Title: Spellbook of the Lost and Found
Author: Moira Fowley-Doyle
Genre: Young Adult | Magic | Mystery
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Source: Publisher
Format: Audio
If you’re not careful, you can spend your whole life looking for what you’ve lost.
One stormy summer in a small Irish town, things begin to disappear. It starts with trivial stuff—hair clips, house keys, socks—but soon it escalates to bigger things: a memory, a heart, a classmate.
Olive can tell that her best friend, Rose, is different all of a sudden. Rose isn’t talking, and Olive starts to worry she’s losing her. Then diary pages written by someone named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing development. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they’re holding tightly to painful secrets.
When a tattered handwritten spellbook falls into the lives of these six teenagers, it changes everything. The spellbook is full of charms to conjure back that which has been lost, and it lists a part for each of them to play in the calling. It might be their best chance to set everything back to rights, but only if they’re willing to pay the price (goodreads).
Spellbook of the Lost and Found was filled with magic and mystery; however, something was missing.
Plot: I instantly picked
Spellbook of the Lost and Found up because I thought that
The Accident Season was such a unique book. While
Spellbook of the Lost and Found had Fowley-Doyle's beautiful writing and endearing characters, this one just didn't charm me as much. I enjoyed the overall mystery and the constant back and forth on whether magic was real in
Spellbook of the Lost and Found, but I felt that there wasn't any payoff in the end.
Characters: Spellbook of the Lost and Found followed six teens, but the perspectives switched between Olive's and Hazel's. I really enjoyed each of the characters because they were troubled and desperate to take charge of their lives - one way or the other. There were two romances and they were both done wondrously well and pulled at my heart strings. Even though I liked the romances, I think I would have liked the book even if the romances were not included.
Worldbuilding: I've always liked Fowley-Doyle's descriptions of Ireland - she adds a bit of whimsy when describing the small towns and Spellbook of the Lost and Found was no different. From the first chapter, I felt enveloped in this world and really enjoyed how each character viewed their world and family situations.
Narrators: I'm sure the reason I felt so immersed in this world was due in part to the narrators. Elizabeth Sastre, Marisa Calin, Saskia Maarleveld each did admirable jobs with their parts - each so wonderful that I actually couldn't tell them apart! They each spoke with an air of dark mystery and helped Ireland come alive.
Short N Sweet: Spellbook of the Lost and Found will have you head-over-heels in love with some of the characters, but might have you wanting more answers.
Labels: 3 stars, book review, kathy dawson books, Moira Fowley-Doyle, review, spellbook of the lost and found, The Accident Season
