Everything in Kate Mitchell's life falls apart when her dad, who's suffering from severe depression, moves out.  The 11-year-old hasn't heard from him in months.  Before he took off, the family loved to make music together—Kate would sing while she and her father both played the guitar and her mother tickled the ivories.  Now, the music is gone.  Although Kate has tried to sing and strum, she just can't.  Not anymore.  

At least Kate has her BFF to help her through.  Now that Sofia is hanging out with another girl, though, Kate feels more alone than ever before.  Add to that the fact that her paternal grandma, whose dementia is getting worse every day, has moved in with Kate and her mom, and her life feels like it's spiraling way, way out of control.  When her grandma tries to help by spilling the secret of everyday magic, Kate is skeptical.  As she puts the principles into practice, however, amazing things do start to happen.  Can Kate hocus pocus her life back together?  Can she bring her dad and Sofia back?  Anything is possible with a sprinkle of everyday magic, right?  

The Three Rules of Everyday Magic, a debut novel by Amanda Rawson Hill, is a sweet, hopeful story about forgiveness, kindness, and finding one's inner strength.  The tale doesn't come to a neat, tidy end (spoiler alert!), which helps the book stay authentic.  Still, it's an empowering novel that will give children with difficult challenges and messy life situations a bit of a lift.  While its plot seems a little meandering and unfocused, overall I enjoyed The Three Rules of Everyday Magic.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of lots of novels, but no specific titles are coming to mind.  Help!)

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