Review of Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Title/Author: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Publisher/Date published: Bloomsbury Children's Books, May 8th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an “Ord”—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society.
The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary — it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!"

Every once in a while I read an MG inbetween my YA and adult historical romances and I usually end up smiling my way through them. Ordinary Magic was no exception! It was adorable and I kept just wanting to hug pretty much all of the characters!

Also, I loved how Caitlen Rubino-Bradway dealt with the issue of Abby being an Ord. It's generally not accepted and people even go as far as selling their children when they find out about it. The prejudice against Ords was just mindblowing. In my mind I kept comparing it to how people react to someone being gay or of a different nationality or skin color or religion because it is THE SAME. And it needs to stop! It's sick how much the treatment of Ords reminded me of those issues, especially with them being afraid they'd 'catch' it and generally not caring if something happened to them because they were 'just Ords'.
I loved how Caitlen Rubino-Bradway handled such a tough subject in a MG novel and managed to make it fun and something to think about at the same time.

I really liked Abby, she's a lovely girl and can I just say how much I loved her family?? I mean, she had an amazing loving family and especially after discovering how people usually react to their kid being an Ord I loved them for how they didn't treat her differently. The family is so close and I just loved the dynamics between the siblings. Also, I LOVED that one of Abby's brothers wrote historical romance! I mean: THAT IS SO COOL! And her big sister Alexa is pretty kickass awesome.

I loved the teachers and everyone at the school. And I really enjoyed the interaction between Abby and the other kids, especially the complicated relationship/friendship/whatever she had with one of the boys, Peter. There's some romantic tension brewing there and I liked that while there's probably something there, the author didn't go there with 12-year-olds.

The only thing that I didn't like was that the last part of the book just sort of ebbed out and then it just stopped. Though the story could sort of be seen as finished, the place where it ended felt off to me. Also, I can't find anywhere if this is a series. DOES ANYONE KNOW??? Cause it felt like there should be a sequel (and maybe several more) because of a lot of unfinished business. There are so many questions that haven't been answered and so much I want to find out about the world Abby lives in!

This was a cute, quick read dealing with not only fun but also a heavier subject that can be compared to actual problems in our world. Caitlen Rubino-Bradway has created an amazingly colorful world and a wonderful set of characters that I am begging to meet again in a sequel!

My rating: 4,5 stars