, the school's wunderkind. Will Cara's bitterness keep her from seeing her real value?

Well, if they did, this wouldn't be nearly as good a book as it is, but by the same token, Cara realizing her worth too soon would also tank it. Fodi maintains a beautiful balance between Cara's (and Harlee's) rebellion against the system and the unfolding of the multiple character truths unveiled throughout the text, and the resulting story is one that both lets readers know that being The One may not be everyone's thing, but also that sometimes being the <i>Chosen</i> One is a matter of choosing yourself.

There are some heavy themes in here, such as feelings of betrayal, sibling rivalry, death, and alcoholism stemming from PTSD, but Fodi largely handles them well. The issues between Cara and her sister Su are particularly well done, because they shape so much of who Cara is versus how others perceive her (and how she sees herself). Other characters, such as Yuna and Gusto, could definitely have used a bit more development, mostly just feeling <i>there</i> rather than like active participants in the story.

But you know what? I'd still take this over Harry Potter any day. It's a much more unique take on the Chosen One trope, a story that shows that coming-of-age isn't a one-adventure deal, and that before anyone else can really choose you...you really do have to choose yourself.

This is Harry Potter meets Junie B Jones, if Junie B was in the seventh grade.
The book is a lot of fun and Cara is sassy, flawed, and passionate, and just so much fun to read about.

I really loved this character! Cara has such a problem with, in her eyes, being demoted down to a spell sweeper and feels that she has more to offer. She has such a negative view about “lesser” wizards and their “remedial” jobs. Through the novel, Cara gains self-confidence in herself, and learns to appreciate her true self-worth. She realized it wasn’t other people’s view of her and her position keeping her down, but her own views. Cara experiences a lot of personal growth by the end of the book.

My biggest problem with this book is that some parts are WAY TOO SIMILAR to Harry Potter. A girl in her third year attending a magical boarding school. There is a prophecy about a Chosen One saving all wizards. There is a rumor that the believed Chosen One is an orphan whose parents were killed trying to protect her from a “dark Lord’s attack.” And it is mentioned that the headmaster’s familiar is “a storm bird, which is like a phoenix, but instead of being reborn in fire, it’s resurrected in the clouds of a lightning storm.” This just wasn’t necessary and I actually felt that it hurt the book. This story was strong enough to stand on it’s own without the nods and similarities to HP.

For parents who are picky about what their kids read, I want to note that there are two teenagers smoking cigarettes toward the end of the book, and another teen that carries around what looks like a vape pen. This does work with the story though as it was a way to show these particular goth teens as “bad and trouble.” Also, honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted my kids when they were younger going around calling people “dratch-bags” because they heard it in a book. Instead of using actual swear words, the author made up cuss words. But that sounds too close to another d-bag name not appropriate for nine year old to say, at least in my opinion.

But, overall, I would've been fine with my kids reading this and I think they would have loved it. It's a very fun book and the ending was very exciting. I just wish the author didn't feel the need to add the close Harry Potter similarities.

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperCollins Children’s Books Publishing for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #SpellSweeper