Oct 7, 20214 min read

Salt Magic: Book tour/Giveaway

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SALT MAGIC by Hope Larson, illustrated byRebecca Mock Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and makesure to enter the giveaway!

Hope Larson is an American illustrator and comics artist. Hope Larson is the author of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers, and Mercury. She won a 2007 Eisner Award. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Hope Larson's Blog

Rebecca is a freelance illustrator, comic book artist, and animator. Her first graphic novel, Compass South, was written by Hope Larson. Rebecca is most well known for her beautiful art and “quitely contemplative” gifs, as Benjamin Starr wrote on Visual News.

Title: SALT MAGIC

Author: Hope Larson, illustrated by Rebecca Mock

Pub. Date: October 12, 2021

Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books

Pages: 240

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

When a jealous witch curses her family's well, it's up to Vonceil to set things right in an epic journey that will leave her changed forever.

When Vonceil's older brother, Elber, comes home to their family's Oklahoma farm after serving on the front lines of World War I, things aren't what she expects. His experiences have changed him into a serious and responsible man who doesn't have time for Vonceil anymore. He even marries the girl he had left behind.

Then a mysterious and captivating woman shows up at the farm and confronts Elber for leaving her in France. When he refuses to leave his wife, she puts a curse on the family well, turning the entire town's water supply into saltwater. Who is this lady dressed all in white, what has she done to the farm, and what does Vonceil's old uncle Dell know about her?

To find out, Vonceil will have to strike out on her own and delve deep into the world of witchcraft, confronting dangerous relatives, shapeshifting animals, a capricious Sugar Witch, and the Lady in White herself--the foreboding Salt Witch. The journey will change Vonceil, but along the way she'll learn a lot about love and what it means to grow up.

Hope Larson is the author and illustrator of the Eisner Award nominated All Summer Long and the illustrator of the Eisner Award winning A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. Salt Magic is an utterly unique graphic fairy tale complete with striking illustrations by Rebecca Mock.

Praise For SALT MAGIC:

"The best comics reading experience I've had in a long time." —Ben Hatke, author-

illustrator of #1 New York Times Bestselling Zita the Spacegirl series

"Sumptuously detailed in all aspects, readers of all ages will be whisked away by this

unique and modern fairy tale. Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock take a story filled with

fantasy and imagination and ground it with great humanity and depth. A book to return

to over and over again."—Jen Wang, author-illustrator of the Eisner award-winning The

Prince and the Dressmaker

"The perfect alchemy of gorgeous illustration and richly imagined story." —Victoria Ying,

author-illustrator of City of Secrets

"Salt Magic is an epic coming-of-age adventure. Rebecca’s artwork is some of the most

gorgeous cartooning I have ever seen, bringing Hope’s incredible storytelling to vibrant

life. With witches, magic, and cowboys, you’ve never read a Western like this before!"

—Cathy G. Johnson, author-illustrator of The Breakaways

"This story by the previous collaborators (Compass South) unfolds skillfully, taking time

to develop memorable heroine Vonceil and her quotidian world . . . before setting her

on an adventure that echoes fantasy classics yet feels entirely distinct."—Publishers

Weekly

"Unusual and excellent, containing wonder within."—Kirkus Reviews

Huge thanks to Holiday House for the review copy and to Rockstar Book Tours for the spot on the tour! First of all, the cover to SALT MAGIC is a sort of magic all on its own. I don't know if the cover artists intended that, but bravo! Second, the moment I opened the first page, I knew I was in for it. Vonceil isn't as happy as the rest of her family when her older brother returns from war and proposes to his long-time girlfriend, a local girl who stayed behind to wait for Elber. Elber comments how big Vonceil grew, but what he doesn't realize is that she's also been waiting for her brother, to play, to talk, to slip back into how things were before he went off to war. Accepting his brother's new wife gets a bit rocky on Vonceil's part, but when an elegant stranger comes to town claiming to know Elber, she jumps on the chance to get away from her mundane life. If she can convince her brother to marry this stranger, she has a chance to tour the world and get away from her mundane life. Elber isn't so keen. He rebukes the woman's advances and in turn, she curses their water turning their only supply into saltwater. Elber falls ill soon after. Vonceil takes charge. She sets off on a journey to find the witch and convince her to lift the curse. But Vonceil finds more than the salt witch. With every step she takes, she transforms from the defiant little girl she was upon her brother's return to a brave and responsible young woman who would do anything for her family. There's a scene pertaining to this that truly stuck with me and I don't want to give away too much, but just know that it hit me in the heart. The thing about this graphic novel is that it gave me a very Miyazaki feel ( mostly Spirited Away) in that even the villains aren't truly villains. They want only to obtain their happiness and sometimes they need someone to help them open their eyes to the fact that they're going about it the wrong way. I love Vonceil's fierce determination that never ever extinguishes despite things looking bleak. This is a blockbuster animated film in my head. If I were to have to downgrade my book collection, one would have to pry this book from my cold dead hands. Gorgeously illustrated, heart-warming, this will go down as one of my favorite graphic novels of all time.