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The Spell Book of Listen Taylor

3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 · rating details · 948 ratings · 149 reviews

A fairytale, a mystery, a history of hot-air ballooning, and a romance . . . A novel so brilliant, moving, zingy -- and Zingy -- that it could only have come from Jaclyn Moriarty.

The Zing family lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. They use these things to protect the Zing Family Secret -- one so huge it d...more

Hardcover, 479 pages

Published September 1st 2007 by Arthur A. Levine Books

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Apr 26, 2011 oliviasbooks rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: friends of clever contemporary fiction about modern relationships

Shelves: unfinished-2011, contemporary_fiction, high-expectations, scb-challenge-2011

Inspite of Jaclyn Moriarty's funky, insightful and sometimes extremely funny writing style, "The Spell Book of Listen Taylor" is in essence a rather depressing book: It tells the cleverly intertwined stories of three women having each an affair and one 12-years-old girl - the one and only Alissa "Listen" Taylor -, being systematically snubbed/mobbed/cold-shouldered by her five former best friends.

I do not know why, but the helpless combination of adultery and lonely childhood makes me painfully...more Inspite of Jaclyn Moriarty's funky, insightful and sometimes extremely funny writing style, "The Spell Book of Listen Taylor" is in essence a rather depressing book: It tells the cleverly intertwined stories of three women having each an affair and one 12-years-old girl - the one and only Alissa "Listen" Taylor -, being systematically snubbed/mobbed/cold-shouldered by her five former best friends.

I do not know why, but the helpless combination of adultery and lonely childhood makes me painfully sad. The wacky Zing Clan and their family secret (yes, I peeked at the last chapters to be in the know) did not offer enough cheerful balance to let me hitch a ride on the that's-life:-crazy-but-somehow-worth-it-wave.

I have decided to let the book go after 16 chapters (or 148 pages). But I am convinced that for lovers of contemporary, realistic and slightly cynical fiction with an unexpected twist and a big AHA-effect thrown in at the end, "Listen Taylor" is just the right thing. Really.

What I miserably fail to understand is why Macmillan offers the book as a part of their children's line. Because Listen is a young heroine? (The women are aged 28 and up.) Or because Moriarty's other titles are all young adult novels? (That would be absolute bullshit. Who says that an author cannot aim at different readerships with different books? Knowing that the book was originally sold as contemporary adult with the title I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes makes me gnash my teeth even harder.) Heavens, I am not one of those readers who say that children or teenagers shouldn't read books about young teachers or middle-aged mums having affairs, but I think a lot of disappointment is preprogrammed by placing a book for the wrong age group. If you pick up an adult book you should be able to do so knowingly. Same goes for the other way around. In Germany Marked and the rest of the vampie-teeenie House-of-Night-Series is sold as paranormal romance in the grown-up section. And behold what those poor, unsuspecting shoppers are treating themselves to!

To round up my review and to visualize my opinion I close with my favorite quote:

"When she got back from taking Cassie to school Fancy knew that she ought to be working on her wilderness romance. She had promised thirty thousand words to her editor by tomorrow, and she had only written eleven. Specifically:
His rhinoceros smelled like a poppadom: sweaty, salty, strange and strong.
Her editor would cut that line."

TBR Pile Reduction Challenge 2011, Book #16 (challenger = Nomes)(less)

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Jan 27, 2011 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, ya

This is just way too bizarre to be truly enjoyed. Not even close to Ashbury books in quality. Have no idea why it is being marketed as YA, because this book is basically about grown people indulging in adultery for no good reason. Adultery is accompanied by mentions of multiple orgasms, sucking toes, and qualities of a good lover.

The only poignant part of the story is Listen's junior high school experience. And the novel is very interesting structurally. Other parts of the novel - the plot, the...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Kevin Fanning rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes Meghan Deans' writing

Shelves: totally-worth-owning

Updated review, 06/2012:

OK I still really, really love this book.

I mean, it's a little twee and cloying in places. As a stylistic choice it didn't turn me off, but I get that this is a book you either immediately love or hate. So many italics and !'s. And the characters all have personalities that, if they aren't identical, are verrry similar.

BUT. This thing clicks together like clockwork. Not just the details falling into place, but the slightly-rewound construction, where you get Friday from...more

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Aug 25, 2008 Eva Mitnick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, chick-lit

When I first picked up The Spell Book of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty, it seemed to be quite obviously YA, published as it is by the Arthur A. Levine imprint of Scholastic and featuring a 12-year-old girl who finds a book of spells. Easy-peasy!

Well, no. To my initial uneasiness but then vast delight, this book quickly began soaring away from any possibility of pinning it down into a category or genre. Sure, there’s a Junior High School girl named Listen, whose spells may or may not be having...more When I first picked up The Spell Book of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty, it seemed to be quite obviously YA, published as it is by the Arthur A. Levine imprint of Scholastic and featuring a 12-year-old girl who finds a book of spells. Easy-peasy!

Well, no. To my initial uneasiness but then vast delight, this book quickly began soaring away from any possibility of pinning it down into a category or genre. Sure, there’s a Junior High School girl named Listen, whose spells may or may not be having some intriguing and unexpected effects on the people around her. But most of the characters are young women in their 20s and 30s, who are dealing with jobs, relationships, children, and other grown-up preoccupations.

The plot starts out scattered and complicated, but the disparate threads all lead the reader to the tightly knitted heart of the center. To reveal too much would detract from the pleasure of this tale, so I will only say that the Zing family (Mr. and Mrs. Zing, their two 30-something daughters Marbie and Fancy, Fancy’s husband Radcliffe, and Marbie’s boyfriend Nathaniel) has an unusual and all-consuming Secret.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s daughter Listen has found a handmade book that cheerfully exhorts her to follow easy but very concise instructions that will lead to such results as someone finding something unexpected in a washing machine. She follows these instructions with bemusement and then a kind of desperation – after all, the book promises to “mend your broken heart.” Listen’s heart has been broken by her group of friends, who have turned on her now that they’re all at a new school.

And finally there is Cath Murphy, a young and peculiarly lucky 2nd-grade teacher, whose love affair with a fellow teacher at first seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the story, except that she is Fancy’s daughter Cassie’s teacher.

These young women – Cath, Fancy, Marbie, and Listen – are the heart and soul of the story, with Mrs. Zing (Maudie) playing a more distant but crucial role as well. While Cath is down-to-earth and practical, Fancy and Marbie are more nebulous and fey, drifting through their lives and wondering (or grumbling) at where the winds of chance blow them. All that really inspires them to real action is The Secret – which explains a lot about their apparent passivity. By the end, they have discovered the desire to shape their own destinies. Cath, on the other hand, is put in the unsettling position of having to figure out how much of what she thought was her own free will was due to outside forces.

Listen’s story is the most heart-breaking. I cringed at her absolute acceptance of her friends’ assessment of her as a “taker” because she listens a lot but doesn’t do a lot of talking. After explaining in earnest detail why their group had to “shift away from you,” her friend Donna adds, “And this is really, really hard for us, okay?” It’s devastating, as is Listen’s subsequent failure to find any other friends at her new school.

Moriarty cuts right to the emotional heart of things. Her writing is gorgeous, her characters are odd and unique in the way that people are, and what seems to be a ludicrously far-fetched plot turns out to be … well, not exactly normal, but certainly understandable in terms of ordinary people and extraordinary love. This is a daring and thrilling book, and a damn good read. It’s my new favorite book of the year.

Will teens read this book? Sure, and I really hope that the YA designation doesn’t prevent adults from reading it as well. Librarians, writers, editors, and avid readers, do not be afraid to cross that YA/Adult border with impunity! Break it down! Great books should be read by everyone.
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Nov 10, 2010 K rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, i-bought-it

Past Me wouldn’t have enjoyed this book and that’s unfortunate. Disparate stories and characters seem to pick up and leave off with no apparent plot, so I wouldn’t have made it very far before abandoning it. But since I’d already read and loved the Ashbury books, I had faith and quickly finished and loved this one too.

