Everyday Magic

Gr 9 Up—Maggie McKendrick, a recent high school graduate from California, is in Scotland, where her famous father Scott is directing a new movie starring the teen male actor du jour. To the outside world, she seems to have it all. In reality, Scott is controlling, manipulative, and abusive to Maggie, her older brother Marc, and their mother Diana. Their happy family is a charade for the paparazzi. The protagonist seeks solace in sketching, contemplating ways to tell her father she will decline acceptance to UCLA's law program and instead matriculate at an elite fashion design school come autumn. One day, while drawing outdoors, Maggie meets Preston, who is visiting his family in the home next door. A sweet romance begins to blossom, contrasted with Diana's decision to finally divorce her husband. Scott vows to make Diana's life miserable unless Maggie agrees to date his movie's star, Ben. Scott dangles payment for her fashion school as a carrot. Maggie reluctantly complies but secretly tells Ben, who has already agreed, and Preston the plan. Ben's motivation for going along will be obvious to readers long before it is revealed in dialogue. What ensues will test the teen's resolve, and Preston's, as the facade of her fake relationship comes under scrutiny from the tabloids. The ending is a happy one, if perhaps a bit melodramatic. While this is not a sequel, characters from Albright's The Heir and the Spare make appearances and are central to the plot.