Old Magic Paperback – December 22, 2009

Alright, let's call this book what it is--Juvenile. And not just because it's supposed to be young adult fiction, but because at times I can believe a young adult actually wrote it. I read this book for the first time when I was 13 (that was 10 years ago). It was a random book that I chose out of the Barnes and Noble "Teen Romance" section, and recently found it again. For sentimental reasons, I read again and had I not previously read and loved it at the tender age 13, I do not think I could have compelled myself to keep reading further.Everything, but EVERYTHING, was boring, cliche, and predictable. This story is mediocre, at best, with a mildly unoriginal 'plot' and grating characters. The heroine, Kate, as soon as her temper goes off, is flicking through her Rolodex of petty spells, which she always "just barely" manages to hold herself from executing. The Hero, Jarrod, is frustratingly in denial, which, at least, is the way he is supposed to be written.Every character, every single character, is painstakingly one dimensional. Kate is the de-facto orphan gitl heroine whose father is unknown and mother abandoned her as a baby, and Jarrod is the vagabond kid whose family keeps moving around from city to city never staying anywhere long enough to develop roots--which anguishes them both considerably. That is the absolute most we get in the way of character development. Curley hints at backstory that she never really takes the time to unfold or piece together at any point for the readers. You've got obligatory group of popular mean kids who remain popular and mean to the very end, you've got the kindly old grandmother, and the mega boss bad guy who seems to be evil for evil's sake.But let's get to the most lackluster aspect of the story which, honestly, is going to be the pull for most readers--the romance. There hardly is any. It's very much high school. Middle school even. 99% of their romance is her pining after him and being upset at his non-reciprocation, and the other 1% is a single kiss. A single kiss throughout the whole of the entire novel. There are a few, and I do mean a FEW, flirty words and observations exchanged, but they sure do very little to stoke any real romantic tension into the air.As a 13 year old girl, perhaps this kiss was all I needed for me to write this off as a good story, but 13 is going to be about the limit that any body with half an inclination towards the opposite sex would regard this as a good romance. I'm actually very surprised at all these raving reviews. This story isn't a bad read, per se, but it certainly isn't 4-5 star material. I barely call it the three.

This came highly recommended and I remember adding it to my "to-read" list almost ten years ago. I finally got around to reading it and have to say that I am not as enamored as a lot of people seem to be over this book. While I liked the concepts, the execution left a little to be desired for me.This book is solidly in the young-adult genre; teenage angst, unrequited (not really) love, misunderstood girl, mysterious boy, it's all there. And that's not a bad thing necessarily; there are plenty of good books that play to those concepts. It's that the characterization doesn't develop much beyond that.Both Kate and Jarrod leave much to be desired. They are too much of whatever it is they are supposed to be (obsessed with magic, in denial over magic, outcast, you get the picture). This causes their dialogue to be inauthentic because they're telling rather than showing you the plot. And since it's narrated from both of their views, you get to see both sides of the story, sorta, but not in a meaningful way. Rarely is something seen through one's eyes re-explored through the others.And for plot, I did love the idea of the magic and its use, the curse and it's origin story, and several other elements. I do think that the second part of the book though, and this is a somewhat possible spoiler so stop reading now if you don't want to see............... could have taken place in the normal time and setting rather than where the author chose and would have been a more effective story. I think doing what she did actually detracted and made it more inauthentic in terms of scene detail and focusing more on setting versus issue. But, if you like surprise twists or want to explore Kate's interests that are central to her personality, it fit for that reasoning. There were also some plot aspects that I wish would have been tied up neatly (like Jarrod's ancestral parentage questions), but overall the story finished itself and had a good resolution.I think that there's some good elements here, but I wish it would have been developed a bit further and the characterization worked on. The story wasn't for me, but the interpretation of magic was.Review by M. Reynard 2020

This is a book I've wanted to read for a while. I remember seeing the mass market paperback on my high school library's shelf, but never got around to reading it before I graduated.I thoroughly enjoyed this book the same way I enjoyed reading books by Vivian Vance Velde. It has a lot of the same feel. The romance between the main characters is a slow burn and the focus is on their relationship with each other building as they discover more about their powers and each other.The separation of the story in parts was interesting. I did feel like the last part could have been built up further, but it was what ultimately gave it the same feel as most VVV books, and it worked well for this story.

Kate is a strong main character, confident in her abilities though they are limited, and she has an amazing grandmother, who is a great support. Kate is not a popular girl at school, always on the outside of the clicky group. But she has a best friend who shares her interest in magic. Kate meets Jarod on his first day at school and knows instantly that he has strong untapped power inside him that he is unaware of. She tries to convince him, but a mystery to do with his family from long ago becomes confronting and puts his family in danger before he reaches out for her help.I loved the writing, told in alternating chapters, is fresh and vivid. I've read Marianne Curley's other books and loved them just as much as this one. Her writing is so visual I feel as if I am right there with the characters, and every chapter unfolds like a scene in a movie.

Loved her books for years and requested it on kindle ages ago, I downloaded a copy as soon as I was notified it was online, a great book that really does draw you into the story, one of my all time favourite books that first got me into reading.

I read it when I was 14 in Spanish and I was thrilled to find it in ebook in English. It is a teen story but i enjoyed every page again.

I purchased this book for one of my grandchildren for Christmas. After reading through the book I am sure it will be enjoyed time after time by all the family.

Good story line but definitely aimed more at teenagers. Still an enjoyable read and I would try something from this author again.

Old MagicKate lebt in Ashpeek, einem kleinen Ort in den Bergen. Sie ist glücklich, auch wenn sie in der Schule nicht wirklich akzeptiert wird, aber sie kann selbst das verstehen. Menschen haben eben Angst vor Dingen die sie nicht kennen. Kate ist eine Hexe. Das spricht zwar keiner offen aus, aber jeder weiss es. Sie versucht nicht aufzufallen, was ihr aber schon durch ihr außergewöhnliches Aussehen schwerfällt. Zusätzlich lebt Sie mit Ihrer Großmutter in einem abgeschiedenen Haus im Wald. Mehr braucht es nicht um Menschen vorsichtig werden zu lassen. Eines Tages taucht ein neuer Schüler namens Jarrod in ihrer Klasse auf. Kate fällt sofort auf wie ungeschickt und eingeschüchtert er wirkt, doch ein richtiges Kennenlernen wird ihr verwährt. Sein gutes Aussehen gibt ihm Zugang zur In-Gruppe der Schule. Doch keiner ahnt, was Kate bereits vom ersten Tag an weiss, Jarrod hat ebenfalls Kräfte, doch selbst er scheint dieses nicht zu wissen und sträubt sich gegen Kates Versuche ihm zu Erklären. Schreckliche Unfälle geschehen und Kate kennt die Lösung die im Mittelalter versteckt liegt, wenn doch nur Jarrod endlich an sich glauben würde.Ich bin etwas zwiegespalten ob ich jetzt sagen soll super geil" oder naja". Die Story an sich ist wirklich toll geschrieben, man findet sich gut ein, lernt die Charaktere gut kennen und wird dabei nicht überladen an Informationen, aber (leider) gibt es kleine Unstimmigkeiten in der Geschichte, sodass ich immer gedacht habe Warum denn jetzt so rum? Haben sie nicht eben das gesagt?". Nichts desto trotz empfehle ich das Buch gerne weiter. Die Story ist nett und für Zwischendurch gut geeignet!