Magic in the Real World

This list is one of the 2008 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults lists, put together by the Young Adult Library Association (YALSA). These books answer the question "What would life be like if magic really existed?" - in today's world.

I've only listed those titles that we have here in the Rez Library, and included a description of each book. Enjoy!

• The Blue Girl ~ Charles de Lint (FIC DEL)
  New at her high school, Imogene enlists the help of her introverted friend Maxine and the ghost of a boy who haunts the school after receiving warnings through her dreams that soul-eaters are threatening her life. Winner of the 2006 White Pine award...and one of my favourites!

• Devilish ~ Maureen Johnson (FIC JOH)
  Jane Jarvis, a senior at a Catholic girl's school in Providence, Rhode Island, tries to save her best friend by making a pact with a demon--in the form of a cupcake-eating, very friendly teenage girl.
  
• The Lightning Thief ~ Rick Riordan (FIC RIO)
  After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
  
• Magic or Madness ~ Justine Larbalestier (FIC LAR)
  From the Sydney, Australia home of a grandmother she believes is a witch, fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino is magically transported to New York City, where she discovers that friends and foes can be hard to distinguish.
  
• Midnighters: The Secret Hour ~ Scott Westerfeld (FIC WES)
  Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen-year-old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess.
  
• Now You See It ~ Vivian Vande Velde (FIC VAN)
  With Wendy's new glasses, she begins to see cheerful corpses, old crones disguised as teeny-boppers, and portals to another world--a place where everyone knows of the glasses' powers and will do anything they can to get them.

• Raven’s Gate: The Gatekeepers, Book One ~ Anthony Horowitz (FIC HOR)
  Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle. By the author of the "Alex Rider" series.
  
• Temping Fate ~ Esther Friesner (FIC FRI)
  Ilana Newhouse's quirky sense of style and humor leave her unable to find a summer job in her small Connecticut town until she stumbles upon the Divine Relief Temp Agency and ends up working for the Three Fates, making friends with Arachne, and trying out the powers of her employers with chaotic results.

• Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie ~ Holly Black (FIC BLA)
  Seventeen-year-old Val runs away to New York City, where she falls in with a gang of squatters who live in the city's subway system and consort with faeries, trolls, and other strange creatures. Be sure to also check out "Tithe" (book 1) and "Ironside" (book 3).

• The Warrior Heir ~ Cinda Williams Chima (FIC CHI)
  After learning about his magical ancestry and his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old Jack embarks on a training program to fight enemy wizards. Also try the sequel, called "The Wizard Heir."