The Enchanting Girl - by Elizabeth Johnson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Cozy up to this enchanting debut fantasy about a young woman who is determined to break all the rules and learn to perform magic. She'll just need to hide her activities from her nosy mother, a string of unwelcome suitors, and the young enchanter she manages to butt heads with whenever they see each other. And oh yes, she also needs to master the 438 spells required to pass the enchanter's exam.

The island country of Lavinium guards a secret: its men have been able to perform magic for centuries--thanks to the fairies that inhabited the land before humans. Women were never allowed to learn the art, however. But it's the modern age of 1935, and when Zelda Van Doren discovers that she has a gift for magic, she decides to defy convention and teach herself how to use it. Doing so means secretly learning the same spells as male students, all while eluding her marriage-minded mother and a string of suitors that includes one John Pendleton, in particular. Although her friends say Pendleton's a catch, the young enchanter is clearly more interested in talking to Zelda's grandfather than to her, which suits her just fine. Meanwhile, Zelda's self-taught attempts at spellcasting are proving a miserable failure, until a fairy mysteriously emerges from the north, introducing Zelda to the one woman who might be able to help her. But even as Zelda struggles to control her gift, a long-simmering distrust between fairies and humans has bubbled to the surface, and it will be up to the young woman who has no business being an enchanter to work a little magic before it's too late.

About the Author

Elizabeth Johnson studied Greek and Latin at Wellesley College and used to write articles on the ancient world for Cricket's (now closed) Dig Into History magazine. She has spent most of her career as a grant writer for educational nonprofits but has held a number of other roles as well, ranging from academic tutor to Harvard Business School case writer to (her favorite job title) Trench Master at an archaeological excavation. A native Midwesterner who misses the wide-open spaces but not the Wisconsin winters, she now lives with her husband and daughter in Brookline, Massachusetts.