I think this would have been one of my favorite books had I read it at ages 9-10. I am thinking that while this is often true (for adult readers) for middle grade fiction it’s actually also frequently the case for books in most genres.) Most of what happened was predictable but that did not diminish my reading enjoyment. The humor with the mispronounced names I think I would have found more amusing when I was young but I did smile a few times as I read. I enjoyed the world building in an alternative history in New York City. It stands on its own though so I tried to focus and read it as the unique story that it is. Ditto this book being reminiscent at times of the books The Secret Garden and the Harry Potter series. I tried my best to not think of the book A Little Princess or to compare that book with this one. Endearing (and some not endearing) and vividly drawn and memorable characters, child and adult, female and male.

It’s wonderful friendship story and a creatively told magic story. or else there’s a risk it will be snuffed out forever. But when another student’s kindling goes horribly wrong, Emma, Izzy, and their unexpected new friends embark on a journey to keep magic in the right hands. Along the way, they encounter shy libraries, quizzes that literally pop, and talking cats (that is, house dragons). Emma and Izzy reluctantly form a pact: If Izzy teaches Emma how to survive as a servant, Emma will reveal to Izzy what she knows about magic. But when her father dies, leaving her penniless, Emma is reduced to working off her debts to Miss Posterity alongside Izzy, a headstrong servant girl who refuses to let her magic be snuffed out, even if society dictates she must.

In 1906 New York City, Miss Posterity’s Academy for Practical Magic is the best kindling school―and wealthy twelve-year-old Emma Harris is accustomed to the best.

Those denied access to the secrets of the kindling ritual will see their magic snuffed out before their thirteenth birthday. Any child can spark magic, but only the elite are allowed to kindle it.

The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman