Lily Halfmoon: The magic gems by Xavier Bonet

Turning nine should be a time of celebration and excitement but for Lily Halfmoon she wasn’t expecting her birthday cake to explode or for other magical happening to start.  She doesn’t know how to control what is happening until she starts at magic school with two girls who help her negotiate this new chapter in her life. 

When the three girls are assigned to find out who is eating their teachers’ magic flowers, they must work together to solve the mystery.  With each girl having a crystal that holds their power, a familiar that is assigned to them and learning about their powers and what being a witch really means it is a lot to expect of young children, but the girls realise that their greatest power is friendship and trusting each other and this is why the story will be loved by adults and children alike.

This graphic novel is so well written and has excellent explanations about how things work and why things do what they do. For anyone who loves spells, witches, or mysteries this a great book. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story grabs the interest of the reader. 

Although graphic novels are not great read aloud or class novels, this book will become a favourite on any library shelf, especially for those students who are interested in Harry Potter or the fantasy genre in general but don’t want to or have the capacity to read a long book.

This is the first book in a series and will be shared and loved by any reader.

Themes: Magic, Friendship.

Mhairi Alcorn