Although Cara is at wizard school, she’s studying to be a MOP (Magical Occurrence Purger) – not by choice. Every time magic is used, there is magical residue left behind. Cara is learning to sweep it up. But Cara has noticed lately, the magical residue has gotten worse. Can she figure out what’s happening and stop it? Mystery, danger, and magic -- a fun story with a delightful main character.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio copy of this book. I was drawn to this book because of magic and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the magic, loved the characters, loved the humor/sarcasm. Obvious connections could be made to Harry Potter series, but this book definitely holds its own. Can’t wait to listen to the final, published version. Simply delightful!

DNF

Unfortunately, I cannot finish this title. I couldn’t connect or even pay attention to the story because of the narrator of this audiobook arc. I fully plan on reading this book once it is released but for now, I am unable to adequately read and review it. Thank you for the opportunity though!

What a fun, witty and clever book! I loved the wist on the magic school, and found the magic system refreshing, fun and unexpected.
Full review to come!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. This in no way influences my thoughts or opinions.

2.5/5 Stars

That was really cute and I think it'll be a fun read for many young readers. I think there are great lessons to be learned about finding your own path and your own magic but also about growth as a person even though you're so young.

The main character could be a little unbearable but she's also a kid and they do tend to get really hyper fixated and their emotions are felt so intensely.

The world of magic has felt so saturated with different stories so to hear about the person who cleans up after the chosen one was a really nice twist and I enjoyed that new perspective so much.

I am hoping for a sequel because I would love to be back in this world and to see how the author chooses to continue the story.

Caradine (Cara) Moone is a wizard from a "Bliss" (non-magical) family. She gets to attend this spectacular private school for wizard training, Dragonsong Academy (to the outsider its just an elite school). The catch is that she somehow has performed at a level below where she wants to be and as such has been assigned to MOP duties.

What does this mean?
It means she is in remedial magic classes (as she calls them) and is responsible not for casting spells, but for cleaning up after them. Cara watches with envy as Harley Wu, the chosen one, performs her magic and entrances the student body. Meanwhile she feels stepped on by everyone around her.

When some dark magical happenings occur Cara is the first to notice and others think she is just pulling her normal pranks. What Cara uncovers goes so much deeper than the school itself and is affecting the magical world. Can Cara learn to accept her role and earn some respect for the MOPs?

Spell Sweeper was a magical and adventurous middle-grade story that follows Cara Moone, a struggling wizard who realizes just how strong she really is. Full of entertaining characters and an exciting plot, I thought this was a cute book! I love the middle-grade genre, so Spell Sweeper was fun to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the audio ARC of Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi!

During the first few chapters of the book, I could not help but draw comparisons to the Harry Potter series. This could be a good thing, but could also work against the book. Fans of Harry Potter looking for something similar to start reading could be satisfied with the story that Lee Edward Fodi weaves. This story would also be a good starting point for younger wizards who are not quite ready for the world of Harry Potter, but wish they could join. Spell Sweeper touches on the aspects that all of us mere mortals are grappling with. Wanting to fit in, seeing a different perspective on situations, figuring out that we are not always right, and learning how to work as a team are just a few of the over-arcing themes of the book.

Cara is going to a prestigous boarding school...for wizards. Unfortunately, she is not good enough to learn to be a wizard but has been reduced to being a spell sweeper. Her job is to go around and clean up the magic dust after spells have been performed.
Harlee, the schools favorite student, has a spell go wrong. Cara must work to clean it up.
Opinion
I am a big fan of all books magical. When I saw this book, I jumped at the chance to read it. This book is for a younger reading level than I normally read but I did find it enjoyable. Being a teacher, I did like that some higher level vocabulary was used in the book.
Overall, there were some details to the book that reminded me of some other children's books. However, the story as a whole was a new idea and the author carried it out well. The ebb and flow of the plot made an enoyable reading experience.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The first 40% of this book was phenomenal. So far this has come closest to recreating the Hogwarts feel. Great voice, clever world-building, lots of witty humor.
But around halfway it started to feel bogged down. About the time they went out on forays to “uncover mysteries” my interest waned. This may be because MG isn’t my preference - and it was growing more zany and scattered. I struggled through to 75% hoping it would pick up again. As I said, I had been VERY impressed with the beginning. When the big “reveal” happened and it was something I’d suspected from the halfway point, I realized I really didn’t want to slog through the last quarter.
It’s possible this was entirely the fault of the electronic/robotic narrator of the NetGalley copy I was given. This was especially jarring when lines cut into others. (This seemed to happen every couple sentences.)
The conflict was more interesting to me when it was between the MC and her peers in the setting of the school. As soon as she became the headstrong pseudo-Sherlock, roaming the countryside I grew bored. And I got sooo tired of the Harley/Dibble backstory. Either crap or get off the toilet—I can only hear so many references to the “mysterious conflict” between them before I want to kick them both in the head.
I’m interested to read this authors earlier books. I know he’s funny and can write. Helpfully the plotting is more to my taste in the Zoone books. (Shared on goodreads)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

