The Time of Green Magic
by Hilary McKayon September 5, 2020
Genres: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Pages: 240
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
From acclaimed author and Costa winner Hilary McKay comes The Time of Green Magic: a beautiful, spell-binding novel about a new families, a magical old house and a mysterious cat . . .
When Tom and Polly marry, blending their single parent families together, their children find it hard to relinquish their old lives. Max realizes his birth dad will never come home now, while Abi suddenly finds herself a middle child, expected to share far too much – especially with grubby little Louis. The family start over together, stretching their finances to the limit and renting an eerie, ivy-covered house, big enough for all of them.
But when the children are alone there, strange things start to happen. Worried, Louis summons comfort from outdoors, and a startling guest arrives – is it a cat, or an owl, or something else? Abi reads alone, tumbling deep into books. Max loses his best friend and falls in love.
Meanwhile, Louis' secret visitor is becoming much too real. And when Max and Abi too start to see the great spotted cat-thing that arrives in the night, it becomes a problem the three of them must find a way to solve – together. But where has the creature come from, and how will he get back?
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- All the found family feels.
- Blended family rep, with kids learning how to be siblings.
- Low contemporary fantasy with magical realism.
- A contemporary feel in the prose with a magical atmosphere.
- Children being absolutely adorable with each other.
- Until they realize they’re not supposed to like each other, obviously.
- Parents doing their absolute best to make the new family work.
- Adorable not-nowl, cat-thing mystery to be solved.
- A light, uplifting read that will leave you with positive, warm feels.
I actually got an eARC of this from NetGalley, and then, lo and behold, guess what showed up in Minion’s OwlCrate Junior! Minion thinks it looks cute (then again, there’s a giant cat-thing on the cover, so obviously it was going to win her over). And after reading it? I can 100% confirm I’ll be encouraging her to pick it up.
The Time of Green Magic is a gorgeous, heartwarming book about a blended family trying to learn what exactly it means to be “family,” in a new house that has its own quiet magic.
I had so many warm, fuzzy feels during this book, guys. I’m not usually one for character-driven books, but this was a quick afternoon read, and it’s just positive, light, and full of good vibes. Not going to say it’s all bright and cheery, because it’s not. These kids have been through a lot, and adjusting to their new life is anything but easy, but they just won my heart over and over again until the ending, where, I’m not gonna lie, I definitely teared up, okay? It was just too freaking sweet and perfect.
The story focuses on a blended family (Abi and her father, who marries Louis and Max’s mother) and this is a dynamic I want to see in more middle grade books.
I grew up in a blended family … by which I mean, you might as well have just thrown my family in a blender, again and again, and whatever came out the other end is what stuck. I have a massive, messed up family and I rue the day Minion inevitably has to do a family tree and explain why she has nine grandparents and her “tree” looks more like a shrub.
The family dynamic brings something unique to the narrative, because being in a blended family is hard. It follows a similar trajectory as the found family trope, because even though this family doesn’t necessarily choose each other to start with, they need to learn exactly what it means to live together and, in fact, be a family.
Anyone who’s been part of a blended family will know the struggle of finding your situation turned on its head and then having these small, annoying beings invading your space. Or worse, you’re forced to go invade theirs. McKay doesn’t sugar coat this struggle, but faces it head on, with all the honest clumsiness of kids trying to adjust to a new situation.
I appreciated the honesty and earnestness with which this concept is handled. The kids aren’t always nice to each other, and they don’t always get along. In fact, they often don’t. They can be selfish, snappish, and just plain mean at times … but that’s life in a blended family sometimes. It’s a learning process. I loved the way McKay allowed the children this time to grow, both independently and together. The result was just breathtaking and so well done.
“No!” exclaimed Abi. (Was she going to have to share Granny Grace now, as well as everything else?) “Anwyay, why? You hate reading!”
Louis didn’t argue. It was true. He wouldn’t read and he didn’t read. He detested it. Loathed the little black words that crawled like beetles across the pages. Hated the way that as soon as he had labored through one boring paper-covered book, he was handed another, even harder.
Still, he longed for a letter of his own.
These children will steal your heart, guaranteed!
Probably. Results may vary. But what little bit is left of my shriveled, blackened heart was absolutely stolen by this trio, for very different reasons. They’re just so stinking sweet and relatable that I can’t even with them. They all deserves hugs, every one of them.
