Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi [MG Review]

Summary 💬

Most students at Dragonsong Academy spend their days practicing spells and wielding wands, but after flunking her sixth-grade standardized tests, Cara Moone is on the fast track to becoming a MOP (a.k.a. Magical Occurrence Purger). See, when a real wizard casts a spell, it leaves behind a residue called spell dust—which can be dangerous if not disposed of properly. It’s a MOP’s job to clean up the mess.

And no one makes more of a mess than Dragonsong Academy’s star student, Harlee. Widely believed to be the Chosen One who’s destined to save the magical world, she makes magic look easy. So of course she’s Cara’s sworn nemesis. Or she would be, if she even knew Cara existed.

But then Harlee’s spells begin to leave behind something far worse than spell dust: rifts in the fabric of magic itself. Soon Cara begins to suspect that the so-called “Chosen One” isn’t going to save the world. She’s going to destroy it.

It will take more than magic to clean up a mess this big. Fortunately, messes are kind of Cara’s thing.

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

Spell Sweeper was the last book I read specifically for #MGLitBC, a virtual book club celebrating Canadian middle grade that was hosted by Colleen Nelson and Kathie MacIsaac. Spell Sweeper is the story of life and adventure at a magical wizarding school, from the perspective of one often unheard. During the book club meeting, author Lee Edward Födi shared his process in creating this story. This review primarily addresses what I found interesting during the book club meeting.

The book came about as a result of a creative writing activities Födi did with a class he taught. The activity was to write a manual to care for an imaginary creature. Födi argued that personality, rather than appearance, makes an imaginary creature believable.

Of course Harry Potter was acknowledged. Many kids still love Harry Potter but don’t see themselves in it, either physically or emotionally. Spell Sweeper relies to some extent on having Harry Potter as a touchstone, with the story playing off it in lightly satirical ways. Cara wishes she was Potter but doesn’t actually want to go through all the challenges he did. There’s a message to be found here about serving your community without being famous. Personality-wise, Cara differs greatly from the protagonists of Harry Potter (to return to the point about kids not finding themselves emotionally in Harry Potter). Cara’s a far more realistic protagonist. She’s like any kid who talks rubbish, carries themselves with too much swagger, and makes poor decisions.

A final couple fun points: Spell Sweeper uses invented swear words. As Födi explained during the meeting, “You are leaving an opportunity if you don’t make stuff up!” Födi also mentioned wanting to write a broom book but not brooms for flying – hence Cara’s MOP training.

Caveat: Jessica @ Storytime in the Stacks has pointed out the unnecessary use of throwaway comments regarding weight, particularly in relation to another character eating candy. It is unfortunate that this is still something we have to watch for in children’s books. Casual language around weight and eating is something I will try to be more mindful of going forward.

The Bottom Line 💭

Cara may not be everyone’s cup of tea, with her snarky and often grumpy personality, but she’s what makes Spell Sweeper an entertaining and unique read in a field full of magical boarding school stories.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ KateJFoster
🍂 Reviews: Laurie @ Bit About Books, Kathie @ Bit About Books
🍂 Related: Other Canadian middle grade books I read for #MGLitBC include Heather Fawcett’s The Language of Ghosts, Colleen Nelson’s The Undercover Book List, and Kenneth Oppel’s Bloom.

What’s your favourite magical school story?