Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches

Cook (Fin & Rye & Fireflies) centers a magic-wielding teen trying to uncover the mystery behind his town’s disappearing youth in this mystical romance. To escape the emotional turmoil of his parents’ acrimonious divorce, Felix Silver, 17, moves to Dorset Harbor, England, a community of witches, to live with his grandmother, Aggie Silver. Aggie wastes no time tutoring Felix in how to employ his previously underutilized powers, and Felix makes fast friends with fellow students clever Fern, magically incompetent Charlie, and Felix’s crush, Aero. But sudden reports of missing teenagers alarm the townsfolk, and they suspect ancient, dark enchantments are to blame. When Fern discovers a connection between Felix’s ancestors and a past slew of disappearances, the teens hatch a dangerous plan to unearth the truth. As the mystery hurtles toward a familiar conclusion, Felix wrestles with trust and feelings of betrayal. Though the magic system—whose spells occasionally necessitate a teaspoon in lieu of a wand—feels thinly developed, Cook’s accessible prose and Felix’s seemingly unrequited crush on Aero, which blossoms into a freshly drawn courtship, makes for a lighthearted queer romance. Characters present as white. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)