Just So Stories

Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing

May 2022

ISBN: 9781760508432

RRP: $19.99

It has certainly taken its time to come into my hands, but it was definitely worth the wait. I had heard so many good things about this book, not least of all via the chatter from The Uber Talented Critique Group (comprising some of my most favourite creators!) and it is very easy to see why it was so well received by readers and judges alike.

Tulsi is 11 and lives in a circus. Yes, an actual circus (unlike my personal circus which unfortunately, does have the monkeys). With her mother, a magician, and her father, who is the fix-it man, her uncle Vincent who is the ringmaster, her best friend Kit, already an amazing acrobat and other assorted characters, all of them dear to her, Tulsi loves her life.

Tulsi’s mum, Merry, is not your regular magician however. She does plenty of little magic, tricks you would say – all illusion and sleight of hand – but in fact, she is possessed of real ‘big magic’, and can employ it when she needs to.

Despite their best efforts the circus folk are not doing so well. The circus is not getting the audiences it needs to survive, let alone replace the equipment and the big top, all in serious disrepair, and it looks very like they might be closed down by the owner.

Tulsi desperately wants her mother to teach her magic, as she knows she will be able to do big magic (it’s handed down in the female line) but her mum refuses, telling her it’s against the laws of magic until she’s older. Little does she know Tulsi has already been practising magic on her own – and just as well. When Merry attempts a disappearing trick, which she hopes will be the big drawcard for the circus to save its very existence, she doesn’t come back.

The ensuing complications of parallel universes, a grandmother who had been stripped of powers but has only just come back into them, a terrible time constraint and Tulsi, who knows nothing of magic yet trying to retrieve her mum, make for one of the most compelling middle grade novels I’ve read of late.

It is complex and intriguing. It is beautiful in parts and incredibly tense in others, as Tulsi deals with big issues trying to wield her latent big magic, with little knowledge. The interaction between the characters, particularly the three generations of females, the frightening possibilities of the parallel universes (yes, more than one!) will both fascinate readers and lead to endless debates (as we all used to do with HP plots!).

It is absolutely glorious and given this is Sarah’s first children’s book, dare I say, even more so. The second instalment is Magic Awry, and I cannot wait to read it (pointed remark to publicists).

We know that Tulsi’s powers are extraordinary. Could she be ‘the One’ of her generation? I’m fairly sure that most will already have acquired this title for their collections, but if not – do so. And if you are looking for a fresh new read for kids in your circle, why not pick up both this and #2. Read some back story about the fig tree that features in Big Magic on Sarah’s website.

Highly recommended for readers from around 10 years upwards.

As a very small aside, I was fascinated that the tradition of Tulsi’s magic is Welsh and that the spells have always been spoken in that language, because I’ve just started learning the language. I’d be quite hopeless in Tulsi’s place, but perhaps I’d be powerful enough to deliver the spells in English as well, as she does.