Secondhand Charm

Secondhand Charm

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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75  ·  rating details  ·  1,725 ratings  ·  312 reviews

In a secluded village, magic sparkles on the edges of the forest. There, a young girl named Evie possesses unusually strong powers as a healer. A gypsy's charms—no more than trinkets when worn by others—are remarkably potent when Evie ties them around her neck. Her talents, and charms, have not escaped the notice of the shy stonemason's apprentice. But Evie wants more than

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Kindle Edition, 350 pages
Published October 12th 2010 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens (first published August 24th 2010)

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Cara
I can't believe how dense I am. The part of the book where it's revealed what "power" she has I was suprised. Now, if I had just paid more attention to the cover and the clues given I wouldn't have been so taken aback about the revelation.

Evelyn has grown up in the small town of Maundley, where unfortunately her prospects of becoming a doctor are small. Her chance comes when King Leopold III comes to their little town and he grants her admittance to the college in Pylander. Evie is excited to go...more
April
Maundley is putting on a celebration for the king. As the king comes to the celebration, the town is in a whirlwind. Evie, a young (read: teenage) resident, impresses the king with her academic prowess. Her good luck and skills help land her a full ride scholarship to the university provided by the king. What ensues in Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry, is adventure, as Evie journeys toward the University. As for matters of the heart, Evie is at a crossroads where she must choose between the one w...more
Eleni ( La Femme Readers )
Secondhand Charm was a magical and adventurous story that captured the essence of its time period. Julie's story was stunning and presented the qualities of detailed descriptions, and solid character definition. Evie, a vibrant and intelligent protagonist won me over with her strength and poised maturity. Possessing the skills of a healer, she longed to follow in her mother's footsteps as a doctor. With luck, her goal of attending a university worked in her favor. However, the journey to reach h...more
Rebecca
I’m going to start by saying that Secondhand Charm was not what I had expected it to be. That being said, I didn’t really enjoy it. I guess it just wasn’t my kind of book.
I did like the premise of the book. The summary of the book I read sounded amazing. Maybe, I read too much into it, I’m not sure, but I think it could have turned out a little better. There were parts where I was really enjoying the book and was sucked into the world with Evie. It was really good in that aspect.
Then there were...more
Amelia, the pragmatic idealist

Every once in awhile a book comes along that you'd never heard of before and would have otherwise missed entirely. Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of Secondhand Charm and bringing author Julie Berry to my attention. I'm going to have to check out her other novel - The Amaranth Enchantment, because I certainly liked this one.
First of all, the timing of this novel was perfect. I'd just finished The Knife of Never Letting Go, a powerful but emotionally exhausting novel and was reall...more
Brenda
Julie Berry's Secondhand Charm was a fantastic trip to a enchanting world. I loved the imaginary villages, oceans and cities. The journey to University was exciting and the city was grand and fun. Evie was a great heroine. I loved how she acted immature around Aiden. It was completely how a girl and boy act when they have grown up together and known each other their whole lives. I loved their simple romance and laughed at the doubts they had in one another. The supporting characters were each so...more
Reading Vacation's Mom
Secondhand Charm is magical and full of surprises. At first, it feels like the only magical element will be Evie’s power to heal which is hi-lighted by the gypsy’s charms. Then, a paranormal element is introduced with serpentinas and leviathans. Don’t worry – they aren’t all as evil as you may think. I had never even heard of these creatures before and I loved hearing about their history. Very cool.

I loved the setting that Julie Berry created. The kingdom with its big city and small villages wer...more
Michelle
Because you never know which authors read reviews of their books, I prefer to be constructive where possible. If you look at "Secondhand Charm" as an original fairy tale, many of what would otherwise be confusing and inexplicable plot points and character inconsistencies can be glossed over. Ultimately, this was not a satisfactory book. Despite being a first-person narrative, much of the story is told to us, instead of shown to us. The narrator reacts to pretty much everything that happens with...more
Monica!
I really super-di-duper wanted to love this book.

I want to make that clear before I start whining.

