Title: High School Magical: November
Author: Deirdre Riordan Hall
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. This is a spoiler free review.
Summary
“When life throws homework, impossibly frustrating boys, and soul snatchers at you, keep calm and eat pie.”
In the third installment of the High School Magical series, Maija is still dealing with the aftermath of the All Hollow’s Eve ritual that ended in chaos. She is trying to understand why her supposed nemesis, JJ, saved her, what her vision meant that she had that night, and the new danger she is under from the soul snatchers, who were released during the failed ritual. Through this, Maija is presented with a new workload, trying to guard her thoughts. She finally gets a break when she goes on fall holiday and she spends it with her best friend Yassi, where she begins to learn and understand more about the magical world as a whole and what it means to be a wish witch.
Review
As mentioned in my review for the previous installment in this series, I am glad that the author is dealing with the subject of diversity. At the All Hollow’s Eve party, many students showed up in inappropriate costumes, depicting bloody and mutilated classmates. In this installment, the faculty, staff, and magical law enforcement at this school address this issue and state that those who were a part of it will be punished. I am glad that this was not ignored and it is being directly addressed in the story. I hope that the guilty people are discovered and punished.
I am getting a lot of “Harry Potter” vibes in the November issue of the series. The soul snatchers remind me of dementors, Maija is guarding her thoughts and infiltrating JJ’s thoughts like occlumency and legilimency, and there is a prophecy between the main character, Maija, and an evil witch, Imogen Hawkes. I am not sure if I mind this yet however it is something to be aware of.
My favorite part of this book was all the time Maija spent with Yassi and her family. They all seem so lovely and I love reading about such a close family. We learn a lot more about the nymph culture, which I really appreciate because this is such an important theme in the book. A quote that I found addressed this is:
“We have many different belief systems and ways of living. But each is valuable in its own way.”
JJ, of course, is still my favorite character. Maija mentions him in almost every chapter and she still does not realize their connection. I think I have an idea of where their relationship is going but I am not sure if I am right so we will see. There is a particular scene where he is looking at Maija as though he is “fathoming the stars.” This quote is so beautiful and perfectly sums up where I think their relationship is going.