The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia

by Leia Ham

Brought to you by Puffin.

Welcome to a world that depends on magic - but where each person's magic fades away before they reach adulthood.

The pressure is on for Sparrow Xia to develop her pitifully limited fire mage abilities at Zenith Academy. It doesn’t help that expectations are extra high for her because her older brother Ainsley’s magic is exceptionally powerful – the burn scar on Sparrow’s cheek is proof of that. Sparrow can only hope that her studies will help her discover her fire and finally make her family proud.

At Zenith, Sparrow does indeed gain magical strength – and new friends – but her life at school raises more questions than answers. Should she risk her own future in order to help others? And is Sparrow’s magic the most important thing about her?

Then a mysterious illness breaks out at school, draining students of their powers. Sparrow and her friends are drawn into the search for the cause, but they need to be in a world where magic means everything, some people will go to terrible lengths to try to keep it…

Leia Ham 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade

Audible Audio

Expected publication May 7, 2026

Reviews

[Cathy Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! This is a great story about friendship, loyalty, and family, as a girl struggles to find her fit in her magical world in the shadow of her powerful older brother. The characters are easy to care about, and I enjoyed seeing them develop throughout the book. The illustrations really added a lot of depth to the story and helped me visualize the characters and scenes. I look forward to reading the next book in this series! Highly recommended for middle-grades readers interested in magical fantasy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow i actually cannot wait for this to be officially published. AMAZING.