Review on Witch Wheel Ashley Illustrator Umansky by Jordan Serba

After the magical events in The Weekly Witch book one, Elsie Pickles is a bit bored going back to her magic-free hometown, so when Magenta asks the witch again for Elsie's help, Elsie jumps at the chance to return to the magic tower back in the woods and hopefully learn a few more spells. Her family needs the money Elsie will make, so she doesn't mind her leaving and soon returns to the tower with all her old friends: Sylphine, Joey, Corbett the raven who is going through an unfortunately ugly and embarrassing molt , Difficulties. the dog, the Howler sisters, and Magenta herself. And there are new friends to meet, including all the creatures in the Wizard's Bazaar and that pesky mirror ghost, Frank, who follows them with rude remarks. Elsie must figure out how to make everyone happy and put Frank back in front of the mirror where he belongs. Surely a no-brainer for someone with such great customer service skills? A great sequel to a great first book. This part is full of friendship and humor. Sylphine's clumsiness is the trigger for many of the mishaps Elsie has to fix - breaking a mirror, causing chaos when she enters an animal enclosure, when the sign on the door says no, etc. And clever young Elsie really seems to have a knack for it Bringing order out of chaos - first in Magenta's affairs, and then to help other characters. This book is a true delight - no malice, no one loses, and in the end Elsie has helped even the most annoying character find friendship and find their place in the world. And there are little touches of humor throughout - like the phoenix Phil, who is quite content with his world, save for disappointments in his name. Lots of laughter. I also really enjoyed learning more about the magic tower and going to the bazaar full of interesting people and artifacts. It reminded me a bit of reading The Magic Distant Tree when I was a kid - all the magical lands that would end up at the top of the tree. The bazaar seemed to be one of those strange and enchanting countries. I can't wait to see what's next. Highly recommended.