The story—don’t worry, there really is one in there—revolves around the Zing Family Secret. There’s junior high student Listen Taylor and her mysterious Spell Book. Marbie Zing is...more

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Jan 19, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, 2010, fiction

This is the story of how I was tricked by this book. Yes, TRICKED!! This is the story:

Four years ago in January 2006, I was at Sydney airport waiting to board the plane to Canada. As you do, I was wasting time in the airport shops, more specifically, one of those little bookshops. One book caught my eye and I instantly fell in love the cover and the zany title and the even zanier, witty blurb. It was I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes by an Australian/Canadian author, Jaclyn Moriarty, whom...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Punk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fiction. When Listen Taylor and her dad move in with Marbie Zing, her dad's girlfriend, Listen finds a spell book while unpacking her things. There are nine spells in the book, and it's very particular about when she does them.

This is delightful, like Alice Hoffman at her best. It's not quite magical realism, more like reality with the barest hint of magic. The kind of magic that might come from coincidence, not the kind where people suddenly sprout wings. The prose is playful and inventive: He...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adults with a tolerance for confusing writing & extra-marital affairs

Shelves: adult-fiction

Following this story is like trying to follow the deranged rantings of a hopped-up lunatic with ADD. There is no literary flow; it is a listing of random thoughts and actions by characters with names like Listen, Marbie, and Violin (ok, technically Violin is a cat). Bizarre is too tame of a word to describe the descriptions, and the dialogue feels like it came out of Through the Looking Glass.

Of course, none of that is necessarily a bad thing.

After 100 pages or so I started to understand the plo...more Following this story is like trying to follow the deranged rantings of a hopped-up lunatic with ADD. There is no literary flow; it is a listing of random thoughts and actions by characters with names like Listen, Marbie, and Violin (ok, technically Violin is a cat). Bizarre is too tame of a word to describe the descriptions, and the dialogue feels like it came out of Through the Looking Glass.

Of course, none of that is necessarily a bad thing.

After 100 pages or so I started to understand the plot, although the author certainly didn't make it easy. The time jumps are insane: one character will take you through a month of events, then you'll go back a month and start over from a different character's perspective, and then you'll go back 50 years to hear a random story of a character not even involved in the story, and then - zip! - back to present day. Disconcerting, much?

I also discovered that this book really could have been titled "Adultery: A Celebration". Every character over the age of 12 was cheating on their spouse/significant other, or being cheated on, or thinking about cheating, or cheating with someone who was himself/herself married. It was nuts - even the grandmotherly types reminisce about their own adulterous affairs. And what was worse, no one who was cheating had any reason to: they were all with loving spouses/significant others. I found the two main adult character, Fancy & Marbie, to be a pair of selfish, fluff-headed idiots who are in constant need of a good slapping. They leave their men for inferior relationships without a thought for the children involved. It was really quite disgusting.

The only reason I stayed with the book to the bitter end was the title character and her respective "spell book". Listen is the true victim of the book, blaming herself for her father's break-up with her new "mom" and being ostracized at school in heart-breakingly realistic ways. I was also curious about the "Zing family secret" that was constantly begin dangled in front of me - although I think that carrot turned out to be a lemon. I won't spoil it, but suffice to say by the time it was revealed it wasn't very surprising or believable.

The ending was as unsatisfying as the characters themselves, with little resolution and no sense of accomplishment. All in all, this felt like a fairly well-written journey into despair; the story manages to revel in adultery while still illustrating the all-encompassing selfishness required to engage in it. Certainly that's a solid moral to build a story around, but billing it as a whimsical or even magical tale - and for young adults, no less! - is false advertising at best. (less)

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Nov 16, 2008 Meghan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I do not like fairy tales. I think they are dumb. They all want to teach me a lesson, and aside from that, when I was a youngin' all the fairy tales had already been Fractured and were parodied more than told, so, how was I supposed to take any of them seriously? It was hard to do that and that is why everyone my age is ironic and pissed off all of the time, the end. I BLAME YOU, ADULTS.

Just kidding. Sort of. Hey, this book! It's a fairy tale that I liked very much. There was a version of this...more I do not like fairy tales. I think they are dumb. They all want to teach me a lesson, and aside from that, when I was a youngin' all the fairy tales had already been Fractured and were parodied more than told, so, how was I supposed to take any of them seriously? It was hard to do that and that is why everyone my age is ironic and pissed off all of the time, the end. I BLAME YOU, ADULTS.

