Child wizard stories feel like they’re hard to write in 2026. Perhaps the magic has gone out of them? Not so with The Trouble With Magic, the first book in a new series (The Hexton Chronicles) by Amy Wilson. A magic-filled caper about understanding yourself and where you fit into the world.
The Trouble With Magic is a great middle-grade fiction book, brought further to life by the illustrations of Eric Deschamps.
Growing Information:
Plant With: Magic, Friendship, Found Family.
Grows Into: A compelling opening instalment of a new children’s fantasy series that has countless possibilities.
Rating: Vibrant Annual 🌻🌻(Check here for rating information.)
Available now in paperback (affiliate link).
The Review:
With my children growing older, I don’t read as much children’s fiction as I used to. I have nobody to pass it on to. Nevertheless, the blurb of The Trouble with Magic spoke to me, and besides, it’s published by Nosy Crow, which always delivers thoughtful, inclusive children’s stories.
The story takes place in a curious world, where magic towns coexist alongside the more mundane real world. As the novel opens, Fray Mantel has been ejected from the real world and sent to Hexton to learn to use his magical abilities. The rub? His parents were banished from Hexton when he was a baby. Their crime? Disrupting and destroying the magic of the town.
Unwanted where he lived with his guardian, Fray was hoping he would find his place amongst the magic bearers of Hexton, but he soon finds he’s as big an outcast there as he was in the real world.
Thrown together with a handful of children who still show some magical affinity, Fray must work out how to be accepted into the group, while also coming to terms with the events that led to his parents’ disappearance.
The Trouble With Magic has lots to recommend it. Amy Wilson’s writing is both exciting and evocative. There’s a good central mystery and a host of interesting characters for Fray to interact with. There’s an obvious villain, but also one hiding in the shadows. The double cross is expected, yet unexpected.
The magic in The Trouble With Magic is an interesting construction. It physically manifests differently for each of the children in a way that defines their capabilities, while chiming with their personalities. The overall effect is original and different from most other books in the genre. The story of togetherness and trusting each other is well told too. Fray has quite the internal struggle as the novel progresses.
As mentioned, this is the first book in a proposed series. As it’s set in a world with a magic realm overlaid upon the real world, the next story could go in almost any direction. I’m all here for it.
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