Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches

July 25, 2022
Cook (Fin & Rye & Fireflies) centers a magic-wielding teen trying to uncover the mystery behind his town’s disappearing youth in this mystical romance. To escape the emotional turmoil of his parents’ acrimonious divorce, Felix Silver, 17, moves to Dorset Harbor, England, a community of witches, to live with his grandmother, Aggie Silver. Aggie wastes no time tutoring Felix in how to employ his previously underutilized powers, and Felix makes fast friends with fellow students clever Fern, magically incompetent Charlie, and Felix’s crush, Aero. But sudden reports of missing teenagers alarm the townsfolk, and they suspect ancient, dark enchantments are to blame. When Fern discovers a connection between Felix’s ancestors and a past slew of disappearances, the teens hatch a dangerous plan to unearth the truth. As the mystery hurtles toward a familiar conclusion, Felix wrestles with trust and feelings of betrayal. Though the magic system—whose spells occasionally necessitate a teaspoon in lieu of a wand—feels thinly developed, Cook’s accessible prose and Felix’s seemingly unrequited crush on Aero, which blossoms into a freshly drawn courtship, makes for a lighthearted queer romance. Characters present as white. Ages 12–up.

July 1, 2022
Double, double teaspoons and trouble. As his parents' divorce has turned acrimonious, 17-year-old Felix Silver has been shipped off to live with his Grandma Aggie in her small community of Dorset Harbor, a town where magic users--who use teaspoons like wands--are free to be themselves. This gives Felix a chance to learn to work with his emerging powers and meet other young magical folks, including offbeat Fern, magically challenged Charlie, and dreamboat Aero. The foursome's school year is interrupted, however, when teens begin disappearing and the witchy citizens of Dorset Harbor begin to suspect dark magic may be involved. Both Felix's and his grandmother's social circles work to figure out who is responsible. Along the way, things begin to heat up between Felix and Aero, but Aero's suspicions of Gran may derail the budding romance between the boys. Unfortunately, the cobweb-thin plot is less than enchanting, with a big twist that most readers will spot coming fairly early on. Likewise, the characters are not deeply developed; explicit descriptions often convey how they are meant to be perceived instead of readers' being allowed to develop feelings about them organically. A conversation about Aero's bisexuality is a bright spot in the story. All main characters are coded as White. A fantasy with a queer romance that doesn't quite live up to expectations. (Fantasy. 12-17)

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