Secret Spell (Star Friends)

Mia, Sita, Violet, and Lexi are very best friends, and they each have received a Star Animal, magical creatures that can help the girls develop and use their own special, magical powers. But there are powerful forces afoot in the village that use dark magic and want to defeat the girls and their Star Animals. Soon three of the four girls are acting strangely, seemingly beset by their greatest fears. But what could be causing this odd behavior? It isn’t until Mia’s younger brother is also haunted by his greatest fear that Mia thinks she knows what is causing the problem. While all this is going on, a new neighbor is acting suspiciously, and the girls think she is using dark magic. Can Mia and her Star Animal get things back on track?

Linda Chapman has quite a fun fantasy franchise going that is perfect for emerging readers and might help reluctant readers become regular readers. The characters and stories are fun and a little mysterious without being too scary for young readers. The cute illustrations by Lucy Fleming really add to the stories and will help readers connect to the stories and stay engaged.