Gypsum LaZelle waited twenty years for her magical abilities to manifest themselves-and now she isn't ready for them at all.
A Fistful Of Sky
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The LaZelle family of southern California has a secret: they can do magic. Real magic. As a teenager, a LaZelle undergoes "the Transition"--a severe illness that will either kill him or leave him with magical powers. If he's lucky, he gains a talent like shape-changing or wish-granting. If he's unlucky, he never experiences Transition. If he's especially unlucky, he undergoes Transition late, which increases his chances of dying. And if he survives, he will bear the burden of a dark, dangerous magic: the ability to cast only curses. And curse he must, for when a LaZelle doesn't use his magic, it kills him.
In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Fistful of Sky, Gypsum LaZelle is unique among her brothers and sisters: she has not undergone Transition. She resigns herself to a mundane, magic-bereft existence as a college student. Then one weekend, when her family leaves her home alone, she becomes gravely ill... --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Stoker winner Hoffman attains a new level of maturity and complexity with this coming-of-age contemporary fantasy. Unlike her charismatic, beautiful mother and her four remarkable siblings, Gypsum, the middle daughter of the magical LaZelle family of Southern California, is a misfit who hasn't "transitioned" during adolescence into her special gifts and powers. Instead, she takes after her perfectly normal father. Intelligent, resourceful and caring, Gyp deals with her lack of magic by growing into a self-effacing, low-profile but still greatly beloved member of the family. Then suddenly at age 20, Gyp attains her gift, the "unkind" power of curses. Gyp's struggles to deal with her newfound dark power are emotional, frightening and hilarious. By the story's end we've had to confront, just as the LaZelles do, that even members of the most wonderful, loving, close-knit families in the world can innocently inflict considerable damage on each other. While making the story both humorous and enlightening, Hoffman never allows the reader to forget this is also a scary situation for her group of exceptionally well-developed characters. The lyrical writing flows at a perfect pace and is as engaging as the characters. With its themes of family, magic, love and healing, the novel may appeal more to women and adolescents than men, while its ending may be a bit too touchy-feely New Age for some. But the sense of wonder, lack of cynicism and sheer craft compare to vintage Ray Bradbury.awards.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the most imaginative books I have come across in a long time, and I had trouble putting it down! It's one of those gems that engross you, and you will think of it long after you've finished it.
Gypsum LaZelle, the middle child in a family of talented witches, has resigned herself to being normal. Having not undergone transition, she never acquired the powers that her siblings and mother have. So she was surprised, to say the least, when at twenty years old, she underwent her own transition and gained her own power. Her surprise was greater still when, instead of having a positive power like the rest of her family, she had a negative power-the power of curses.
Waking up each morning with power literally spilling out of her, Gypsum HAD to utilize her curses, but more often than not, things went awry. With a perfectionist mother, every failure was blown out of proportion and criticized. Luckily, with the love and support of the rest of her family, Gyp starts to learn how she can use her power for good rather than evil.
Sometimes dangerous, sometimes funny, and always entertaining, Gyp's magical attempts will fascinate the reader. What's great about the main character is that she's not perfect: overweight, naive and a bit squeamish, she is a wholly lovable, believable character. Hoffman did a marvelous job crafting Gyp's emotions, and the characters are extremely endearing. If this is any indication of the writer's talents, I'm going to go out and buy all her works.
Gypsum LaZelle, the middle child in a family of talented witches, has resigned herself to being normal. Having not undergone transition, she never acquired the powers that her siblings and mother have. So she was surprised, to say the least, when at twenty years old, she underwent her own transition and gained her own power. Her surprise was greater still when, instead of having a positive power like the rest of her family, she had a negative power-the power of curses.
Waking up each morning with power literally spilling out of her, Gypsum HAD to utilize her curses, but more often than not, things went awry. With a perfectionist mother, every failure was blown out of proportion and criticized. Luckily, with the love and support of the rest of her family, Gyp starts to learn how she can use her power for good rather than evil.
Sometimes dangerous, sometimes funny, and always entertaining, Gyp's magical attempts will fascinate the reader. What's great about the main character is that she's not perfect: overweight, naive and a bit squeamish, she is a wholly lovable, believable character. Hoffman did a marvelous job crafting Gyp's emotions, and the characters are extremely endearing. If this is any indication of the writer's talents, I'm going to go out and buy all her works.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
And sometimes, when you do, it turns out you may not want it after all. At least that's what Gypsum LaZelle discovers when, after having convinced herself she'd never receive her magical powers like the rest of her family did, she actually does receive them, only they're not exactly what she expected.
This is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, the "black sheep" of her magical family. Unlike the rest of the LaZelle's, Gypsum didn't go through her transition to receive her powers. She's accepted her fate as a non-magical member of her family and of society, even if it means that she won't quite measure up to the rest of her siblings, especially in her very magical mother's eyes. It isn't until she becomes sick, and something suddenly changes in her, that Gypsum realizes she may not be all that different. But then again...maybe she is.
This is a wonderful coming of age story about a young girl struggling with her identity. Take away the magic portion of the story, and it would still be a great story about finding your place, fitting in, being comfortable with who you trully are, whether or not it is who you always expected to be. Throw the magic element back into it, and it is a colorful, vivid, creative and imaginative tale. Hoffman does a wonderful job creating characters that are both realistic and full of fantasy. They are people the reader can identify with, and yet be mesmerized by.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more by the author.
This is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, the "black sheep" of her magical family. Unlike the rest of the LaZelle's, Gypsum didn't go through her transition to receive her powers. She's accepted her fate as a non-magical member of her family and of society, even if it means that she won't quite measure up to the rest of her siblings, especially in her very magical mother's eyes. It isn't until she becomes sick, and something suddenly changes in her, that Gypsum realizes she may not be all that different. But then again...maybe she is.
