Kate Mitchell has a lot going on in her young life – a father who disappeared when his depression became too much, a grammy that is moving into the shadows of dementia and a friendship that is falling apart. This story is told in Kate’s voice as she struggles to understand and, perhaps, fix the pain in her life. Grammy talks of the Three Rules of Magic that Kate hopes can help ‘fix’ her life: Believe in magic or it won’t work, give magic to people you love, and trust the magic to work.

While the magic doesn’t necessarily work in the way Kate expects, it leads to a new friendship, a return to music and a closeness to her mother. Grammy is with them and life will be different and perhaps her father will climb out of his depression and come home to them (she did leave some magic outside his apartment door – the last hat her grammy knitted and Kate’s heartfelt notes from the the last several months).

While this novel deals with some heavy subjects like depression, dementia and their effects on family in a fairly simple way, it seems very appropriate for a middle grade reader. It is written from Kate’s point of view and the her understanding of those difficult parts appears to be aligned with a typical child of that age. Her feelings of abandonment, hurt and eventual empowerment and acceptance will resonate with readers, some who might be dealing with some of the same issues themselves. Recommended