MAGICALIA

The stakes rise as three students, newly enrolled in magic school, face malign chaos-conjurors who are scheming to start a war.

No sooner do schoolmates Bitsy, Kosh, and Mateo come into possession of a rare heartseed, a mighty amplifier of magical abilities, than they find themselves fugitives. They’re hotly pursued by both the magical Alliance that wants it back (but may have a traitor in its midst) and the evil mastermind Riddlejax. In extracts from pages of Magicalia, Bitsy’s sentient encyclopedia guide to all things cosmodynamic, Bell lays out full descriptions of the six guilds of the Alliance and six classes of creatures dubbed magicores, which are conjured through the emotional power of strong memories. As in the series opener, this magical background is so elaborately imagined that it duels with the storyline for precedence. The story also features bad guys who usefully explain their plans in detail at times when Bitsy and her friends can overhear. Still, it’s hard not to like a tale in which intrepid younglings confront hazards ranging from a massive ticking bomb to a cannon that shoots spaghetti sauce. Adding to the delight, lubberwharls, jubs, and other magicores with looks as daffy as their monickers roam in large numbers and appear in Wyatt’s appealing spot illustrations. For all the ostensibly earnest tone of this fast-paced romp, the author is plainly having a ball—and it’s catching. Bitsy reads white, Kosh is British Sri Lankan, and Mateo is brown-skinned.

A rollicking good time.