From the Bookshelf of Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC …

[close] I thoroughly enjoyed this, though it is not without its flaws. <spoiler> The biggest issue I had was the telepathy - Addy was always able to hear in her head, while for the others it seemed to come and go, even though it was explained that all Fareeth have telepathy! But I digress. </spoiler> It seemed very slow in the beginning, but around the halfway mark it really picked up steam and then I couldn't put it down!

In a Harry Potter-esque opening, Addy becomes an orphan and is shipped off to a mysterious (dare I say magical?) boarding school in Wales. That's pretty much where the comparisons end, as this is truly a regular school for most students, with a magical twist for a select few (I hesitate to say more for fear of spoiling it!) I was very glad to see the main two characters (Addy and Pippa) were girls and paired with a boy, Raj, it was like a reverse (or mirrored!) Harry Potter Trio :)

I really liked the seven main students that got introduced early - especially their diverse backgrounds! - and was a bit disappointed when they got whittled down to just 3 who got to go on the best adventure in the second half of the book. However, as I am sure there are more books forthcoming, I'm excited to see more of the other 4 soon!