The Root of Magic

Product Description A deeply felt sibling story set in a town where people have a mysterious magical power and one girl is determined to discover what it is, for readers of Lauren Myracle and Ingrid Law. Willow knows the unknown is scary. Especially when your little brother has been sick for a long time and nobody has been able to figure out why. All Willow wants is for her brother to get better and for her her life to go back to normal. But after a bad stroke of luck, Willow and her family find themselves stranded in an unusual town in the middle of nowhere and their life begins to change in the most unexpected way. Willow soon discovers that the town isn't just unusual—it's magical—and the truth is more exciting that she ever imagined.Will Willow find that this could be the secret to saving her family—or discover that the root of magic could lead them to something greater? About the Author Kathleen Benner Duble is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author of many historical novels for children. Her books include Phantoms of the Snow, The Sacrifice, and Quest. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband. Visit her at www.kathleenduble.com or on Twitter at @KathleenDuble. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. “Are we going to die?” Wisp asks from the depths of his blankets in the backseat. Mom’s hands whiten on the wheel of the car, and her mouth tightens. In the front seat beside their mother, Willow tugs nervously on her long hair. DuChard Unspoken Family Rule #1: You are never, ever to say the words “death” or “die” when Wisp is within earshot. But because Wisp himself is asking the question, Mom has no option but to pretend she hasn’t heard him. “Of course not,” Willow tells her brother, when their mom says nothing. “It’s just snow, Wisp.” Yet even as she tries to convince her brother, Willow realizes she is lying. They have been driving in the dark for over two hours in what the weathermen on the radio are calling “the blizzard of the century.” It is four days after Christmas, and the first storm of the year. Usually, a December snowfall in the Northeast tumbles in like a light blanket, one you pull up just as the temperature begins to dip—fluffy but not too heavy. But this storm is monstrous. Willow imagines it as a great roaring beast—irritated by the release of aerosols in Russia, the exhaust of cars in China, the heat of nuclear reactors in the United States, and other global warming factors. Her science teacher has said that hurricanes, fires, and tsunamis have been increasing in number and intensity. Why, Willow wonders, should snow sit on the sidelines? When they left that afternoon, the flakes were light. Then the weather changed—faster than they could change their plans. Now Willow wishes they had stayed the night in some safe, warm hotel in Canada. But it’s too late. They are committed to driving home. Usually on car trips, Willow listens to music or writes in her journal, but tonight she simply stares into the dark night and icy roads, preparing to point out any danger that might suddenly throw them off course. “Do you think we’re going to be swallowed up by this storm and suffocate in this car?” her brother asks. His weary voice floats softly up to the front seat. “Are they going to find us months from now, when everything melts, just skeletons, since we have no food and only a few bottles of water?” In the front seat, Willow rolls her eyes at her brother’s bizarre questions. “Don’t be silly, Wisp,” their mom finally snaps. But a minute later, she sighs and rubs her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just tense from driving.” Willow says nothing. She knows she is to blame for their being on this road at this hour, just below the Canadian border in the wilderness of Maine, where even their car’s headlights seem unable to penetrate the wall of white in front of them. “Dad can drive in anything,” Wisp says. Willow goes still.