The Spell Book of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty
by Joan Marshall - Sunday Jun 29 2008 9:51 am

The adults of the eccentric but loving Zing family meet every Friday night for the Zing Family Secret Meeting. Twelve-year-old Listen Taylor, whose father Nathaniel has just moved in with Marbie Zing, is gradually drawn into the world of this comforting family, which is fortunate, as her former group of friends has turned on her and rejected her utterly.

But then she finds a spell book which guarantees that it will "mend your broken heart"...

Moriarty paints a convincing portrait of shattered love relationships, and brilliantly illuminates what people need from each other to survive and thrive. Told in multiple voices, the novel explores the puzzle of the Zing family secret, and pulls all the strands together in a satisfying conclusion.

Older teens and adults alike will respond to the story's deft evocation of the ache of exclusion and the hunger for true love.

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