Review: Lawn Mower Magic by Lynne Jonell

Lawn Mower Magic by Lynne Jonell. Book Two in the New Magical Mix-Up Series.

Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 2012
List Price: $12.99
ISBN-13: 9780375866616

Review: This book is called Lawn Mower Magic and is the second book in its series. Its author is Lynne Jonell. The main character is Derek, a kid that is the second youngest of four kids, two boys and two girls. It is in the modern age on a hillside. Derek and some other kids have found magic, but is it on their side or not?

In Lawn Mower Magic, Derek and his family have just moved away from all of his friends into the countryside. Derek wants to get a train ticket to go back to his old neighborhood to play with his friends, but his parents can't afford it. They need to buy a new lawn mower to mow their huge yard. Derek offers to try with an old push mower and asks for help from his siblings. It turns out that the lawn mower has some magic in it, and it starts mowing away! Derek now needs to stop it from mowing. Can he and his siblings catch the magic lawn mower? Will Derek get the train ticket?

Some elements of the book that I liked were that it was a fast, fun read. It was pretty short but was fairly exciting. I would recommend reading the first book before this because it might be confusing. I also recommend this book to kids in third or fourth grade, or just older kids who want a fast read. Overall, it is a great book but I do see some flaws. I think this book should have more encounters with magic in the hills, not just with a lawn mower. There should definitely be a sequel that should be a collection of these encounters. I do like how the characters are divided and very thorough. The book explains in detail what the characters want. I really feel what the characters want. I give this book a four out of five; you should definitely consider reading it!

Review written by Sean (7th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Lawn Mower Magic for this review.

Have you read Lawn Mower Magic? How would you rate it?