Hide and Seek

Volume XXVII / Issue 6 - October 9 / 2020

Hide and Seek

Author: 
Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle & Emily Jenkin
Series: 
Upside-Down Magic #7
Toronto, ON: Scholastic, 2020
192 pp., hardcover & ebook, $19.99 (hc.)
ISBN: 
9781338221558 (hc.)
9781338221572 (ebook)
Grades: 
Grades 3-6
Ages: 
Ages 8-11
Review by: 
Review by Teresa Iaizzo
3
Excerpt: 

Elliott had said it was a big deal to get into Sage. And he was right. She knew he was.

Plus, Father was so very pleased.

But.

Sage Academy.

As Nory trailed behind Father, she felt anxious in the presence of all this grandeur, all this pressure, the uniforms and the rules. She loved Dunwiddle Magic School. Could she possibly be happy here at Sage? With so many decorative moldings?

Father lectured Nory about the many famous magicians who had attended Sage. He talked about the importance of tradition, citing rituals like the Spring Unicorn Festival and the annual school- wide game of hide- and- seek, which students and teachers alike took part in every winter. He talked about recent sports victories and magic electives and student affinity groups.

Nory knew Sage Academy had a lot to offer! She just couldn’t imagine feeling at home here. The sad truth was that this was Father’s place, and she never quite felt at home with him.

In the seventh installment of the “Upside-Down Magic” series, Nory and her friends must choose between Dunwiddle Magic School and Sage Academy, the fanciest private magic school around.

After the rusty pipes at Dunwiddle erupt, the whole school is flooded, and the entire fifth grade, including Ms. Starr’s Upside-Down Magic class, gets invited to attend school at Sage Academy. Sage is everything that Dunwiddle is not. It has lush gardens, state of the art amenities, and it educates the most talented magical minds in the country. Not to mention, Nory’s father Dr. Horace, just so happens to be the headmaster there.

The only problem is that Sage only accepts students with strong conventional magic, and both the faculty and students alike look down on Nory and her Upside-Down Magic classmates. Nory and her friends struggle to find a place to fit in, and so Nory decides the best way to leave is if she gets expelled. After a hilarious school assembly at which Nory inadvertently unleashes a group of skunks, the Upside-Down Magic crew finally realize that being unconventional is what makes them truly unique.

Written by the literary powerhouse trio of Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins, Hide and Seek is another great addition to the “Upside-Down Magic” series. This time around, the reader’s being given a glimpse into Nory’s personal relationships with her entire family provides much needed depth to the series. Overall, Hide and Seek is an enjoyable read that will delight fans.

Recommended
Reviewer: 

Teresa Iaizzo is a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.