MAGIC IN THE BLOOD

A teen with newfound powers fights to protect both a magical realm and her own world in Foster’s YA fantasy and trilogy finale.

Alicia spends another summer at her family’s vacation cabin in the Idahoan woods. This visit has already entailed a return trip to the Wild Side, a magical realm that the 14-year-old girl first visited when she was 11. This time, in order to save her parents, she had to destroy the barrier that separated the human world from the Wild Side. Now, she wants to know if what she’s done has damaged anything, and Thunderbolt, an ancient being Alicia met not long ago, may have the answer. Her parents finally believe their daughter’s astonishing claims, at least more than they did three years back. Her dad, Richard, insists on joining her to follow Thunderbolt’s advice. The father and daughter travel through a forest that the merged worlds have left in disarray, encountering bizarre hybrids of trees and animals. Unfortunately, the Wild Side’s long-standing menace, Gran’Tree (a sentient great yellow pine), which previously fed off the land, now subsists on the animals that it ensnares in mounds of sticks. Luckily, Alicia has “rediscovered” an ability she apparently had when she was younger: Her fingertips generate fire. She may even be capable of another power, though that pales in comparison to a newly revealed secret that throws her into a tailspin. Will Alicia be able to restore the barrier if it proves a necessity? And must she first take out the formidable and diabolical Gran’Tree?

Foster’s thoroughly developed cast drives this smooth blend of melodrama and fantasy. Alicia resents her parents for their skepticism, which lingers even after they witness her supernatural ability; as she journeys with Richard, she quietly yearns for the acknowledgement that she’d been right all along but safeguards her dad when she can. Alicia is a brave, resilient girl who learns from, rather than ignores, her mistakes. Readers should check out the prior two installments, as this concluding entry openly references both of them throughout. The author’s vivid descriptions shine: “The lake in front of her was wide and like glass. Not a single breeze disturbed the surface and the billions of stars shining down from above created dots of light on the water.” Scenes unfold in dense woods full of wildlife—some creatures manage to communicate with Alicia and others that find themselves in harrowing circumstances. It’s strange, then, that the Big Bad is a “towering” tree, and that Alicia’s weapon for fighting back is fire, one of the greatest threats to a forest. Still, the narrative leads to a satisfying wrap-up and a worthy open ending (with more than enough remaining characters for a spinoff or two). The black-and-white artwork comes courtesy of Allen, who’s illustrated the entire series; the sharp, textured imagery ranges from a variety of animals to a forlorn Alicia in the pouring rain.

Dynamic human and animal characters headline this diverting supernatural tale.