By Nico
Ramya’s grandfather was the only person who ever believed she was special. He was also the only person who believed her about the odd things she sees that no one else does. But it’s been years now since he was estranged from Ramya’s family, and she’s resigned to a life surrounded by teachers and other adults who write her off as lesser and stick her in remedial classes, never understanding that her neurodiversity doesn’t mean anything is wrong with her.
But everything changes when her grandfather leaves a book to her in his will—a book that introduces Ramya to the world only she can see, where mythical creatures and magic-users walk the streets of Edenborough beside her, disguised from human eyes.
It should be a fairytale come true. But everyone in the Hidden World is afraid of something—the sirens, whose love of sewing discord makes them a threat to everyone, magical and human alike. Ramya is the only one who can resist their powers, which means she’s the only one who has even a chance at stopping them. But the sirens have more than one way to dispose of their opponents, and Ramya will need all her courage, wit, and newfound friends to defeat them before they steal away everyone dear to her forever.
Ramya is the kind of protagonist far too many would write off as unlikable, but on the contrary, she was exactly what I needed. The same qualities that some would deem unfortunate pulled me immediately into the story: her stubbornness, her uncompromising attitude, and most of all her firm conviction to be herself, to accept herself, no matter what everyone around her believes about her. The quiet anger that runs through this book, about the assumptions we make about others and the way society views people who don’t conform to the norm made what could’ve been a straightforward fantasy novel something I utterly adored. In particular, the seamless way magic and the modern day were intertwined grounded this book through all its twists and turns. And I absolutely loved the intertwined threads of neurodiversity and magic that ran through this book—I didn’t even know that was something I needed until I found it here. I highly recommend Like a Charm to readers ages nine and up.
Ramya’s grandfather was the only person who ever believed she was special. He was also the only person who believed her about the odd things she sees that no one else does. But it’s been years now since he was estranged from Ramya’s family, and she’s resigned to a life surrounded by teachers and other adults who write her off as lesser and stick her in remedial classes, never understanding that her neurodiversity doesn’t mean anything is wrong with her.
But everything changes when her grandfather leaves a book to her in his will—a book that introduces Ramya to the world only she can see, where mythical creatures and magic-users walk the streets of Edenborough beside her, disguised from human eyes.
It should be a fairytale come true. But everyone in the Hidden World is afraid of something—the sirens, whose love of sewing discord makes them a threat to everyone, magical and human alike. Ramya is the only one who can resist their powers, which means she’s the only one who has even a chance at stopping them. But the sirens have more than one way to dispose of their opponents, and Ramya will need all her courage, wit, and newfound friends to defeat them before they steal away everyone dear to her forever.
Ramya is the kind of protagonist far too many would write off as unlikable, but on the contrary, she was exactly what I needed. The same qualities that some would deem unfortunate pulled me immediately into the story: her stubbornness, her uncompromising attitude, and most of all her firm conviction to be herself, to accept herself, no matter what everyone around her believes about her. The quiet anger that runs through this book, about the assumptions we make about others and the way society views people who don’t conform to the norm made what could’ve been a straightforward fantasy novel something I utterly adored. In particular, the seamless way magic and the modern day were intertwined grounded this book through all its twists and turns. And I absolutely loved the intertwined threads of neurodiversity and magic that ran through this book—I didn’t even know that was something I needed until I found it here. I highly recommend Like a Charm to readers ages nine and up.
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