Magic Can Be Murder

By Vivian Vande Velde

Book Overview

Nola's not much of a witch--she can work only a few useless spells, like the one that lets her spy on people. But there's no spell for keeping her crazy mother--who hears voices and is a magnet for witch-hunters--out of trouble. The two flee from town to town until the day Nola magically witnesses a murder. Which is bad enough, but worse is that the murderer may frame Nola and her mother for the crime. And then no amount of magic will save her.
And you think your teenage years are tough. . . .

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0547258720
• ISBN13: 9780547258720
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.8" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Quite an Enchanting Read!

Such a fun (and totally cute) read. Magic Can Be Murder harkens back to yesteryear...there is no specified location or time but one gets the feeling of feudal Europe. In this story we meet Nola and her mother who are constantly moving from place to place to hide their special abilities....because they are in fact, witches. They travel from place to place seeking a bit of work for some food and shelter but at each stop, something seems to go slightly wrong and forces them quickly along to a new place. We are drawn into a feeling of connection to and an appreciation of these characters as we learn a bit about Nola and her mother's backgrounds. Now 17, Nola had a sad and lonely childhood where she could never really connect with or relate to her friends because what was normal for her (magic) was alien to them and dangerous for both her and her mother should anyone find out. Complicating things are all of the "voices" her mother listens to in her head. As we join the story, Nola and her mother are working in the hot sun, picking berries for a farmer in Low Beck. A simple (if backbreaking) job; unfortunately the farmer has more in mind for Nola than paying her a days wages for picking berries...and thus begins their most recent round of fleeing the area. Not long after they run from the farmer they come to a Silversmiths house and there Brinna the maid needs extra help in preparation for the Silversmith's upcoming wedding. What seems like a stroke of good luck (several days work, food and a decent room for a few days) quickly becomes something much more than they bargained for when the silversmith becomes angry with them and they must flee again. Later, when they've settled in for work at an inn (which strangely suits both of them) Nola sees the silversmith murdered whilst scrying to see if her previous spell is still working (they had to leave so fast it she left the hair in the water). Worried that they will be discovered, Nola concocts a plan to return and undo the spell still in place at the smith's house...a plan that leads to one bad turn after another for her. How will she ever get out of this mess and back to her mother? Read and find out...you'll be enchanted, I'm sure. Mostly Magic Can Be Murder is a mystery with a bit of a witchy twist and just a touch of happily-ever-after romance thrown in. It's a fairly simple and straight-forward story of two women barely scraping by in life, moving from place to place trying to hide natural witch talents and those talents are both a boon and a burden in the story. I loved the authors use of scrying and glamour...both served to move the story along without having to put in too much explanation (if the main character can see what's happening elsewhere that makes moving the story along much easier)...plus both abilities also provide humor in what might quickly become a tedious and depressing tale. I give Magic Can be Murder four stars...it's highly readable, just perfect for the 9-1

Marissa's Magic Can Be Murder Review

Marissa Snow Magic Can Be Murder By: Vivian Vane Velde An interesting fact about Magic can be Murder is that Nola, the main character, is a witch who can spy on people by plucking a hair from that person, getting a bucket of water, saying an incantation, and dropping the hair into the bucket.I found the book because I love stories about magic and stuff like that. I would totally recommend the story. This story is suspenseful, enchanting, and hard to put down. The kind of person who would like this story would be any age person really and someone who LOVES magic related stories. This story was a page-turner because when you start to read it you like get sucked into the story you become Nola or you become Innis. It was not at all hard to concentrate on this book because if you really like magic books then you can't really get distracted while you read it. I connected the most with Nola's mother because she is some-what crazy and spontaneous just like me. I loved this genre because it is (like I said before) a really exciting type of story. I was not too fond of the writing style because I like the stories that are like diary format. YES, there were suprises in the story like when Kirwyn killed Innis I thought that he was going to kill Brinna or Alan but not his own father! No, almost every chapter ended with a cliff-hanger but not all of them. Like it when Kirwyn killed Innis the author tells you what Nola does and when she does it so it doesn't leave you hanging. This story was not the least bit boring to me at all. I loved the genre, the theme, the title pretty much everything except the style of the writing. Yes, my mind wandered when reading but it was always things like about the story that made my mind wander. The Plot was so unbelievable like shocking because I didn't think Nola's mother was going to make it to the end of the story. I think that everyone really would enjoy reading it.

A Book that has Almost Everything

Magic Can Be Murder is a great book by a very witty author, Vivian Vande Velde, (try saying that five times fast). The book is about Nola and her mother, who both are witches. After fleeing from their horrible employer they end up in a small town where they get a job as maids. One night Nola enchants a bucket of water and drops a human hair into the water (a way of seeing the person who the hair belongs to). As soon as the image appears in the bucket Nola regrets enchanting the bucket because she sees her employers son spying on Brinna, another servant. Then a murder takes place!I enjoyed this book simply because it kept you at the edge of your seat and was dotted with humor (such as the fact that Nola's mother had a spirit of a baby in her pinky and that Nola's mother is very strange and eccentric. I strongly reccomend that you read this book.

Happily Ever After?

While Magic Can be Murder was a captivating story there was definatly something lacking in it. It was "short and sweet." It was possible to see the outcome of the stroy before you were even half way through the book. I was also disappointed in the fact that the romance part of the book was so story bookish. They meet, fall in love, and well, although the book doesn't say it, its implied that they "live happily ever after." This is not the way real people act, which was odd, because all through the story Velde seemed to be trying to make her characters seem real and react like real people (excluding the magic parts). So although it was a very intersting story, it had its down points.

An extremely enjoyable fantasy/mystery.

The setting of this book is unspecified, but it appears to be a historical one, most likely the countryside of fuedal Europe based on the information provided. Since she was five, Nola and her widowed mother have had to keep moving from town to town because they are witches. Now she is seventeen, and wishes she could just stay in one place. But things become even more complicated for Nola when she magically witnesses a murder. When she uses magic to pose as a servant in the murdered man's household and see if she was suspected, she learns she wasn't. However, in her disguise she is a suspect! Now she is caught up in the investigation, and there will be danger, adventure, and romance along the way for her until the thrilling conclusion. An unusual and highly entertaining story that combines fantasy and mystery. I read the book all in one sitting and couldn't put it down.