Just kidding. Sort of. Hey, this book! It's a fairy tale that I liked very much. There was a version of this book published previously, for adults, in Australia, and it was called a fairy tale. But what about this is a fairy tale, really? Well, for one thing, it deals with my #1 favorite type of magic: THE CONFLUENCE. You know. When the world conspires to bring to you and you alone the signs that guide you in your life? And there is a trick to this, because, you can't be looking for them. If you have the Spell Book (METAPHOR) and you are casting the Spells (METAPHOR!!) you will probably not see the magic, at least, you will look too hard and maybe see it a little incorrectly.

I liked that the people in this book made mistakes, primarily the adults, and that also the women were always front and center and making the most mistakes but not being cosmically judged for it. There are a lot of things in this book that you will not see in many YA books. For instance, affairs. There are a lot of affairs in this book. Also there is sex between adults, and the frank discussion of same. But that being said I think as a young reader (sorry for using that term, young Meg) I really liked reading about the behavior of adults because that was actually something I was curious about. The behavior of children, I already knew about that. But what did ADULTS think? So blending the kids and the adults like this is totally wonderful.

Many of the characters in here broke my heart, and an entire chapter at the end made me cry in public, it was so beautiful and filled with people trying. Also the writing is lovely, and there are all of these observations about life and oddities that make you so glad there are novelists around to record these things and make you feel less alone about it.

I do think maybe the book was lengthy, and possibly there could have been one less twist, and also if you are not the kind of person who likes her contrivances to be magical then you will probably cringe at some of the plotting, but I do, so there. I like it when everything falls together and people get emotional journeys in addition to that. Things only feel contrived to me if the emotional journeys are secondary to the plot, you know? Which was not the case. So full five stars. Recommended. (less)

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Feb 20, 2008 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've enjoyed Moriarty's writing for the past few years and was excited as I sat down to read this book that she seems to be sensing the shift in her audience. I enjoy a lot of YA novels and that's how I got into Moriarty, but this most recent book, while still having elements of YA, seems to be trying to reach her mid-twenties audience. Don't get me wrong, I think it works! I was pleasantly surprised to find Moriarty combining stories of characters of many ages and found myself equally entranced...more

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Dec 12, 2007 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

i have no idea how to review this book. i thoroughly enjoyed it, and yet, other than me, i'm not sure who its audience is.

it's published as young adult. most of the characters are in their 20s and 30s, with the exception of a 12 year old and a 7 year old. the tone is that of a kid's (not y.a.) book, and the content is entirely adult (most of the plots revolve around extra-marital affairs). so, hmmm.

but that aside, it was charming and quirky and contained an odd mystery that kept me turning pages...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Virginia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: libraryfinds, ya-fiction

I judge a book by its cover many a time, which is why I picked up this book. The instantly grabbing image of a woman in heels, looking like she's practically flying into an open, glowing window; the title (who can resist a title such as this one?!); and the predominate color of green all sucked me in immediately. Plus, I'd read other books by Jaclyn Moriarty ("The Year of Secret Assignments") in which she'd employed a writing method where the story was told in a series of handwritten notes betwe...more I judge a book by its cover many a time, which is why I picked up this book. The instantly grabbing image of a woman in heels, looking like she's practically flying into an open, glowing window; the title (who can resist a title such as this one?!); and the predominate color of green all sucked me in immediately. Plus, I'd read other books by Jaclyn Moriarty ("The Year of Secret Assignments") in which she'd employed a writing method where the story was told in a series of handwritten notes between characters... entirely fun and captivating.

The book promises this on the back, which is coincidentally, tied into the story as the line on the back of the "spell book":

This book will make you fly, will make you strong, will make you glad. What's more, this book will mend your broken heart.

Irresistible.

The writing in this story is beautifully poetic and very witty, and never feels contrived to me. I loved this part of the book, when Listen Taylor, the "main" character in the story, is contemplating her name,

"The name Listen worked better with Taylor. The Taylor part relaxed the Listen, or gave it an approving tick. 'What's your name?' 'Listen Taylor.' 'Oh, okay, hi.'

