THE FORGOTTEN MAGIC OF ZOEY TURNER

Terrifying statistics run through Zoey’s mind day and night, controlling her decisions.

After her father dies in a bus accident, anxiety-ridden 12-year-old Zoey Turner, who presents white, spends her summer escaping into the familiar world of her favorite fantasy series, the Magic of Ever After by Raven M. Wells. When a book signing ends in a panic attack, Zoey receives a pencil allegedly belonging to Wells herself. Zoey writes a story with the pencil, which seems innocent enough until the next day, when the events of her story happen in real life. Always the type to practice extreme caution, the nervous seventh grader asks Derek Beal, the redheaded president of a fantasy club with his own anxieties and fears, for help in how best to use her new magic. She keeps the pencil a secret from everyone else in her life, even her Lebanese American best friend, Lena. Zoey fears losing Lena when secrets and fears begin to separate them. As Zoey sharpens the pencil with each new story, her chances of writing the perfect ending dwindle away. She’ll need to find her own magic before it’s too late. This emotional narrative skillfully informs readers about anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and will comfort anyone facing challenges similar to the main characters’, reminding them to look for the pockets of joy in every day and inspiring them to discover their own forgotten magic.

Hope prevails in this story, filled with a resounding authenticity.