The Fourth of July has come and gone, so *checks calendar* it's time for everyone to start decorating for Halloween, right? Yes, I am That Girl who uses spiders in all of her decorating. But really, who couldn't use a little magic in their lives right about now? Time to break out the Hocus Pocus and pick up books like Laura Sibson's Edie in Between.
Edie in Between was touted as "a modern Practical Magic." An intriguing idea, as Alice Hoffman's bewitching Practical Magic is not only a critically-acclaimed classic, but one of my favorite films of all time. Having read Edie, I think a more realistic comparison would be The Craft — still a lot of fun, but far less nuanced and ambitious.
Celtic/Wiccan magic runs in Edie Mitchell's family. The Mitchell women dry herbs, note the solstice, and hide secret forests with rhyming spells. Edie herself can see dead people, among other things, but she'd rather just be a cross-country jock that has nothing to do with any of it. Which she got away with, until her mother's death outside their home in Baltimore almost a year ago, at which point Edie moved onto her grandmother's herb-covered houseboat in the Chesapeake Bay.
Despite being a socially awkward person who loathes this small town, Edie does make a couple of friends: Tess, who runs with her, and beautiful Rhia, who works at the local occult shop. It's Tess who tells Edie about the "haunted" Mitchell property, so of course Edie has to investigate. Her presence bungles some sort of spell there, triggering a chain reaction of dangerous magic that goes from bad to worse. With the help of her new friends, GG (her grandmother), Edie's mother's journal, and a lot of magic, they manage to unlock these secrets of the past one by one.
Now, my upbringing was heavily influenced by Greek culture, so I am predisposed to have certain views on superstitions and the supernatural. I'm also a poet, so I have strong opinions on rhyming poetry. I acknowledged both of these things, and then set them aside so I could enjoy Edie's story with an open mind. And for the most part I did, apart from Edie's willful disregard for meter — I wish she'd thrown that out the window a lot sooner — and blatant ignorance.
For whatever reason, Edie's mother allowed her to have a childhood without the "burden" of knowing how to properly harness magic that is powerful enough to kill a person. Even after she bumbled into that old house and screwed up a spell she didn't know was there, Edie continued making one bad decision after another. By halfway through the book I was as mad as GG, as concerned as Tess and Rhia, and yelling at Edie like she was a character in a horror movie that should NOT go into the dark basement. Which did lead to considerable personal enjoyment, but I suspect it wasn't what the author was going for.
I did appreciate that Edie's story was about fear and the power of grief — appropriate themes for the current time. It highlighted the importance (and frustration) of communication within a family, no matter what the generation. When there are words you can't say, it definitely puts the words you won't say into perspective. But I really would like to have known more about the Mitchell family's history and the origin of their magic, and I wish Rhia and Tess's characters both had had a bit more substance.
So if you're craving cooler weather, hot apple cider, and the classic Charmed TV series, Edie in Between is a magical adventure right up your dark alley. And if you're anything like me, you've already got Practical Magic in the queue anyway.
Alethea Kontis is a voice actress and award-winning author of over 20 books for children and teens.
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August 29, 2021 at 04:00PM
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Review: 'Edie In Between,' By Laura Sibson - NPR
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