'What's your name?' 'Listen Zing.' The stranger, already skating on Listen, would whack her head hard against Zing. 'It's what?!"

I was already sucked into the book, and couldn't put down the delightful writing style in this story.

However, as the book unfolded, I became more and more confused over the labeling of this as a "young adult fiction" novel. Please read this review, linked below (it's fairly short!) in describing the actual story and the content of the characters' plot lines. I discovered that this is a re-worked version of an adult novel, and I truly think that they should've left the adult fiction label attached. It's pretty heavy for a YA fiction book (not that I don't think young adults can't handle heavy, but you'll see what I mean if you read the linked review.)

http://www.amazon.com/review/R25V2YB4...(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Meli rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm adding this because I found an old library receipt of the day I checked it out, which was two years ago. It must've been a good day, because I remember how this book felt in my hands and how well my bookmark fell in its pages.

I miss the library I got a copy of this from. I think it's nice that the book was written by an Australian writer. I also liked that there were different perspectives in the book, each belonging to a different Zing family member. I think I started using the word "Zing"...more I'm adding this because I found an old library receipt of the day I checked it out, which was two years ago. It must've been a good day, because I remember how this book felt in my hands and how well my bookmark fell in its pages.

I miss the library I got a copy of this from. I think it's nice that the book was written by an Australian writer. I also liked that there were different perspectives in the book, each belonging to a different Zing family member. I think I started using the word "Zing" that year because of how awesome it sounded, and because of how awesome the family inside the book was.

This is not a magical book that's a tale of sword and sorcery, per se, but it's a novel about family and how it sticks together... and how it has those mysterious little secrets that you might never get to know (or sometimes get to find out by accident via a book). Another McGuffin I want to point out is... well, I don't know if it's a plot device or not, but the way these characters are introduced and then spellcast together! That is the way that this book is magical, really. Everyone is on an everyday thing - a teacher who has a crush on a fellow teacher, a mother who is dealing with the major choices she's taken in her life (without much thought, really), a young girl searching for a way to belong (both at school and in a new family), and the plot behind the book itself.

One of my favorite moments were the moments with the Canadian sitting at the porch and eating pieces of kiwifruit in the morning, right across the street from that mother I mentioned. I really, really hope that they had great moments off the paper, tbh, because I really liked the book (albeit, I'm not really sure about the brevity and vague open ending - they basically screwed over that teacher).

Regardless, yes, I found this book to be magical. Not amazing, but magical in its own way. And I love that it was told from an Australian writer's perspective. Foreign perspectives and places are always appreciated in equally foreign places :)(less)

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Mar 27, 2011 RachelAnne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, magical-realism

Caveat Emptor This is a revised edition of I Have A Bed Made Of Buttermilk Pancakes (see my sad, sad story below). Also, it is NOT a YA book unless you believe that every book which has any character under the age of 20 should be shelved in YA. This is a thoughtful adult novel, and nowhere near as hilarious as the jacket would lead one to believe. I love the germ of inspiration Moriarty had around the Zing family secret, but for my own enjoyment I wish she had focused more on that and on more wh...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Kayla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-by-my-favorite-authors, books-with-characters-i-want-to-mar, borrowed-at-library, fiction, lovely-characters, read-in-2011, romance, young-adult

This book definitely caught me by surprise. I picked it up randomly, expecting to enjoy it because I've read a few other books by Jaclyn Moriarty and loved them; they each had their own writing style and unique way of drawing me into the story. The Spell Book of Listen Taylor was no different in that respect. It was told through a variety of characters who all had their own specific quirks and personalities that came through in the text.

I'd like to get what I disliked about the book out of the w...more This book definitely caught me by surprise. I picked it up randomly, expecting to enjoy it because I've read a few other books by Jaclyn Moriarty and loved them; they each had their own writing style and unique way of drawing me into the story. The Spell Book of Listen Taylor was no different in that respect. It was told through a variety of characters who all had their own specific quirks and personalities that came through in the text.

I'd like to get what I disliked about the book out of the way so I can get to the good things. First off, I have no idea why this novel is marketed as a young adult book. I read somewhere that it was originally published as adult fiction, but that changed somewhere along the way. But most of the main characters-and this book follows many different characters-are adults, around 30. Only one is YA aged-Listen is 12. So much of the writing centers around 'adult' subjects-affairs, marriage, commitment-that doesn't apply to someone my own age, though that doesn't mean it's automatically not interesting. Even though I haven't exactly experienced these things, I could still get into the book and want the best for the characters.

Another thing is that it is long, and needlessly so. Sure, I liked reading all the little things that added together to make an incredible book, but the journey seemed to take longer than necessary. I've read books of this length before, and they're usually packed with action. While I enjoyed the flashbacks, back stories, side plots, and tiny things that connected the characters, something seemed off about it. Perhaps less would be more, even though I ended up liking the excess.

Yes, I did like The Spell Book of Listen Taylor. At some points it was so ridiculously funny I wanted to burst out laughing, even when I was in a public place, where such a thing would be incredibly awkward. This is one of the most twisty, anything-goes, hilarious books I've read in a while. It's not perfect, but I'm alright with that.

The characters were fantastic, from little Cassie to Mrs. Zing. They all had their flaws, some prominently displayed, some hidden. All needed to work out their own problems, and find their own happiness. I keep flipping the pages so I could figure out what would happen next with Listen's spell book, and what exactly the Zing Family Secret was. I loved coming along for the ride, and I can't wait to read more by Jaclyn Moriarty. I give The Spell Book of Listen Taylor 4/5 stars.(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-myself

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor is a story about family, friendship and it’s full of the bizarre which is exactly what you expect from Jaclyn Moriarty. It defies convention. By which, I mean: this book is not at all what I think of as a young adult book. It felt like modern fiction for adults. But that does not mean that teens won’t enjoy it. Rather that it isn’t necessarily written for them. (That’s my thinking anyway).

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor has a cast of characters who are all larger...more The Spell Book of Listen Taylor is a story about family, friendship and it’s full of the bizarre which is exactly what you expect from Jaclyn Moriarty. It defies convention. By which, I mean: this book is not at all what I think of as a young adult book. It felt like modern fiction for adults. But that does not mean that teens won’t enjoy it. Rather that it isn’t necessarily written for them. (That’s my thinking anyway).

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor has a cast of characters who are all larger than life. Listen is a quiet girl, who as her name suggests is not so much a talker but a listener, her life is changing. Her dad Nathanial has found love with Marbie – so they moved out of their camper into her house. Marbie is daft and has a lucky streak when it comes to near death experiences. She is one of the Zing family and they have a Secret. The story is told in third person past tense following Listen, Marbie Zing, her sister Fancy Zing, Cassie Zing (Fancy’s daughter) and Cassie’s teacher Cath Murphy. Their lives are all connected.

It is undoubtedly a complicated plot which is interwoven with Fancy’s stories of hot air balloons and their famous inventors. Then there is the spell book which Listen stumbles upon. The spells were utterly bonkers and full of humour. But there is tenderness and sadness in this book as Listen is rejected by her friends and becomes increasingly isolated. There is human drama too – Cath Murphy has an affair with the new Year 2 teacher.

One of the reasons I think this is an adult book is the fact that we follow adult viewpoints for a significant portion of the novel. We see into Fancy’s world of motherhood and being a writer of wilderness romance and her fantasies about the Canadian next door. We follow Cath in her part-time law degree and fluctuating feelings towards her lover. We see Marbie and her transgressions. All of the characters are entertaining. I love Jaclyn Moriarty’s use of exaggeration, of hyperbole and of the comical. I love her originality. I love that she weaves the spell book into the story and so at the end I didn’t know if it was really “magic”.

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor was a joy to read. The family secret was intriguing and a good surprise. The characters leap off the page with their bizarre notions and desires. The writing is as always is word perfect. Entertaining and endearing. Listen’s story broke my heart but the Zing family warmed it. Wonderful. Absurd. Brilliant.(less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have conflicted feelings about this book.