Because it sounded epic, and I am all over Smart Girl Heroines, and also Sea Monsters, and also Bitch Queens With Murderous Agendas. And I like foofy girl fantasy novels. And I am sure the author is a wonderful human being and nothing I write after this sentence is meant as an insult to her personally.

But I just couldn’t… get into this story.

It actively fought me.

I’d be all, “Hey, this isn’t going...more
Sarah McC
So, I read The Amaranth Enchantment a while back and enjoyed it, so when I stumbled across Julie Berry’s second novel, I decided to give it a whirl.

The book was good, and had an interesting story. However, I ran into the same trouble with this book as I did with Amaranth: TOO MUCH IS GOING ON.

First off, she wins a scholarship, and so does her best friend, when the King comes to visit their village. They set off, along with potential love-interest/neighbor, plus best friend’s aunt for the sake o...more
TheBookSmugglers
Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers

Evelyn Pomeroy is a small town girl from the village of Maudley in the kingdom of Pylandrian - but she has big dreams. It has been her greatest hope and dream to leave Maudley to attend university in the kingdom capitol and become a healer, though the likelihood of her ever attaining that dream is a slim and distant thing indeed. When the announcement makes it to town that the King himself will be visiting to partake in the local festivities, however, Evi...more
Linda
Julie Berry's first book, "The Amaranth Enchantment" was so wonderful that when I saw this book I had to buy it. I didn't like this one as much but it is still an excellent book. It too is a sort of fairytale and is set in perhaps the Middle Ages but not in any country we know of. Evie has always wanted to be a healer so when the King passes through her rural village and awards her with a pass to the University, she is ecstatic. She also acquires 3 charms from a gypsy: luck, love, and one to pro...more
Jennifer
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Arya
Evie dreams of helping people, of being a martyr. She knows what she wants from life. When the king makes a chance visit to her small village he grants her the chance to follow that dream. But Evie faces many trials along the way that make her question her past and her future. When all is said and done, will Evie let her so called 'fate' make her decisions for her? Or will she stick to what she believes in, despite the dangers such a decision pose?

Secondhand Charm was a beautiful novel written i...more
Kiirsi Hellewell
I LOVED this book. Loved, loved, LOVED. I rarely read a library book that makes me want to race to the bookstore the second I finish the last page and buy my own copy...this one did.

From the cover and synopsis, I never imagined what a delightful, fantastical journey lay inside. This is a lovely fantasy with strong, likable characters...and a very unique fantasy element that I've never seen anywhere else. I loved how unique it truly was, and that I couldn't see what was coming next. I don't want...more
Emily Beeson
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Dottie
Julie Berry - whose first YA Fantasy, The Amaranth Enchantment, was a Junior Library Guild selection, will be releasing her latest title, Secondhand Charm, on October 12. Evie's parents are gone and she lives with her Grandfather. She has just finished school but wants more than anything to continue studying and be a physician like her parents --and she has reason to think she would be good at it since she has some surprising healing powers. When she gets a scholarship she excitedly leaves her s...more
Caitlin Mcg
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Kate
SECONDHAND CHARM, by Julie Berry, was an exceptional tale about an ordinary girl who turned out to be anything but. This book really blew me away, from the synopsis I had no idea where this book would take me and I ended up on a fantastic journey full of romance and fantasy.

Evie was the sweetest girl. She was very simple and, in the beginning, full of simple thoughts. She is a great healer and never questioned her abilities. Given the opportunity to study at the University, Evie and a small crew...more
Jes
Sep 06, 2012 Jes rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasy romance readers
I'm in love with this book!



'Secondhand Charm' centers a young aspiring girl in a series of unfortunate twisting events (view spoiler)[being robbed, board in a shipwreck, broken-hearted by boy-next-door *which will change immediately in the end*, unknowingly own a sea monster, etc. (hide spoiler)] (LOL) and her passion for learning and becoming a healer.

