This series is a magnificent trilogy filled to the brim with magic and fantastic creatures. Set in an alternate reality eighteenth century America, the Frontier Magic series follows Eff, a seventh daughter of a seventh son and a thirteenth child as she grows up on the border of civilization. At a young age she and her family move to the frontier, right on the what in our world would be the Mississippi River (they call it the Mammoth River); the farthest explored edge. Along the river is what they call “the Great Barrier Spell” set in place by people like Ben Franklin that keeps the wildlife out west. However people are beginning to settle in the land beyond the barrier spell. This series follows the trials and troubles this causes and Eff’s involvement in keeping the peace. Wrede’s novels are fantastically written; often when reading I forgot it was just a book. Very few books exist that can follow a young girls life from age 5 to 25-ish and be exciting the whole way through. Wrede, while writing about an alternate reality, manages to capture many of the themes that apply to today’s society and how the American continents truly differ from the others as an amalgam of eastern culture. I highly recommend adding this series to your reading lists. 

5 stars