This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. Gradually-too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic-it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. Readers will be eager to discover what Omega does next and to unveil more of the magical world of Noche Buena.Ī satisfying mystery with depths to plumb.Ĭhainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.Įvery four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Kemp weaves a page-turning plot while executing a satisfyingly slow reveal of the story’s core secret and the characters surrounding it. As her ties to the town’s tormentor are revealed, so too are generations of secrecy and trauma alongside the true power-and dangers-of Omega’s empathic abilities. At each turn adults seek to stymie her efforts, yet Omega feels drawn to La Lechuza in an inexplicable way. Hoping to mend rifts, Omega sets out to discover the truth of La Lechuza’s identity and the meaning behind her appearance. Amid this internal and external turmoil, an ominous creature of myth has been spotted in the community: La Lechuza. Omega Morales, whose best friend is a ghost from Venezuela, is a descendant of a long line of magic practitioners who use their abilities to empathize in a variety of ways to assist others, but Omega feels out of place as she struggles with her burgeoning power while it appears to come so easily to others. The town of Noche Buena is precariously divided between families with magic and those without. Deep empathy is a special power but a double-edged sword for a Mexican American girl in this middle-grade debut from Kemp.
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