This is a wonderful coming of age story about a young girl struggling with her identity. Take away the magic portion of the story, and it would still be a great story about finding your place, fitting in, being comfortable with who you trully are, whether or not it is who you always expected to be. Throw the magic element back into it, and it is a colorful, vivid, creative and imaginative tale. Hoffman does a wonderful job creating characters that are both realistic and full of fantasy. They are people the reader can identify with, and yet be mesmerized by.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more by the author.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this quirky coming of age tale, late bloomer Gypsum LaZelle is the last of her brothers and sisters to gain her magical powers. Unfortunately, the power she gains is an 'unkind power' in the family parlance. She is 'gifted' with the power to curse and apparently is quite strong in this gift.
It's instructional to see how Gypsum learns to take a negative and turn it into a positive. She develops teamwork skills by filtering her powers through another sib Flint, who seems to get his magic wrong more often than not and ends up giving them both a self-confidence boost. In a Jungian twist, she also reconciles herself with her Shadow by working with 'curse child' Altria to find a way to deal with the power she has in a controlled manner. By trusting the Shadow, she is also trusting herself and the two can form a mutualiztic bond.
The book is very well done, but it loses its mark as an adult novel and in my opinion may be too high level for a young adult. Still, I would seek out Hoffman's other work and give it a try.
It's instructional to see how Gypsum learns to take a negative and turn it into a positive. She develops teamwork skills by filtering her powers through another sib Flint, who seems to get his magic wrong more often than not and ends up giving them both a self-confidence boost. In a Jungian twist, she also reconciles herself with her Shadow by working with 'curse child' Altria to find a way to deal with the power she has in a controlled manner. By trusting the Shadow, she is also trusting herself and the two can form a mutualiztic bond.
The book is very well done, but it loses its mark as an adult novel and in my opinion may be too high level for a young adult. Still, I would seek out Hoffman's other work and give it a try.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
wonderful
I had read a short story with these characters, and went looking for the book. It's even better than I expected!
Published on May 26, 2009 by Jacqueline Haney
Charming story
This is a charming story by a very imaginative author. While the story line is fantastic, the characters are very real. Read more
Published on May 25, 2009 by Demi
Just Ok, not really great
I was expecting a lot more when I read the description. This book had so much potential and some really original ideas. Instead, it's a story about teen/20something angst. Read more
Published on March 28, 2009 by T. Cutter
A little too angsty for an adult novel
A Fistful of Sky is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, who comes from a magical family. Each child goes through transition in their early teens and receives the ability to do magic. Read more
Published on February 25, 2009 by Ruth
Very imaginative
Gypsum LaZelle is a misfit in her family. All of her siblings have come into their magical powers, inherited from their beautiful mother, and she has resigned herself to the fact... Read more
Published on July 16, 2008 by FetchMeMyFaintingCouch
Really Great
I loved this book, my mom found it at value village and it took me a while to actually pick it up but once i did i coundlt put it back down, so amazingly imagitive and beautiful. Read more
Published on June 14, 2008 by Luna Zombie
interesting
i flew through this book, it took me literally an evening to read through it. i thought it was very fun and engaging and was sucessful at bringing magic into a modern setting... Read more
Published on May 1, 2008 by elfdart
Great, Wonderful, Fantastic
You really don't want to put the book down to eat.
The author makes magic real and the story and characters are delightful. Read more
The author makes magic real and the story and characters are delightful. Read more
Published on April 4, 2008 by Carol
Fun and creative
An outstanding children's novel about a non-magical girl growing up in a magical family. Her siblings' magical powers are very creative and the best part of the book, in my... Read more
Published on December 14, 2007 by Deshanya
Haunting
This book is wonderful, terrific. Very power psychological tale, very modern setting, very appealing characters - all of them. Both thumbs up!
Published on June 13, 2007 by Owl
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
IN my family, we used the word we all the time. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
curse energy, unkind power, curse journal, beauty brush, cursing things, curse power, curse child, protection stone, curse thing, curse something Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Tobias, Aunt Hermina, Ultimate Fashion Sense, Aunt Meta, Santa Tekla, Learning Center, Old Coast Highway, Christmas Break, Aunt Hermes, Speare Beach, Christmas Day, Nina Kiri Ei Hoffman New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
IN my family, we used the word we all the time. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
curse energy, unkind power, curse journal, beauty brush, cursing things, curse power, curse child, protection stone, curse thing, curse something Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Tobias, Aunt Hermina, Ultimate Fashion Sense, Aunt Meta, Santa Tekla, Learning Center, Old Coast Highway, Christmas Break, Aunt Hermes, Speare Beach, Christmas Day, Nina Kiri Ei Hoffman New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 9
books:
See all 9 books this book cites
8
books
cite this book:
See all 8 books citing this book
- Past the Size of Dreaming by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Sleeping Beauty (Fairy Tale Fun) by Katy Rhodes on page 232
- Sleeping Beauty by Gill Davies on page 232
- Time Travelers, Ghosts, and Other Visitations by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Back Matter
- The Silent Strength of Stones (A Chapel Hollow Novel) by Nina Kiriki Hoffman in Back Matter
See all 9 books this book cites
- Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy by Al Sarrantonio on page 279
- Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy by Al Sarrantonio on page 279
- Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy, Volume I by Al Sarrantonio on page 389
- The Campfire Collection: Thrilling, Chilling Tales of Alien Encounters by Gina Hyams in Back Matter
- The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest by Terri Windling on page 221
See all 8 books citing this book
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