Magicalia: Thief of Shadows
Jennifer Bell
Walker Books

Bitsy and Kosh’s second adventure begins with the best friends in a lesson at the European Conservatoire of Conjuring as part of their training to become conjurors – those able to wield magic by using a resource called farthingstone to create magicores. After the session they bump into Matteo, a friend who offers his help to get Kosh to his next session, Chrysalides. He ends up in a part of the Conservatoire he’s not seen before as does Bitsy who decided to go along too.

They are met by Chancellor Hershel and then two other members of staff and Kosh learns that he can choose his farthingstone. While there, the chrysalides are attacked by the Shadowsmith, a dangerous thief. Bitsy and Kosh work out what they are searching for and taking it with them, they escape from the chrysalides; but with the disappearance of the Shadowsmith, Kosh and Bitsy are deemed to be the thieves.

This leaves the two no option but to go on the run as they realise they must identify the real villain, bring them to justice and thus prove their own innocence. However, they’re up against a wielder of powerful, dark magic intent on a crime so heinous that it will affect not only the magical cosmodynamic community but also the cosmotypical world. Their mission takes them to various parts of the world – Barcelona, Sri Lanka and Washington and in so doing, will uncover long hidden family secrets and test Bitsy and Kosh both emotionally and physically as they face numbers obstacles and realise the vital importance of team work: can they succeed?

With the plot twisting this way and that, readers, like the protagonists, are on tenterhooks throughout the adventure. Jennifer Bell’s imagination is awesome and all those magical creatures, inspired creations.

I love the drawing by David Wyatt at the head of each chapter.