Abi is a book nerd who lost her mother at a young age and who always lived with her father, Tom, and grandmother, Granny Grace, who moves to Jamaica when Tom and Polly get married. Which is strike one against Polly, right? Used to being an only child, she’s forced not only to be a middle child but an older sister to Louis. Even though she’d much rather just be left alone to read her books in peace and not have to share everything in her life now.
Max is falling hard into that teen phase. Despite being used to being an older brother, he isn’t thrilled about losing his father and having to deal with a new sister. Which is fair. I imagine this is much how my step-brother felt when our father married my mother. Little sisters are hard.
Then there’s dear little Louis, who is trying hard to accept the new family but doesn’t understand the tension between everyone else. He’s young and so innocent, and I just wanted to protect him like the precious flower he is. I actually found him the most relatable, for several reasons. For one, he had hearing problems and tubes in his ears, just like I did at his age, which forced him to adapt. Because he had trouble hearing short words, he would sometimes merge words together, like “a nowl” instead of “an owl” or “iffen” instead of if. Plus, it was just hard not to love him, because he’s so honest and earnest and little.
Max had made the rocking-horse joke. He had said, This can be Abi’s room, because of the books. Now, for a third time, he had warmed her heart with his hesitant, Do you mind?
Abi’s jealousy left her like a bond untying, and she saw the true Max behind the wary eyes. The traveler. Her relief was like lightness. Max would help.
It isn’t just the children, though. These parents, Tom and Polly, are fabulous and doing their best, despite struggling, and attentive, loving parents in middle grade books is always magical.
Tom and Polly are a united front from the very beginning, recognizing the struggles of merging their families but doing their best. McKay doesn’t shy away from the ugly realities of these struggles, either, like not being sure they can afford a new house for all of them and being forced to work late hours and run ragged to make it work. As far as I’m concerned, this is such an important aspect for middle grade books, because two working parents is such a common thing, and the way this is presented in the book is easy for children to grasp how much the parents sacrifice for their children, while simultaneously still being there.
Despite working long hours, Tom and Polly still go out of their way to make time for the children, with Polly advocating for Abi and Tom reading Louis bedtime stories and taking care of Max.
It was so refreshing seeing the parents fall into a normal parenting role for all the children and providing a united parental unit. This was really part of the magic of the blended family for me, that the parents try so hard to make it work, which is a fact that isn’t missed by the kids, either.
“It’s why I learned to do it myself,” said Abi.
“I haven’t any storybooks,” said Louis silkily.
“Yeah, we need to talk about that,” said Theo. “That reading-book-down-the-drain thing.”
Despite being character-driven, there’s a small air of mystery in this book as the house itself becomes almost a character, weaving small feats of magic around the family.
It’s magical realism at its finest. McKay has a gorgeous writing style that sounds dreamy in its own right, which lent itself nicely to the subtle hints of magic. It comes up almost immediately at the start of the book, though it’s easily mistaken, and I enjoyed how it unfolded little by little but was never quite solid and defined.
The real mystery is around Iffen, a cat-thing that Louis discovers one night that seems to appear out of nowhere.
Which the adults can’t see because … of course they can’t. Adults are boring. Pfft. While Iffen is adorable, the mystery wasn’t a huge selling point for me, and it was resolved a little easily. The charm was really in watching the kids work together to solve the problem.
Then Iffen gave him such a glance, such a deep long glance, that all Louis’s thoughts trembled and scattered and rearranged themselves in new patterns, like a kaleidoscope shaken. Iffen a pet? Iffen was no pet. He was … What was he?
Louis’s mind rifled his memory for all the words that might describe Iffen: guest, beast, cat, angel, fear, secret, wildness.
A wildness.
Yes.
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I didn’t even notice the giant cat on the cover until you mentioned it!! How cool, this sounds so wonderful😁
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Isn’t it cute? That was the first thing Minion noticed, but I didn’t see it right away either lol. I think she’s cat-minded. xD
Sammie, love, do you have any idea how big my tbr is? Do you? Is it necessary that you help me keep adding things? I should read the books not just pile them up!
It sounds delightful. The cat-thing kinda makes me think of Totoro and makes me wanna watch that one too.
Approximately as big as mine is? Big enough where they might band together and take over the world? Yes, it is absolutely necessary. I would wither and blow away if I wasn’t throwing books at people. Besides, piling books up is fun.
The cat-thing is not nearly as lovable or fun as Totoro. xD But it is interesting, at least.
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