ECLIPSE ARTS

Seventh graders strive to follow their dreams at a magical school for the arts in Chastaine’s middle-grade novel.

A story in the magical boarding school vein with its own thoughtful approach, this lively fantasy, the first in a series, is well grounded in real-life concerns, including pressures from peers and parents, shaky self-confidence, and the importance of self-advocacy. Liska, Ephy, and Airin have just started seventh grade at the Eclipse Supernatural School for the Arts, where the students and faculty include witches, ghosts, phantoms, and even a Christmas elf. Liska is a shifter, able to take on the form of a fox. Ephy, from Olympia, is half-human, half-goddess. Airin is a banshee. All three face parental disapproval or disdain for their chosen artistic fields: Liska’s father insists that she carry on the family tradition of dance, but Liska is determined to study music; Airin, a subservient protector of the Darklighter family of enchanters, hopes to become a singer; and Ephy’s unloving mother (“who only smiled for photos”) pressures her to emulate her favored demigod brother’s TV and social media celebrity, but Ephy wants to use her light-shaping ability in the theater. Some of the colorful fantasy elements could use additional fleshing out (what is actually taught in the “Unlivables” class for friendly Ghost and Ghouls?), but the author’s empathy for young people struggling to follow their own paths despite internal and external challenges resonates, starting with the novel’s dedication to “anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t quite fit in” (this empathy is underscored when, as a simple, everyday courtesy, the characters introduce themselves to each other with their preferred pronouns). Friendships with like-minded peers and a few supportive adults make a difference, as does a defining moment in which Liska, Ephy, and Airin work together to create an original, autobiographical musical performance for a school competition. The novel’s third-person narration alternates perspectives between the three main characters—and intriguingly touches on a fourth when exploring what drives arrogant cellist Oliver Darklighter to bully Airin without excusing his behavior.

Supernatural preteens face relatable challenges in this deftly balanced fantasy tale.