First I would like to start by saying , this is more of a 3.5 star rating but only have whole stars to work from, I rounded up.
As an adult reading/listening to a middle grade book, I give it lots of leeway , understanding the audience is intended to be young. However, this book was a pretty deep and dark book for middle school. I'm sure it will be compared to Harry Potter, as it's a school for magicians and our MC , Cara Moone is a bit of a loser. But I will admit, this book didn't keep my attention and I found myself getting bored and drifting away. I will say that possibly the computer narrated voice has something to do with that but the story took a long time to pick up.
On the positive side of things. The story is very creative and interesting , especially if your kiddo is a fan of magician stories. It's a story about an underdog of a girl who with the help of friends makes good (sound familiar?). But this is a twist on the typical magician school, in this school the brooms are for cleaning up magic. It's worth checking out and as far as leaving the kids with a positive message it hits the target. It does have an evil side with kids practicing dark magic, so if your child is a bit nervous about bad guys then move along to another book.
I'm sorry I couldn't hear the final narrator's voice for this one, usually the computer generated voices don't bother me, but this one droned on and on. I am sure the live person will do a fantastic job!

Kara is magical, but only just. Because her magical abilities are limited, she is relegated to being a mop--someone who cleans up the magic dust left over after a wizard casts a spell. At times this was difficult to read because Kara is so prickly with everyone around her, from her sister to the school's "chosen one," and Kara is also bullied a fair amount. Still, it was a fun and unique magical world with high stakes and an exciting ending.

this was a cute young adult story, the narrator does their job well and I enjoyed going through it with this audio book.

This was overall, a fun middle-grade novel. The narrator was AI so that did make listening a bit of a chore for me. The world-building was fun but I did see a lot of parallels to a certain famous Wizarding World. I found it difficult to connect with the main character as she did seem to come across as very bitter (and a bit whiny) however I am aware I am reading this as an adult and she may be more relatable to a younger audience (I'm sure I would have as well at that age).

It was nice to see a main character of Asian descent and their family dynamics as well. The magic system in the book was interesting and I really liked the concept of MOPs I just wish it had been fleshed out a little more.

While some might say this is almost like Harry Potter. I found it to be totally different. I loved everything about this book. The character's , The Plot, The whole idea of the story I love. the characters and the creatures in the book are totally different from the J. K. Rowling books. I love Cara how she goes about her day at the school as a spell sweeper and her dysfunctional family lol. I love how strong Harlee is with everything that went on thru out the story. If I continue I would spoil the whole book so I am going to stop right theres. But I highly recommend this book to everyone its a must read.

This fun and sassy tween book is perfect for fans of any magical school series.
Cara was not born into the wizarding world, but was taken out of the "Bliss" world (non-magical) when she showed that she has magical abilities. Unfortunately, her magical abilities aren't sufficient and she ends up as a M.O.P. who cleans up after the other wizards' spells. Now her life in wizard school is just like it was in Bliss school - bullies, detention, and teachers who don't understand.
Födi manages to write a relatable female wizard whose sarcasm will make readers laugh. One of my favorite parts of the book were the little asides that poked fun at other magical school series! At the same time, some of the wizarding slang Cara used seemed overused.
I loved the magical creatures throughout the story. Födi describes them in such a way that I could visualize these animals without any prior knowledge of what they look like. Actually not true - Ninetails and Zuki are definitely related so I just thought of a less regal Pokemon for Zuki (don't tell him I said that though!).
Cara brings a totally new perspective to the wizarding world and I hope her story will give tween readers the confidence to question why things are how they always have been. I haven't been able to determine if this is the first book in a series but I really hope it is!

Spell Sweeper is a fun adventure for any middle-grade lover of magic! Right from the beginning, the voice of Cara Moone draws you in with her wit and sarcasm. The wonderful wizard school she attends has hints of Hogwarts, but Hogwarts never had Spell Sweepers! I loved the concept of the Spell Sweepers who have to clean up the magic mess left behind by wizards. I thought it was such a clever idea!

At times I did feel Cara was complaining about her situation a lot, but the reasons for her complaints were backed up by the story and we could see why she felt the way she did. It was great to watch her story arc, which was well paced throughout the book.

The narrator of the audio book was AI, and it sounded that way. It was fine, but a real narrator would be much better.

This was a very fun read, especially for anyone who loves magic! Highly recommend! :)

It took a minute to get used to the synthetic voice, but once we did, my children really loved the story. My 7-year-old was consistently asking if we could listen. They were engrossed and on the edge of their seats and even have a few chuckles!

First of all I want to thank the author and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book. I love fantasy, and this book is not an exception. The magical feel is wonderful. Cara, the main character has recently been demoted and she has to clean up after all the other wizards. When a mysterious black ooze begins to cause issues, Cara is certain that another student is behind the problems. The author writes very vividly and I can picture the events and the school. I also really like the satirical feel behind the writing. It makes the story comical to me. There were multiple times I laughed out loud, but multiple times that I was shocked as well. This one is a must read for 5th and 6th graders that love fantasy.

i was given this audiobook for free from netgalley for my honest review What an adorable book! how i would have lloved this book as a kid lmao i alwasys loved magic books and this one is actually something new! which almost never happens with magic school books!