Stacked Shelves

I never quite thought much about what some reviewers call the “sophomore slump,” a malady that often afflicts the second book in trilogies. Some might say that Jinx’s Magic by Sage Blackwood suffers from it, but I don’t think so. I like this series. No doubts about that. Yes, it has some of the usual suspects – an orphan with great unknown powers who is in training to be a wizard, an evil wizard, a wizard that we’re not quite so sure about, and various companions. But Jinx is special and defies stereotypes. His magic is rare. And the host of secondary characters is good. It’s a series preteens will undoubtedly enjoy reading and they’ll identify with Jinx (especially when he’s sarcastic).  The first book in the series is Jinx . Jinx is an orphan who is about to be left in the Urwald (a large primeval forest) to die when he is rescued by the wizard Simon. He gradually becomes the Simon’s apprentice and learns that the power he draws on to work his magic is different than t