Kate stopped playing music when her depressed father walked out on them; meanwhile, Grammy, who has Alzheimer's, has moved in with Kate and her mom, and Kate's best friend has abandoned her. The "magic" of the title is simply the importance of giving without expectations. Despite a contrived plot, the realistic depiction of a parent with severe depression fills a gap in middle-grade shelves.

Life is always changing but not necessarily in the ways we expect.Kate Mitchell needs some magic. Her father, who has depression, left four months ago, and no one knows where he is; her best friend, Sofia, has broken their promise to be best friends forever; and her grandmother, who moves in with Kate and her mom, suffers from dementia. Grammy, whose good days include knitting and baking cookies, tells Kate about Everyday Magic and its three rules: Believe in magic or it won't work, give magic to people you love, and trust the magic to work. If skeptical Kate can believe, maybe magic will bring Dad home and help her win Sofia back. Perhaps it will make Kate, who hasn't played music since Dad left, feel like singing again. Narrated in Kate's quiet first-person voice, the book is divided into three parts, one for each rule, and is punctuated with Kate's unsent letters to Dad. Although depression is referred to as a sickness, it's also oversimplified as mere sadness that may be susceptible to cookies and magic knitted hats. Certainly this could be an 11-year-old's understanding of depression, but debut author Hill misses the chance to challenge this damaging belief. Whiteness is assumed for those characters whose skin color isn't called out. Important supporting characters include Chinese-American and Spanish-speaking classmates.Reading cultivates empathy. This should do the trick. (Fiction. 8-12)

Gr 4-6 Kate has been hit with a triple dose of bad luck. First, her father has been gone for close to five months, his whereabouts a mystery. Secondly, her Grammy has dementia and must come to live with Kate and her mom. She loves her grandmother but is disconcerted about one more disruption in her life. Finally, her best friend Sofia is drifting away, forming a new friendship that Kate can't accept. When Kate and her Grammy see her disheveled, downtrodden dad at the market, they follow him to a run-down apartment. Kate tries desperately to salvage both her relationship with her dad and her friend, but both continue to unravel. While familiar unions are falling apart, other surprising connections are blossoming. Her Grammy's lucid moments yield secrets about something she calls "everyday magic." As Kate struggles to untangle the truth and find her power, she discovers new friendships and the enduring love of her family. The theme of loss is heartrending, the story line fast-paced and compelling. VERDICT A fine addition to middle grade collections in need of character-driven family stories. Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA