When you’re a sister sandwiched between two sets of twins, you pretty much get ignored. It’s the twins everyone finds interesting, they’re the novelty–you’re just an extra. At least that’s how Miri feels in The Magic Half (Bloomsbury, 2008). This middle grade novel by Annie Barrows weaves a story of family and friendship with a unique time travel twist (and a surprise ending to boot).
When Miri’s family moves to a new house, Miri has no one to hang out with. Older brothers Ray and Robbie, and younger sisters Nell and Nora, all have built-in friends, their twin. Mom and dad are swamped with work and unpacking. So Miri, a girl with ”a dazzling imaginative capacity” is on her own.
Soon Miri finds herself in trouble. She hits her brother with a shovel and gets sent to her room. Miri’s old, quirky bedroom with its ugly orange and purple wallpaper was once part of the attic. Miri explores the room and discovers a small piece of pinkish glass.
As Miri looks through the glass, the room seems “to bend and collapse in the middle, as though the center of the house were being sucked into a whirlpool.” Miri has been transported to 1935. She’s in the same bedroom, but it looks completely different. The bedroom also belongs to Molly, a girl who is in grave danger from a vicious cousin and a jealous aunt.
Soon Miri finds herself travelling back and forth through time trying to save Molly. Molly begs Miri to take her away, back to future. What should Miri do? Will she get trapped in 1935? Can she get Molly to the future? And what will she tell her parents when brings home a complete stranger, a girl with no family, no money, and nowhere to go? Read The Magic Half and find out!
