Jinx by Meg Cabot

Audience: 10 and up

Rating: B+

Synopsis:

Jinx, a preacher’s-daughter from Iowa is hoping to leave her bad luck and nickname behind when she moves to New York City to live with her aunt and uncle. Luck, however, has never been in the cards for Jinx, and it seems that her flair for disasters has followed her to the city. How else can you explain the fact that her cousin is involved with some dangerous pastimes, or that the guy she falls for has already been claimed? Can Jinx help her cousin, help herself, and get rid of her bad-luck curse at the same time? She certainly hopes so.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) This book is charming, of course. All of Meg Cabot’s books are charming! Jinx was a fun heroine, but I think Tory’s right when she calls her a ‘country bumpkin’ because Jinx is really the most clueless female. It was obvious to everyone else (including this reader!) that Zach was crazy about Jinx, how in the world could she have missed this fact? It was also pretty clear that Tory never had Jinx’s best interests at heart, but Jinx forgave her repeatedly.

Jinx was pretty much the stereotypical Midwestern preacher’s kid… except for the fact that she was into witchcraft. This detail kept the book from being formulaic, but it still was a bit predictable. (Who didn’t see it coming that Jinx’s rescue of the Zach doll was going to get her into trouble?) Despite this, I really enjoyed this book. It’s fun to read something lightweight and fluffy every once in a while!

Questions:

Do you think Jinx really does have magic? Or is it all coincidence like Zach believes?

Is Tory’s punishment fair?

Do you think Jinx will continue to explore her magical powers? Should she?

Keep reading!

-Paige

Buy Jinx from Amazon