Sticks & Stones (Upside-Down Magic #2)

by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, Emily Jenkins

Overview

Strange things are happening at Dunwiddle Magic School -- and the Upside-Down Magic class is getting blamed!

Yes, Marigold did shrink Lacey Clench to the size of a gerbil. But that was an accident. And, yes, most people weren't prepared for Nory to transform into a squippy (that's half squid, half puppy) -- but it's not like Nory meant to mix up paws and tentacles. And while Bax does have the unfortunate magical condition of turning into a stone, he swears he has nothing to do with the rocky magic that's been happening in Dunwiddle's halls.

When things get messy, it's easy to point your finger at the kids with the messiest magic. But the Upside-Down Magic students aren't going to let themselves get in trouble. Instead, they're going to find out what's really going on -- and get their school back on track before something really wacky happens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545800495
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/31/2016
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	135,214
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series, the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she is cowriting with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy-tale-loving daughters. Visit Sarah online at www.sarahm.com and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @sarahmlynowski.

Lauren Myracle is the New York Times bestselling author of many books for young readers, including the Winnie years (which begins with Ten), the Flower Power series (which begins with Luv Ya Bunches), and the Life of Ty series. She would like to be a Fuzzy so she could talk to unicorns and feed them berries. You can find Lauren online at www.laurenmyracle.com.

Emily Jenkins is the author of many chapter books, including the Toys trilogy (which begins with Toys Go Out) and the Invisible Inkling series. Her picture books include Lemonade in Winter, Toys Meet Snow, and The Fun Book of Scary Stuff. She would like to be a Flare and work as a pastry chef. Visit Emily at www.emilyjenkins.com.

Editorial Reviews

Has magic gone awry at Dunwiddle Magic School? Items in the student lockers are transforming into stone. The school’s program offers classes for regular magic for different magical skills (i.e. Flyers, Flares, Fluxers, Fuzzies, and Flickers) along with a special class, the Upside-Down Magic (UDM), for students whose magic is unusual and different. Fifth graders, Nory, Bax, and their friends return in this second adventure of the Upside-Down Magic students. Bax is blamed for the items turning into stone at school, as some students feel that his upside-down magic is the reason for the problems. He is an UDM Fluxer who changes into a rock and has problems changing back to himself. The students believe that his uncontrolled fluxing is causing items to turn to stone. Lacey is a school bully who is determined to have the UDM class and its students removed from Dunwiddle’s program. Meanwhile, the students in the UDM class try to figure out what is happening and support each other. The story (in a magical world setting) deals with compassion for individual differences. This adventure is the second book in the “Upside Down Magic” series; a third book is in the works. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Carrie Hane Hung

05/01/2016
Gr 3–6—The "magical misfits" of the Upside-Down Magic class are back for another adventure that is sure to delight readers. There are strange happenings at Dunwiddle Middle School, and Marigold, Nory, and Bax are being unfairly blamed for the shenanigans. The members of the class all have different power that define them. They are either Flyers, Flares, Fluxers, Fuzzies, or Flickers. Fans of light fantasy such as Jen Calonita's "Charmed" series and Mlynowski's own "Whatever After" series will devour this new addition. Mlynowski, Myracle, and Jenkins provide backstory from the previous installment, ensuring that new readers will not be lost along the way. This is the kind of whimsical story that fans will appreciate.

School Library Journal

2016-03-02
Nory and her friends are misfits in an alternate universe (Upside-Down Magic, 2015) where everyone has a magical talent. There are Fluxers, Flares, Fuzzies, Flickers, and Flyers whose talents develop in a fairly predictable, established pattern. But brown-skinned Nory and the children in the Upside-Down Magic class, or the UDMs as they are called, are different. Their magic is wonky and totally out of control, causing mayhem wherever they go. The kids with normal magic torment and ostracize them, especially their nemesis, a mean white girl who, with her group of followers, bullies them without mercy. When a series of bizarre and inappropriate magical events disrupt school activities and seem to implicate Nory's classmate Bax, the UDMs are threatened with the elimination of their program. The children draw closer together with the aid of caring teachers and coaches who encourage and believe in their capability to take control of their unusual talents and use them wisely. Nory leads the way as they solve the mystery and earn the respect of at least some of the other students. The inventive tale is filled with a deftly balanced mixture of otherworldly effects, humor, action, and the confusing and recognizable emotions of middle school dynamics. Nory is brave, determined, quick to take offense, kind, empathetic, and eminently likable. Appealing, warmhearted, and magical. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews