A Fistful of Sky

A Fistful of Sky, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Ace Books, 2002

The LaZelles are your typical Southern California family, except for the fact that all, except the father, are witches. At approximately age 16, each of the five children are supposed to go through Transition. It's characterized by being really sick for a few days; when it's over, the person's magical powers, whatever they may be, are born. For whatever reason, Gypsum, the middle child, doesn't go through Transition. Perhaps she is destined to be "normal," like her father. When everyone else becomes an official witch or warlock, Gypsum usually ends up being the magical "guinea pig."

One weekend, while everyone else is away, Gypsum gets really sick, not realizing it's her very delayed Transition. Unfortunately, her power is the dark power of cursing. She has to curse or damn something every few hours, or the power will eat her up from inside. She curses a rock, and it turns into a box of magic chalk. Gypsum and her siblings draw on some cement stairs with the chalk, and the drawings come to life. An easy way to release some energy is to cause the trash in the trash cans to disappear. But, do it too often, and people will become suspicious.

Gypsum tries to filter her power through one of her brothers. The subject of making brownies comes up, and the two fill most of their back yard with very edible brownies. Later, they create an equal quantity of fresh-baked bread and muffins. One time, Gypsum turns her younger sister into an old woman. Another time, she causes the mouths of her two brothers to disappear. It's a good thing her "human" curses come with built-in time limits. On a date with her boyfriend, Ian, Gypsum tries turning her curse power back on herself, to turn herself back to "normal," and comes very close to killing herself.

This retelling of the Ugly Duckling story is humorous, heartfelt and very, very good. Hoffman's writing comes very close to poetry. It works as an adult novel, and as a young adult novel, and it is well worth reading.