Spellcaster is the first book in the new magical series by Crystal Sung. The characters are a diverse cast of children with magical elements.
Jenny longs to have friends as she has moved around a lot due to her parents jobs. She is now living with her grandparents and hopefully staying in one place.
On the first day of school, on the way there, a sink hole appears and she meets an evil form. Three other children seem to be connected with her experience and they soon make a friendship bond.
The story goes straight into the main events, wasting no time. The characters are wonderful, each bringing something unique to the table with powers associated with their own heritage. It is a fast paced, fun read. The illustrations are great as well!

A fascinating story about four friends who discover that they have powers associated with their own heritage. When faced with an ancient evil, they find that they need to combine their powers to overcome it. Definitely a case that working together is the way forward. An exciting story of embracing friendship and your own culture.

Spellcasters is the first book in an exciting new magical series for children by Crystal Sung featuring not only a diverse cast of children but exciting magical elements, too. Jenny is new to the area after moving in with her grandparents to attend school in one place after travelling with her parents for their jobs constantly. She longs to make friends and forge connections with other children long term and not temporarily. On the way to her first day at school, a sink hole opens next to a building site, and Jenny meets an evil form. When she noticed three other children seemed connected to her experience, she soon forms a friendship with them through a band, and together, the four new friends must navigate their newfound powers, friendship, and beat evil together. This was such a fun read and perfect for the ages it's aimed at. I'd say this is perfect for children aged 8-12 years. The illustrations are fantastic and I especially lived the dragon ones! I can't wait to see where this series leads to next!

Hi guys,
Lets dive into my thoughts on this fast-paced magical journey that gets moving right from the first page!
The story wastes no time and zooms right into the main course, which might have been a tad too much for my taste. But I'm pretty sure some of you out there will absolutely love this turbo-charged style, and it definitely makes for a quick and snappy read.

Now, let's talk characters. Can we just give a big shout-out to the diverse bunch that graces these pages? Each character brings their own ancestry and culture into the spotlight, and it's like a beautiful cultural mosaic. The illustration of the four ancestors in their traditional attire? Pure eye candy! It's like art jumped right off the page and joined the storytelling dance.

But (you knew there was a but, right?), I've got this personal quirk about mixing magic with other elements like time travel. It's like peanut butter and pickles - not my cup of tea. And in this case, the magical concoction was introduced kinda late in the game. If it had made an earlier entrance, I might've been more on board. But hey, this is just book one, so maybe as I read the series as a whole, my mind will be changed.

Kudos to the author for crafting a well-thought-out story, complete with sneaky foreshadowing that has me going, "Aha, I see what you did there!" It's like a trail of magical breadcrumbs leading us deeper into the woods of this series. And oh boy, it's obvious there's a treasure chest of mysteries waiting to be unlocked in the future installments.

This one's a winner for magic-loving munchkins, this book is like a ticket to their own little enchanting adventureland. I'm definitely grabbing the next in line because I'm super curious to see where in the world the story might takes us next.

Now, let's address a couple of tiny hiccups. The random bold text? - a bit distracting. And there were a few errors here and there, but nothing a friendly proofread and a little formatting magic can't fix.

All in all, it's a solid three-star magic show. It might not have blown my socks off, but I'm still here, waiting for the next magical adventure. So, if you're in the mood for a lightning-speed magical escapade and you're okay with a sprinkle of timey-wimey stuff, give this one a whirl.

A wonderfully magical story about 4 girls who join forces try and stop the evil Graydig from causing total catastrophe!

I love the way we find out about the family and heritage of each girl and the different power each one has.
By bringing a magical element into a contemporary setting, and giving the girls both a mortal and magical mission to strive for we have double the investment in their achievements.

This is a wonderfully full story with lots to enjoy and plenty to keep young readers turning the pages.
The illustrations really help bring it to life.

A fun story about ancient magic with friendship, girl power and music at its heart. The Spellcasters is a great first book, with just the right amount of peril, that should leave readers wanting to return to Spellcroft. The illustrations were really lovely.

Jenny Lee has spent most of her life travelling with her parents and so she's been to a fair few schools. Now though, as she is about to start senior school Jenny is living full time with her grandparents, Por Por and Gong Gong. On her first day at Spellcroft High she is a bit nervous but is delighted when her grandmother gives her a special jade bracelet.

After a very strange walk to school where time seems to stop and the air smells of sulphur, Jenny isn't at all sure what will happen next! Grouped with three other girls in music class they all get along so well together they decide to form a band named The Spellcasters. When the strange smell interrupts their lesson Maya, Tamzin, Ananya, and Jenny are amazed to learn they possess special powers which originated with their ancestors. Discovering the smell emanates from a being called the Graydig who is intent on causing havoc and spreading as much fear as possible. Now the Spellcasters have to harness their new abilities in order to save everything they hold dear.

This is an easy read with great illustrations. The four main protagonists are originally thought out and their friendship is as important as their powers. I enjoyed the information about different cultures, cuisine, and history as well as pagan rituals. My only grumble is that, apart from parents and teachers, there are no male characters here who have a significant part to play. My granddaughter will love this book, my grandson, not so much!

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Hachette, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is aimed at 7 years plus which I think is about right. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading what happens next.