Book Series Review of Star Friends
The Children’s Book Review
What to expect: Magic, Friendship, Animal Friends
The Star Friends have a special secret – they have magical animal friends who help them learn magic and fight evil!
Mia is a regular girl in elementary school, just trying to have fun with her friends and avoid irritating Violet. Violet’s not so bad—she’s just a total know-it-all who is constantly correcting Mia. And her grandmother just died, which makes Mia incredibly sad. So when she and her mom stop by grandmother’s house, she decides to go for a walk to clear her head. On her walk, she meets a beautiful little fox. Something draws her to him, and eventually, she discovers he is magical – and she is too!
Once they realize their magical connection, she and the fox, Sorrel, can speak to each other in their minds. If that wasn’t amazing enough, Mia’s best friends, Lexi and Sita, are magical too and have their own Star Friend animals. The only not-so-great thing? Violet is a Star Friend, too.
Together, the girls start to learn about their special magic and the evil that floats around the world, causing trouble. In the first book, MIRROR MAGIC, Mia and her friends discover an evil spirit living in mirrors, terrorizing people—like Mia’s very own sister—by giving her sad and mean thoughts about herself. With the help of Violet and her best friends Sita and Lexi, Mia saves the day and her sister.
In book two, WISH TRAP, the girls grow closer and stronger than before with their magic. Mia can see places and people through mirrors, and with the help of Sorrel, even see into the future through a mirror. Lexi and Sita are growing more powerful, too, and Violet, of course, has one of the most fascinating magical powers of all. She can travel between shadows and destroy the evil magic called Shade. Together, the girls track down the Shade attacking the girls on the gymnastics team, causing broken bones and mayhem along the way. And when Violet helps to save the Star Friends from harm, they realize that she’s trying hard to be a friend too. Closer than ever, the Star Friends once again save the day!
With magic, talking animals, and friendship, this is a surefire hit for elementary-school children. They’ll relate to the friendship drama between the girls, seeing themselves (and their schoolyard relationships) on the page, and how the characters deal with those problems. I especially appreciated how Mia learned to empathize with Violet – an essential skill modeled wonderfully in the book. Then add in incredible and exciting magical powers, talking animal friends, and some seriously bad guys, and you’ve got a fantastic series full of adventure that children won’t put down.
The writing is fun and quick, the drama is realistic without being too heavy, and the characters are compellingly fun. Mia is a real take-charge kind of girl, and she’s ready to fight injustice and Evil along the way. Add in fantastically mystical illustrations that make the characters look even more adorable and engaging, and this series is a surefire favorite. And with several more books in the series, children can follow along with these delightful characters for many more adventures to come.
Highly recommended.
Star Friends, Mirror Magic
Written by Linda Chapman
Illustrated by Lucy Fleming
Ages 6-9 | 160 Pages
Publisher: Tiger Tales | ISBN: 978-1680101829
Buy the Book
Written by Linda Chapman
Illustrated by Lucy Fleming
Ages 6-9 | 160 Pages
Publisher: Tiger Tales | ISBN: 978-1680101836
Buy the Book
About the Author
Linda Chapman is the best-selling author of over 200 books. The biggest compliment Linda can have is for a child to tell her they became a reader after reading one of her books. Linda lives in a cottage with a tower in Leicestershire with her husband, three children, two dogs, and one pony. When she’s not writing, Linda likes to ride, read, and visit schools and libraries to talk to people about writing.
About the Illustrator
Lucy Fleming has been an avid doodler and bookworm since early childhood. Drawing always seemed like so much fun but she never dreamed it could be a full-time job! She lives and works in a small town in England with her partner and a little black cat. When not at her desk she likes nothing more than to be outdoors in the sunshine with a cup of hot tea.
Star Friends, written by Linda Chapman and Illustrated by Lucy Fleming, was reviewed by Dr. Jen Harrison. Discover more books like Star Friends by following our reviews and articles tagged with Star Friends, magic, friendship, and animal friends.