I did not just like the protagonist for her name (Evieeeee<3) but also for HER. She's a strong, fast thinking risk taker who doesn't give up e...more
Alaina
Another charming creation of Julie Berry! Secondhand Charm will not let down fans of The Amaranth Enchantment. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I just grabbed it and started to read!
Evie, our heroine, is a bright young girl with healing hands and a desire to turn this talent into more by becoming a doctor. Opportunity finds it's way to Evie after her skills save one of the king's men. The king himself, extends and invitation for Evie to attend the university, which she gladly accepts!...more
Hannah
I found the novel quite enjoyable, which was a pleasant experience for me, since I had just finished reading a purely horrendous piece of writing totally destroying wat could have been a most lovable plot and set of fantastic characters, but alas, it was not to be. I was very much charmed by the unique aspects of this mythical legend and secretly hope for a sequel to this one. I know that sequels are usually over rated, but I would like the two serpentinas to meet back up again. The writing in t...more
Valerie
Dec 03, 2010 Valerie rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Valerie by: Cara
Shelves: fantasy
As with a lot of fantasy books I wasn't surprised by the formula of this book (smart village girl + unknown ability/identity + romance + journey). This usually isn't a real negative for me; it’s gotta be pretty predictable for me to hold it against the book. And this book did have unique aspects to it, like snakes being sort of good guys. My sister didn't even know what Evie's special power was until Evie herself found out -that almost never happens. There’re a few twists and turns in this book...more
Julianne
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Evenstar1389 Tan
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Allison (The Allure of Books)
I really enjoyed reading this! It is a really quick read (the ARC is just under 300 pages), and I read straight through it in one sitting. Plus, its a stand alone novel. I love finding books that aren't going to be dragged out into a series. Beyond being just a regular fantasy, it has a very fairy tale/mythological feeling. I love the extra innocence and magic that those vibes added to the book. I would definitely recommend this as being appropriate for younger middle grade readers as well as te...more
Emily Ellsworth
Younger readers will enjoy this fun, lighthearted story about a girl with big dreams and ambitions who suddenly finds out that everything she thought she knew about herself and her past isn't true.


I had previously read and reviewed Julie Berry's debut novel The Amaranth Enchantment (link). While I found the story delightful, I think I needed just a little more to push me over the edge to loving it. I feel very much the same about this book.


Evie is a great heroine with strong ambitions and talent...more
Chelleyreads (Michelle&Leslie's Book Picks)
Evie, a powerful healer, lives in Maudley, a secluded village in the kingdom of Pylandrian. She just graduated from what was the equivalent to high school and she had nothing to look forward to except marriage. Evie wanted more; she dreamed of attending a university and becoming a doctor. When the king came to her village and awarded her a scholarship to the Royal University, Evie jumped at the chance to leave Maudley and chase her dreams. Accompanied by Aidan, her childhood friend and who will...more
Tobinsfavorite
(I wasn't happy with having given this 4 stars; it is better than The Amaranth Enchantment, but that was really only a 2-star book, so this is a 3-star book. Three stars is a plenty respectable review. I'm leaving my review otherwise intact.)

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars for this book, but I liked it so much more than The Amaranth Enchantment, the author's first book, and it took me by surprise once or twice, so I'm giving it 4.

This is a pretty predictable YA fantasy novel, but it's engaging,...more
Crystal
This gets points for creativity. That might be about it. Very creative, though. I'd never heard of the mythological/ fantastical/ magical plot element before. So kudos on that. I wish Berry had crafted a more coherent world in which to set the story, though. Or maybe it WAS coherent, but in its own idiosyncratic way. References to the Catholic church (Sister Claire, the priest, attending mass) and cities in Europe (like Rome) seemed to ground the story on Earth, but with a multitude of imaginary...more
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Secondhand Charm (Hardcover)
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Secondhand Charm (Paperback)
The Amaranth Enchantment The Rat Brain Fiasco (Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys, #1) All the Truth That's In Me Curse of the Bizarro Beetle (Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys, #2) The Colossal Fossil Freakout (Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys, #3)

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