By Elle McNicoll (author) Part of the Like a Charm series
"This magical adventure rooted in real-life sees a daring dyspraxic heroine find her wings to save a city under siege"
Paperback Pre-order. 4th March 2027 £8.99 £8.09
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Longlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2023 ages 7-10 | Shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023
The first in a duology from Elle McNicoll, multi-award-winning author of A Kind of Spark , Like a Charm is ablaze with magic, mythical beings, and the indomitable derring-do of its inspirational neuro-divergent heroine. Also underpinned by powerful messages around self-discovery and community, and the power of books and booksellers, it delivers all the thrills and twists of a classic adventure with contemporary verve.
Ramya’s adventure begins with words of warning from her grandfather: “Beware the Sirens.” After she and her family relocate to Edinburgh, Ramya is initially thrown by the magic that’s presented to her when she inherits a mysterious book from her beloved grandfather: “Learning difficulties and magic seem equally mysterious to me.
To know that I might have both in me is too much to think about at this moment”. But it’s not long before she’s drawn into a secret world of magical beings - and family secrets - and realises that “Magic is a talent. Something that relies on natural ability”. Teaming up with her cousin Marley (“He is quiet where I am loud, he is polite where I am brash), Ramya harnesses her magic in all its forms, and throws herself into a perilous battle to save the city.
Providing positive inspiration for neurodivergent readers (“I’m dyspraxic and fantastic”. “I am resilience. I have a brain and a pair of hands and two eyes that do things differently to the rest of the herd”), Like a Charm also offers an allegory for our times, with the toxic Sirens of the story linked to the kind of politicians who turn “neighbour against neighbour”, resulting in “people getting meaner”.
Unforgettable Ramya will have a huge range of young readers under her spell, and stirred to empowering self-belief.
Edinburgh is a city filled with magical creatures. No one can see them... except Ramya Knox. Discover an Edinburgh full with magical creatures in Like A Charm, the thrilling fantasy adventure by multi-award winner, Elle McNicoll.'A wildly imaginative world of secrets and spells' The Times, Children's Book of the WeekShortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing.
Read the full description
Edinburgh is a city filled with magical creatures. No one can see them... except Ramya Knox. Discover an Edinburgh full with magical creatures in Like A Charm , the thrilling fantasy adventure by multi-award winner, Elle McNicoll. 'A wildly imaginative world of secrets and spells' The Times, Children's Book of the Week Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing.
As she is pulled into her family's world of secrets and spells, Ramya sets out to discover the truth about the Hidden Folk with only three words of warning from her grandfather: Beware the Sirens. Plunged into an adventure that will change everything, Ramya is about to learn that there is more to her powers than she ever imagined. Don't miss the next book in this magical series, Like a Curse.
Praise for A Kind of Spark:
Definitive and funny Susin Nielsen
A fabulous, brilliant debut Lisa Thompson
Elle McNicoll is an award-winning Scottish children’s author.
Her debut novel, A Kind of Spark , won the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. A live action TV adaptation from BBC Children’s and 9 Story Media will be hitting UK screens in Spring 2023.
She is an advocate for better representation of neurodiversity in publishing and in 2022 founded The Adrien Prize, to recognise children’s fiction that explores the disability experience. She lives in London.
Photo credit Aashfaria A. Anwar
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Edinburgh is a city filled with magical creatures. No one can see them... except Ramya Knox.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Like a Charm and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Like a Charm features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Fantasy / Magical, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommendations, PSHE: Special educational needs and disability (SEND), Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. Pre-order. 4th March 2027.
Like a Charm was written by Elle McNicoll and published by Macmillan Children's Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
Like a Charm has 336 pages
Yes it is part of Like a Charm series
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. Pre-order. 4th March 2027.
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