Real Life with a Touch of Magic: The Best Magical Realism Books for Tweens
by Melissa Taylor
Have you heard of magical realism? These are stories set in our everyday world but with one exception — they have a touch of magic. Unlike the fantasy genre, which is set in a fantastical world with fantastical creatures like unicorns, wizards, and shape shifters, magical realism stories actually are realistic … mostly. You might read about a farming family with powerful abilities, chickens who can turn invisible, or ordinary middle school twins with precognition.
Here are some of our favorite magical realism books that will give you a taste of this irresistible genre:
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When You Trap a Tiger
Available from:Korean folklore collides with real life in this Newbery award-winning novel. Lily deals with the challenges of growing up, moving, making friends, and having a terminally ill grandmother. To save her grandmother’s health, she strikes a deal with an ancient mythological tiger. But tigers are notorious tricksters, and Lily gets in over her head. Readers of all ages love this endearing story about family, friendship, and loss.
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Pony
Available from:If you loved Wonder, then you’ll enjoy R.J. Palacio’s recent novel, which includes a hint of magical realism. It’s about a boy who teams up with a horse and a ghost to search for his kidnapped father. This novel will capture young readers’ hearts and keep them reading well past their bedtime.
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Flora and Ulysses: Tie-in Edition
Available from:When Ulysses the squirrel has an unexpected run-in with a vacuum cleaner, he winds up with superpowers and becomes best friends with a human girl named Flora. Together, the girl and squirrel get into one scrape after another. Readers will laugh out loud as they read this funny and heartwarming tale.
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Tumble & Blue
From the author of the bestselling book Circus Mirandus comes a beautifully written novel about ancient legends, family curses, and changing your destiny. Follow along as two kids head into the swamp to find a legendary golden gator and put an end to their bad luck. It’s a magical Southern adventure that kids won’t want to set down.
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The Girl Who Sailed the Stars
Available from:Matilda Woods charmed readers with her whimsical debut, The Boy, The Bird & the Coffin Maker, and her second book — full of magical realism, adventure, and dazzling prose — is sure to follow suit. The youngest of seven sisters, Oona Britt may not be the brave son her parents were promised, but when she sneaks aboard a ship, she proves that bravery isn’t a gendered trait.
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The Dollmaker of Krakow
Set during World War II in Poland, this heartbreaking magical realism story affirms the power of friendship and love. A solitary magician dollmaker and a brave live doll named Karolina are horrified when their Jewish violin-playing friend and his daughter are forced into the ghetto. To save his friend’s daughter and the other Jewish children, the dollmaker turns the children temporarily into dolls, hoping to turn them back once the war has ended.
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What the Moon Saw
Available from:Clara leaves the U.S. to spend her summer with her father’s parents in rural Mexico. There, she struggles with her identity: Is she American, Mexican, or both? As she learns healing wisdom from her indigenous grandmother, Clara discovers both the magic of nature and the richness in who she is as a person. Beautifully written with evocative sensory descriptions.
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Dragons in a Bag
Available from:When Jaxon spends the day with his mom’s elderly friend, he never expects to babysit a bunch of baby dragons. But when those dragons escape and disappear into Brooklyn, Jaxon and his friends must find them before they’re lost forever. This award-winning series’s short, snappy books are perfect for kids who love stories about magic spilling into real life.
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Hour of the Bees
Available from:Carol is not happy when her family goes to New Mexico for the summer to help her elderly, crotchety grandfather. He tells Carol seemingly crazy stories of bees, particularly bees who will bring the rain to the desert, as well as stories of a powerful healing tree. Surprisingly, her grandfather’s stories open Carol’s eyes to a new way of looking at the world and her heritage.
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Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
Available from:Written in charming, refreshingly honest letters to her dead abuelita, her dead great-uncle, and Agnes from the “Extraordinary Chickens” catalog, Sophie shares her exciting adventure of moving to the farm of her dead great-uncle. As Sophie begins to explore, she discovers that the farm’s chickens all have special powers — and she needs to protect them because someone is trying to steal them.
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The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole
Available from:A black hole that literally represents Stella’s grief follows her home one day only to swallow everything around her, starting with things that make her uncomfortable (like the class hamster, ugly sweaters, and any reminders of her dead father). Soon, Stella realizes that in order to escape the black hole, she’ll need to open herself up to her feelings and her family.
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The Retake
Available from:Middle school friendship gets a second chance in this charming time-traveling novel from the author of the Fairy Tale Reform School series. When Zoe’s best friend dumps her, she downloads a magical app that allows her to time travel back to moments when things went wrong. Kids dealing with middle school drama will love this spellbinding story.
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A Monster Calls
This emotionally gripping story will leave you heartbroken yet profoundly changed. During the day, Conor is bullied by kids at school, his mother is getting sicker from cancer, and he’s forced to move in with his detached, distant grandmother. At night, in nightmares turned real, a frightening, ancient tree-monster visits Conor to share three stories. Soon it will be Conor’s turn to tell the monster a story but the monster requires the truth. What is Conor’s truth?
This one’s quite dark, so it’s best for older, more mature readers who are ready to step into YA.
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