Alyssa and the Spell Garden

by Alexandra Sheppard

When 11-year-old Alyssa is forced to spend the summer holiday with her mum's family, who she's never met before, her latent magical powers explode into life. Her great aunt runs a secret magic school in her Spell Garden where local kids can hone their power. The garden grows magical spell ingredients that have protected their family and the wider neighbourhood for decades - ever since they arrived from Jamaica with their mother Effie in the 1960s. But something is going wrong and the magic is running out! Can Alyssa use her new, unpredictable magic to set things right?A contemporary fantasy set in a small community in North London facing eviction and gentrification with a magical garden at the centre of it.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy

336 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2024

About the author

I'm an author from North London, and my debut novel OH MY GODS will be published by Scholastic in January 2019. To say I'm excited would be an understatement.

When I'm not writing YA fiction, I'm a social media strategist (it's a real job, I promise), and love to bake nearly as much as I love to read.

Reviews

[Alice magical library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the themes of this novel (magic and plants) and the characters and the way it was written. It took me a few chapters to get into it at first, but I ended up loving it and didn’t want it to end. I thought that everyone in this book was amazing (except the baddies), and I loved the setting of this book as it was very cosy and the community was very nice.
I would recommend this for readers 8+

[Lizzie Huxley-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year, I absolutely fell in love with Alexandra Sheppard’s Friendship Never Ends, a gorgeous travelling pants esque story for this generation of tweens. And now, Sheppard returns with a brand new magical middle grade that I ADORED.

Alyssa and the Spell Garden follows 11 year old Alyssa to Holloway, to spend the summer with her mum’s family who she’s never met before. Her parents are on the brink of divorce, and now she’s been dumped with strangers! Except, it quickly emerges that Alyssa’s great aunt runs a magical school for kids where they can come hone their powers in her spell garden, which has protected their community since the 1960s. But something is going wrong, and the magic seems to be running out, *and* the developers keep buying out all their neighbours. Can Alyssa save her new home?

As with Friendship Never Ends, I loved all the characters in Alyssa & the Spell Garden, especially Alyssa herself, who is navigating family disruption, suddenly appearing uncontrollable magic and the plight of a community she has just found and began to love.

Sheppard brilliantly weaves a classic magical school story with important topics of gentrification and community in a truly hopeful and charming novel. The magic system is thoughtfully linked with to her family’s roots - before literal and metaphorical - and I love the overarching message of the power of collective action.

With a community and main character you can’t help but root for, you’re guaranteed to fall in love with Alyssa and the Spell Garden.

My very early proof didn’t come fully illustrated but the finished copies are complete with illustrations from Bex Glendining who also did the stunning cover — go look it up!

It’s out on the 4th of April!

[SallyandBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I saw it too, Alyssa.” Auntie Jasmine sighed … “Your mother will have my guts for garters,” she muttered. “Why? What’s this got to do with Mum?” “Because she said I was to keep you away from this ‘magic nonsense’. The trouble is, Alyssa, that magic doesn’t want to keep away from you. "
…
Alyssa and the Spell Garden
Alexandra Sheppard
Illustrator Bex Glendining
April 2024
Faber books
…
A cosy debut middle grade contemporary fantasy set in a small community in north London. Which is based on the authors Jamaican heritage and her own memories of her childhood city garden, and the realisation during lockdown of how important green spaces are for our wellbeing.

Non Spoilery review ⬇️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
11 year old Alyssa’s is forced to spend the summer holidays with her mums family (whom she’s never met before) as her parents are on the brink of a divorce. When suddenly her dormant magical powers she never knew existed explode into life.

Jasmine (her great aunt) runs a secret magic school in her spell garden where the local children can hone their powers.
Developers want to buy the cafe and garden and something terrible has happened to the magic. Great aunt Jasmine is unwell and unable to help fix it. But can Alyssa and her new found friends from the community garden help bring the magic back to the garden before it’s too late and stop the developers buying out their neighbours?

Being a fantasy set in a modern setting I wasn’t sure I’d like it but I needn’t have worried because I devoured this book and loved the magic that runs alongside the story. I loved the main protagonist Alyssa and the setting was perfect.

This book is suitable for all middle grade readers 9+ and comes out April 4th 2024

[Awhona K.G. Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic, Spells, Plants & a Spell Garden - this beautiful novel is brimming with the power of hereditary magic ,  sweetness of friendship, the strength in community bonding and the passion for magical plants . Our protagonist - 11 year old Alyssa is sent over to her Great Auntie's place over the summer holidays and despite knowing that the relations between her parents are strained , she's still desperate to get her parents back together, that is -  till she learns about her magical Jamaican heritage of her maternal lineage and magic starts blooming within her.Trying to understand her innate blossoming magic which usually starts spiraling out of control at times , Alyssa starts training her magical abilities at her Great Auntie's  Magical Training school - the SilverLeaf Magic School and makes new friends , meets cousins whom she never knew existed  and steps into a magical world and learns much about her family history. As Alyssa starts finding renewed joy and creativity  at SilverLeaf  , there's also a strange yet strong lurking  hint of something sinister at work behind the scenes and shocking incidents  start happening within the community and to the spell garden and Alyssa must find a way to save them both  and her parents marriage which she now learns is on the verge of a  divorce . Magic, mystery , family history & community all come together in this great blend of a story leaving one absolutely Enchanted  !  An engrossing read from start to finish I enjoyed every moment of Alyssa's journey !

[Elysephone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want tea! And the beautiful cover on the front made me want fruit tea in particular!

A sweet book that has a really lovely community message without being too preachy about it. I would absolutely put this in the hands of my budding Year 7 and 8 readers, and I think it would be great for UPKS2 strong readers too. I think you can have a lot of fun with this as well, in sharing it with kids, and encouraging them to make tea or plants bombs as a fun interactive event.

I'm really looking forward to attending Sheppard's book launch tomorrow for the second book in this series. I'm hoping we get to visit the sister spell garden in Jamaica in this one!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book as it had that magically feel, friendship and how a community is able to rally together during tough times and as a result able to change things for the better! It was good to read how families can get back together and put all their differences aside!

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this empowering tale of self discovery. The magical elements were so believable and I enjoyed the themes of family heritage, the power of community spirit and solidarity, and navigating big emotions of parental divorce.

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was a fantastic read. I fell in love with Alyssa and her family. I loved that addition of magic mixed in with just being in a supportive community. I can’t believe the betrayal of one of the characters. Can’t wait for the second book to be released.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Beautiful Middle Grade Novel

This book is full of empathy, which middle graders and other readers will benefit from. How I love the spirit evoked here! The writer's writing is gorgeous. I enjoyed the book trendously.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I can't wait for Alyssa's next adventure!

[iella nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is fun and the story could never get me bored. i haven’t read YA book for so long, it’s refreshing.

[Mila Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really magical, expressive and creative 4.5 stars (I don’t know how to add 0.5 😁)