Rogelia's House of Magic [Paperback]

Jamie Martinez Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2009

“A story about girls whose friendship will inspire readers.”—Kirkus Reviews

In Rogelia's House of Magic, three different fourteen-year-old girls find friendship and special powers as they are trained in the ways of the curandera by a wise old woman.

When Rogelia becomes a maid at Marina Peralta’s home, it’s obvious to Marina and her friend Fern that they have a real mystic on their hands. Soon Rogelia agrees to teach the girls the magic of their ancestors, much like she taught her granddaughters, Xochitl and Graciela. Even though Marina and Fern are thrilled to have this chance to understand and use their powers, Xochitl isn’t happy about sharing such a sacred thing with anyone but her sister, who perished in a car accident. Besides, magic has let Xochitl down before—why wouldn’t it now?

But as the girls will eventually discover, at Rogelia’s House of Magic, anything is possible.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7–10—Set in Southern California, this novel is about three teens who find a common bond and grow in their relationships as they learn the healing arts from a curandera (folk healer). Marina, from a newly wealthy Hispanic family, struggles with her mother's insistence that she forget her Mexican heritage and barrio roots. Fern, whose Colombian family still lives in the old neighborhood, is a free spirit who has trouble trusting a potential boyfriend. When Rogelia Garcia, a wise curandera from Mexico, becomes the maid at Marina's house, the girls befriend her granddaughter, Xochitl, who grieves for the twin sister she recently lost in a tragic accident. Rogelia takes the girls on as apprentices and helps them to understand and control their innate magical powers (Marina hears voices from the beyond, Fern sees auras, and Xochitl has the ability to disappear) while teaching them that by caring for and healing others, they can help and heal themselves. The narrative is well written and descriptive, incorporating Spanish phrases that are easy to understand in context and add flavor to the telling. The characters and their relationships with others are solidly developed. The novel will appeal to readers interested in magic and astrology, and several spells are appended (charging a crystal wand, a confidence incantation, etc.).—Lorraine B. Wiener, Inglewood High School, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A story about girls whose friendship will inspire readers.”—Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734786
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734783
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a very passionate and imaginative person. So much so, that sometimes its a bit exciting just to consider half of my dreams coming true. I love to hug trees and I truly don't like wearing shoes, unless they are really, really cute. I write because I have to. I tell stories because I want to. I want my books and stories to help others. I want to connect and entertain and maybe even enlighten, even though that sounds a bit pompous, its true all the same. I write about times, events, and ideas that I want to better understand and appreciate. Sometimes life throws curve balls, I just want to see the light in all things, crazy, wacky, painful, and otherwise.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enchanting Summer Read, June 11, 2008

By 

Mary Castillo "Author" (Orange County, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogelia's House of Magic (Hardcover)

It's tempting to think that Rogelia's House of Magic is simply a beach read but think again! The characters will take you on a journey that dives deep into the heart and soul of what it means to be a young woman and the magic that resides in all of us. This story will stay with you long after the last page and make you email Jamie for part two!

4.0 out of 5 stars Friendship and Magic, December 15, 2008

By 

The Book Muncher (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rogelia's House of Magic (Hardcover)

Three very different girls, Marina, the spoiled girl whose mother has turned her back on her Mexican heritage, Fern, the nature-loving free spirit, and Xochitl, the shy one whose withdrawn inside herself since the death of her twin Graciela, form a tentative bond under the tutorage of Xochitl's grandmother Rogelia. Rogelia is a curandera or a spiritual healer. Each girl has a unique magical ability; Marina can hears the voices of the dead, Fern can see auras of living things, and Xochitl can turn invisible at will. But this shared similarity does little to cement their friendship. Xochitl has lost her faith in magic and feels wrong learning more without her sister, Marina has to struggle against her mother's prejudices, and Fern is distracted by the cute boy Tristán, who sometimes looks like he's walking in a storm cloud with that gloomy gray aura that surrounds him. But as they spend more time together, they start to realize that truly anything is possible in Rogelia's House of Magic.

I found Rogelia's House of Magic to be a fun and relaxing read. Marina, Fern, and Xochitl were well developed and realistic characters, and I enjoyed reading about their backgrounds and watching how that played out in this story. I felt just the right amount of insight into each girl's mind was divulged, enough that I got to know who they were but not too much that it drowned out the importance of the other characters. I also greatly appreciated the incorporation of Hispanic culture and its centrality to the story. I particularly liked the curanderismo and magic because its air of supernaturalism made Rogelia's House of Magic even more unique and gave the story a little extra sparkle. There were a couple of times I felt that the story dragged a little, but the plot picks up at the end and has a heartwarming close. Rogelia's House of Magic is definitely one of those stories that will make you believe in magic, and not the wand-waving kind, but magic in friendship, family, and yourself.

Rogelia's House of Magic appeals to a wide audience, but especially to those interested in the rich Hispanic culture and magical stories about friendship. Fans of Amor and Summer Secrets by Diana Rodriguez Wallach will also enjoy this novel.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars an ok book but....., August 26, 2008

By 

book club mom (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogelia's House of Magic (Hardcover)

My 12 year old daughter checked this book out of the public library.
She reads quite a bit of fantasy/magic type books but my concern with this book was the misleading information that seems to tie the Catholic religion to spells and the practice of magic.

As a practicing Catholic, my daughter knows that is not true but I wonder if girls not as familiar with Catholicism would come away with some pretty strange ideas about the Catholic faith.

Other than that, this was an ok book, although the characters were a bit stereotyped and predictable.

On the positive side, what I liked about the book is the way the author mixed in Spanish words and phrases....