Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic
A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic
A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic
Ebook224 pages3 hours

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Bestseller and author of the popular middle grade series Confectionately Yours Lisa Papademetriou is back with a magical, page-turning adventure for readers of all ages—a touching tale about destiny and the invisible threads that link us all, ultimately, to one another.

Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family in Pakistan for the summer; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila's copy on the other side of the planet. Kai's words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. As the two take turns writing, the tale unfolds, connecting both girls to each other, and to the past, in a way they never could have imagined.

A heartfelt, vividly told multicultural story about fate and how our stories shape it.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 6, 2015
ISBN9780062371072
A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic
Author

Lisa Papademetriou

Lisa Papademetriou spends most of her time in the Dreamway, even when she’s awake. She is the author of Apartment 1986 and A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic and lives in Massachusetts with her family.  

Related to A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic

Related ebooks

Children's For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic

Rating: 3.6000000299999995 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

10 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    So, this was a tough one to rate. We all know that I'm a sucker for magical realism, and that nine times out of ten I end up loving books that fall into this category madly and deeply. A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic was, well, unusual. While the magic and mystery were definitely there, it felt bogged down by the way that it was told. So much promise, but the way it played out didn't quite hit the mark.

    Let's start with the good. First of all, Leila's character is more than enough reason to read this story. Leila is a girl between worlds. Not at home in the U.S., where her Pakistani roots make her stand out. Not at home in Pakistan, where her upbringing keeps her from fitting in. Although I never had it quite as bad as Leila, I still saw myself in her. Growing up I always felt like I never quite fit in with my extended family, because of the way I was raised. I know there are other kids out there like that too, and they'll instantly take a liking to Leila and her battle to find where she fits in.

    In fact, the settings that this book take place in are the other part of this that I loved. Leila spends the story in Pakistan, and Kai spends it in Texas. Watching these two go through such similar problems, in such different locales, was interesting. Lisa Papademetriou hits the trials of growing older right on the head. The bullies. The friends. The family interactions. As separate characters, these two were adorable.

    So why the three stars? As I mentioned above, it was really the way that the story was told. The magical book that tied these two together, and the mystery that surrounded it all, felt off. It almost felt too surreal to really fit in with everything else that was going on. Plus, there were never any really tight resolutions. I kept wanting to see something good happen to our girls, but it never did. While this is a pretty solid coming of age story, it lacked the pieces to make it feel like it was really steeped in magic.

Book preview

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic - Lisa Papademetriou

ebook_preview_excerpt.html[rFΎ(1Bz-nF.dR a$Riћ9LUqg>!tϊ/]K;Йg?ϟϟ})B\e`ڣ촫G7l>}c_yo?:{lmc?֦ خ2ӈZաC7n˳>q>}q5uCaN}OCɼs_{7WxK\wuZᕇ'ZUg?780?ۋ2է!w ?[G^ ps{,]84ڵɘ߾\UaX;|~Rס?TWu*kZ#31o\Won͋ۿҁewn43ks loݥy4b7vi67nh\ໝhTw=w5)[gZ#>$mm뛣6A ;Z ` 8 bDp|@z <fcYEΰ~86.nY_u;c W)BN6Mv]]ו0p|E< Ë!pwhTr4$qM"t+E{|6mLJX@P2ڡXs Sqn$g/.bnu0yBkTr(#oZ1V#žpWn$O/{[j=E+hl NO.D:dQъcOp]ULrG.i20+,Jj}]TUx@p9rK3gut'MΌǔ*~zBD DHVPd$=8o-cLgƕ,c2鮭' F.!b/ g/yOQc\˪eCx4@ZwJa *n0|l8#_4]P>D,͝oi "z G n) V!R*6e[lF¿@S‹J2hSz= G44!{]oëw1ۗGҼV}RKH|ԌT7Y3^Eoc0 c`Go'0)X2j!cY7| z6.Sp _1/C}zbPK; 8c) g28J3E dXBY=gvva*t<'M>\S,rw."f3;/kH3 ̷}U(ߞywt3akmsb%O[ 8=sNѱsxCNvx#|Yx]$ "S%`bC4Ʀy`+4p;s {2ͨmml,3Eeȕ%[.*ѹAC+l:-n#R}HJE[KZ$i !I>DYދŋ<*E,RlD`y l (qd`vGhKo+(nP4LjawΣ<Mj-L6oSyiH^Er/GH!B0fι` 4STbtG@M2Ga#sQ Jc2B$P|#N;;|qVN<'>W-mW^&8ϩ*x#ް2?_i w?r!bN\lE j\XxA~@xC!ƚou%9>_/QrBj,6Uj:ţB&kH5p9Gf#nܟ)TH@BVrD:E`^s0R]R K^WLweaUs&Ec |d /)lR2&~6 +<̗S#b8x[yW|.WB>`[וD.x0 @FF ZpMϩW(;[9}d2h͐D\U;Ϻ >hڥ@L+P<]lQ{>- 7E[M 01ME܃ הT1rIZtw'ūR2SKlY-v!U ]%-OxbFT60ĢZs wy Fk^;:r9O$b43#%h `6k.)Y3q\Vђܕtlm^JSZeJo1\:ewjZe&K?Zo@}nQ 09]" <ǔr)\JF4\ (7`şy>nGpy ̜l~+m%XGIQGHU !,b8%МrIPR ZN%]t=i>7dJQ,_vR&c4w{O eQjhk!Z7RՓ 3rzbق~$Qk̶Jeum8nR;I\Dpwǟ<!;uUk qyu ʲBvk%B|Sw#'j t YYZ6c > )M^^O\r"0RLZxWHӱô )bWbwZ#WM`J9K̄}e_,7Z? .$OƆЄ!K/ܚ%;N|!CQAY|Ŋ^`hAf!j[d MId۠xE"^J&u-`U+%qgHbAse)blT p=RS)#giHɒH%̤3S7jRGY'lT!8o#23ri6O)B*t\KtH ץYBIOB)"IY&ErfQ-.@0UZ;j`WK}~E>gn0@6 D+ZQOg˗Xe 1KMie'Mv( |r#'$Y>:bÒsp$3ϒN 1"4+Fv\ef%&pjjaG%\e Wl_%hcXЎJy/_h-$L;b ,Nl$C]CP< p .{,Ewӟ^;DnIOФ ujQZΡe iәSO[PGs!;HLF_ז20ܯzsK^*M G$;Mhh _K2+v<&Sjޟ(LH+ vMaVʼn%Z: XB|V ^Om-!LQ|HPꊧ[b%DlKg KTB!UE] :7j)qUJLS/aDj%s[ +ccHАkxs=Nm,=zzsEO}m9s|HD SEo')fdN;VRɫ'›;$3K"i)ec ~fh'vM.ߪe:sKbԋ3dʜ9Us PyrSwIB.W K`}Ii9ʵ+%[ l|Ttb̥Up7遜7,uH lد"+%2v@涎B9:3Tt5h D+YM#pp4]JӶaU.YIuaJ{CV6"6'Bzxj;igL{0)麜OL COV{Tr\Sݏ:)ppY۩GLR(Sc9z%͗'@~cj)7jp]xLm4U :H7;Wg! +uHֵ)~ B4C JtC`}3n~g"x.TQO+(ոcka8Rr}w|8l| f.iyLRrߚpef6uc9S>T2`/BHc^ GlUZ~Yu,K]3-RQlHhl 9Z<4(n&S'> at2FyhN!a[Kс7Rĥ"=Ƕ3rh՝p{ovej 9wKSĔGz*L?W_K GxBFr"J :%Xv×,g/YLmD0ZQ@
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1