Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded

"Magical maiden" Chantel's biggest challenge, in her education to become a proper and correct sorceress who doesn't frighten the townsfolk ("The city needs sorceresses, but it fears them," says Miss Ellicott), is "deportment." So when Miss Ellicott disappears along with all the other sorceresses, the school runs out of food, and the manageress assigned by the city patriarchs plans to sell off the other little girls, Chantel finds her deportment particularly difficult to maintain. And when, after great exertions, she brings a clue to the patriarchs, hoping to bargain for the manageress's removal (and something for the little girls to eat), their dismissive response makes her lose her hold on her tongue completely. The familiar premise-a magical school where girls train to become proper young ladies-gains some welcome diversity (Chantel is black) along with startlingly Dickensian elements in Blackwood's deft hands. Chantel's child's-eye viewpoint is frequently penetrated by more adult concerns (such as toll roads, tariffs, and the "Marauders" besieging the city wall) without losing narrative consistency. And thanks to a trip outside those city walls, where she and her friends meet an actual marauder, Chantel's shift in perspective opens up readers' perspective as well-one more act of storytelling prestidigitation in a story rife with unexpected reveals and thrilling surprises. anita l. burkam