Marketing it as YA was, I think, a mistake, but an understandable one, as Jaclyn Moriarty already had an established YA audience and a YA American publisher at the time. Still, most of the characters are adults, and most of the story involves unhappy marriages and affairs. It's appropriate for a YA audience, but it's not relevant or relatable. Listen Taylor, the twelve-year-old character, is wonderfully rendered, but so much of the novel revolves around...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was slow to start and should not really be categorized under Young Adult. It suffered from being too long with pacing issues. Its main flaw was that I didn't like any of the women. That's normally okay if I can understand them, but the motivations of these women was not believable to me. Listen was a sympathetic character, but she played very little role in the book. The "Spell Book" was nonsensical and felt random. There was also the issue of these book seeming a bit "meta" - Fancy wa...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 26, 2013 T. Browning rated it 4 of 5 stars

The main character of this book is the inspiration for the naming of my new niece. http://www.unencumberedwords.com/2013....

I had a hard time getting into this book and was slightly put off by the gimmicky writing, but it grew on me and by the end I was engrossed. I was really impressed by how tightly she was able to wrap up things by the end, while still leaving a lot of story untold. The mystery was a lot more compelling than I though it was going to be and really added depth to the characters...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Patricia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, ya-books

For most of this book, I was confused as to what was going on. I followed the story well, but couldn't see why the characters were doing what they were doing. After about 50 pages, I gave up trying to figure it out and just sat back and enjoyed what was going on. There are nice sketches of adults in relationships making bad choices and how it affects the children around them. Also, a compelling portrait of a girl isolated by her former friends. In that way, I found this more adult, than Moriarty...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Talulah Mankiller rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thought this was going to be a departure for Moriarty because she usually writes real-world YA and this seemed like fantasy, but it’s actually a departure because this is a book for adults. Except it’s not shelved in the adult section. Which is weird.

The ostensible main character is Alissa “Listen” Taylor, who has just started middle school and gotten ditched by her bitchy little friends. But frankly, we barely spend any time with Listen: most of the narrative is dominated by her father’s girl...more I thought this was going to be a departure for Moriarty because she usually writes real-world YA and this seemed like fantasy, but it’s actually a departure because this is a book for adults. Except it’s not shelved in the adult section. Which is weird.

The ostensible main character is Alissa “Listen” Taylor, who has just started middle school and gotten ditched by her bitchy little friends. But frankly, we barely spend any time with Listen: most of the narrative is dominated by her father’s girlfriend, Marbie Zing, Marbie’s sister Fancy, and an elementary school teacher named Cath Murphy. All of these women are in their twenties or thirties, and they’re all dealing with some very adult problems. Marbie is terrified that her wonderful relationship with Listen’s father is going to be somehow destroyed, Fancy is sick and tired of her husband but doesn’t know how to admit it, and Cath is about to embark on an affair with a very married coworker. None of these problems are presented in a kiddish way, either–I mean, you can’t expect two people having an affair to just hold hands and look mournful, and Moriarty doesn’t play coy. There’s no explicit sex, but plenty of inference and bawdy humor.

I’m not saying I don’t think teens should read this. I’m just saying that I can’t quite understand why they would want to. It’s not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s woefully miss-shelved. Listen’s story might interest those in her age bracket, but it’s so buried in stuff that would appeal more to their older sisters and mothers that there’s really no point. I mean, I hate to put it this way, but when I was 12? I didn’t care about adults and their problems. I wanted to read kids who had my problems, or possibly cancer, because I liked to cry a lot. I couldn’t relate to things like adultery, divorce, or fear of the unknown on an adult level because I wasn’t an adult.

The marketing on this one is just really fucking weird.

Recommended for: if you’re in your twenties or above and want to read a pretty good book about love and loss that’s really relentlessly quirky, go for it. If you’re an actual teen? Be my guest, but despite being shelved in the YA section, this one’s not really meant for you.(less)

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Apr 11, 2012 Rhyme rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The spell book of Listen Taylor..........
I thought this would be a simple cute book about a girl who finds a spell books and casts these 'spells' which come true and her life starts getting better.
I was way off..........
This book has so much meaning and depth in it that at times I could not keep up.
Listen Taylor's dad has a girlfriend who is part of the Zing family and that certain family has meeting every Friday night to discuss about it. Listen has always wanted to know what that secret was.
L...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Jen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, teenage, fantasy

I was really looking forward to reading this book, especially because I had really enjoyed Feeling sorry for Celia and Finding Cassie crazy. Also the reviews had been mixed but intriguing. Well - what a mess of a book. Supposed to be for teenagers, but just because one of the characters is a teen (Listen herself) doesn't make it a teen read. Most of the other characters have affairs without it being made clear just why - in many ways they were very unsympathetic characters and I felt like shakin...more

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Aug 06, 2010 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was good, cute, a little darker and more mature than her other books. More an adult book than a young adult book. (But not THAT adult).

