A Taste of Magic by J Elle

 Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm back on my MG reading kick and I have a new one to introduce you to. A Taste of Magic by J Elle is out now. This is the first book is a new middle grade series about a city magic school. Keep reading to hear all about it.

Kyana lives in the Park Row neighborhood with her mother and grandmother. After turning 12 she discovers that she descends from a long line of Magicks and is actually a witch. And there are more witches and wizards all around her neighborhood! Her mother enrolls her into a magic school that hosts sessions in a room behind their regular hair salon. 

One thing I can say about all the Black girl magic school middle grade books releasing this year is that they're all very different and I appreciate the variety. While the spells are cool and cause some chaos I wanted more clarity about the inner workings of the magic system. There's so much room to tie in the beauty salon aspect more. And with Kyana being a potions witch I'm interested in seeing what she comes up with when she starts experimenting more in future books.

Where I think where this story truly shines is with the relationships Kyana has with her family, friends, and neighbors. Kyana lives in the hood where parts of the neighborhood are going through gentrification but at the same time lack of funding still affects her school including her new magic school which has less money compared to the other magic schools in the area. Themes of supporting your community are emphasized throughout the story. We're introduced to multiple characters of different economic standing and we see how that effects their day to day lives as well as attitudes.

The relationship Kyana has with her grandmother is not one I often see in books. Her grandmother or Memaw as she affectionately calls her, helps raise her and passes down family recipes and heirlooms. Memaw is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and J Elle takes care in her portrayal of how the family is dealing with it.

While the ending seemingly wraps up with a neat bow there's still much that can be explored. Overall the is was a pretty solid start and the fast pacing is sure to keep readers engaged.