Review by Kirkus Book Review
A girl without magic hopes that a new school will teach her the skills necessary to be a credit to her family. Twelve-year-old Olivia Hayes comes from a family of Tillers, but as a dormant, she lacks the guild members' ability to "coax magic from plants." Determined to do something impressive, she signs her own invitation to the Unicorn Academy of Artistical and Magical Learning, scrawls a note for her sister, and presents herself at the school. There, a teacher suggests that Olivia is in fact a Spinner rather than a Tiller. She meets roommates Paisley, Camlet, and Gabardine and feels that she's finally where she belongs. A horrific Guild War led to the extinction of unicorns and their pure magic, but at the academy, Tillers, Spinners, Forgers, and Gemmers work together to usher in the Age of Unicorns. When Olivia's sister is accused of being a unicorn hunter, however, most of her classmates drop her, save for fellow dormant Violet, frenemy Kessa, and Tourmaline, a Gemmer. The setting of the land of Arden will be familiar to readers of The Unicorn Quest, Benko's companion series. While devoted unicorn fans may wish for less of the serpentlike Devourer, the cliffhanger ending points the way for more unicorns to come. Olivia is a worthy role model, the worldbuilding contains ample whimsy, and the overall takeaway is positive. Most main characters read white; Kessa is cued Black. Magic plus boarding school plus unicorns equals a fun girl-power adventure. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