I don't know if I liked it more or less than her others. I guess my star ratings would answer that question for me. It didn't have the same cute "memo" style that her other books did (which can get annoying after a while) but it did take longer to get into. (maybe 100 pages or so)

I guess the best part was that it was real. The "family secret" was explained in...more

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Aug 05, 2009 Melanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: family, teen

Loved this - it had that whimsical quality that I adore about Sarah Addison Allen, but in its own weird, unique way. It is, apparently, marketed as a "teen" book, but it really seemed pretty adult to me - the 12 year old girl, Listen, was only part of the story, and there was plenty about the adults to make it accessible even to people who don't like teen fiction. The writing was really beautiful and unusual, and I loved how of it was woven together - these strange, disparate bits and pieces tha...more

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Dec 21, 2008 Akilah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have no idea why this book is marketed as YA lit (except for the fact that the author usually writes YA) because it is SO not YA lit. Like, at all. It's more about adult relationships than anything, even if Listen herself is 12 or 13. However, she is one of four/five rotating main characters and the rest are all grown women.

It differs a LOT in style from Moriarty's books, and once I got past that, I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see how all of the stories came together as well as trying to...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Bethan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 18, 2010 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: y-a-escapism

A layered work that doesn't condescend to its tween/teen readers, this book reminded me of Special Topics in Calamity Physics for a slightly younger audience. Almost entirely plot-driven and following multiple, intersecting lives, it presents life - adult relationships, anyway - without any sugar coating. It isn't a book about fairy tale endings as much as it is a meditation on compromise, denial, security, and family.
Overall, the writing is sometimes morose, but even passages that are less than...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, australia

The story follows four different characters. Listen Taylor, who finds a spell book after moving in with her father's girlfriend, Marbie. Fancy Zing and her struggles with her life. Marbie Zing who thinks she may ruin her life with one mistake. And, Cath Murphy, Cassie Zing's second grade teacher. I thought the book would be more about Listen Taylor and the spell book. It is, but it is also about so much more. The Zing family has a secret and each Friday night they meet in the family shed. I enjo...more

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Goodreads Librari...: ISBN 9780330446365	4	16	Jun 27, 2012 12:48pm
Can somebody tell me what the secret was?	1	9	Nov 27, 2009 01:46am

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About Jaclyn Moriarty

Jaclyn Moriarty is an Australian writer of young adult literature.

She studied English at the University of Sydney, and law at Yale University and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a PhD.

She is the younger sister of Liane Moriarty. She was previously married to Canadian writer Colin McAdam, and has a son, Charlie. She currently lives in Sydney.

More about Jaclyn Moriarty...

Books by Jaclyn Moriarty

The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield, #2)

Feeling Sorry for Celia (Ashbury/Brookfield, #1)

The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie (Ashbury/Brookfield, #3)

The Ghosts of Ashbury High (Ashbury/Brookfield, #4)

A Corner of White (The Colours of Madeleine #1)

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“...a choice had to be made when your husband said something unkind. Specifically: be cruel, be strong, or sulk. 'Be cruel' by saying an unkind thing back. 'Be strong' by choosing not to mind. But to do this, you have to use up a piece of your love. You have to shave off enough of the love to forgive. After a while, the piece might grow back, but sometimes not. And if you shave off all the soft curves, you'll be left with a sharp-edged love. 'Sulk' by sulking. Sulking is simply delaying the choice to be cruel or strong.” — 19 people liked it

“When she got back from taking Cassie to school Fancy knew that she ought to be working on her wilderness romance. She had promised thirty thousand words to her editor by tomorrow, and she had only written eleven. Specifically:
His rhinoceros smelled like a poppadom: sweaty, salty, strange and strong.
Her editor would cut that line.” — 12 people liked it

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