Like A Charm

It was amazingly interesting.

The main character Ramya has dyspraxia. It is good to have more neurodivergent main characters represented in books. I also like that it is set in Edinburgh as I have been to some of the places mentioned in the book.

I think this is a very good book, my favorite character is Ramya. This was very interesting as Ramaya had challenges along the way and has to be brave. There are lots of interesting stages through this long book.

This is a really good book!! I really loved it, one of my faves. This book is by the author of a kind of spark, which is also an amazing book!!

Wonderful

Even though it had sad times in this book, it was full of creativity and magic.It make me enjoy reading and wonder in this book.

I love this book because I love reading about neurodivergent people so I can understand what it must be like for them. I love Aunt Opal as she is full of surprises and is also neurodivergent. Great for 8-14 year olds.

Great book for Y4+ love that main character has dispraxia. 'Glamour' is relatable for all. Dislike that it's start of a series so have to read more for the outcome... although encourages readers to want more so perfect as a recommendation.

Most of this book was really good. I only didn't give it 5 stars because some bits were less exciting.

My favorite person was Ramya because during the story she was trying to find herself and figure out magic.

I enjoyed this book because the main character saw things, magical things, that other people couldn't see. Ramya sees through the glimmer, which is a magical mist that hides monsters. Family, magic and unexpected surprises. Really good and would recommend to readers who love fantasy books.

This is a really finely written book, and in the perspective of someone whom we might not understand because she has dyspraxia. This story is about family, love, mysteries, magic and hope. Like a Charm follows Ramya, a 12-year-old girl who can see through magical creatures glamour. After her Grandad dies, she's pulled into her family's secrets and the world of the Hidden Folk. Ramya has always been different because of her disability, and now her differences can be used for good, to save the world and defeat the Sirens - creatures that can control people's minds and make them do anything it wants. This is an awesome book. I would recommend it to anyone aged 9+.

I thought that this book was really good, I rate it 5/5. I thought that it was just such an interesting story that helped me to understand a bit more about dyslexia and dyspraxia. My favourite person was Marley. I would definitely recommend!!

This book was amazing I really enjoyed reading and I cant wait until spring for the next book.

The subject of the story was very unusual. The plot was very thrilling to read and I couldn’t stop reading the book. The author has described the characters’ feelings and the scenery so well that I felt I was the part of the story.
The story was very engrossing as the main characters had to face many challenges and I particularly loved how Addie didn’t give up which was something important to her.

The story talked about how people perceive other person who behaves differently than them and how this person deals with negative and positive side of the people’s attitude towards him/her.

I will definitely recommend this book to my friends.

Ramya is a young girl living with dyspraxia in Edinburgh with her parents. There was a family row when she was very young & she never saw her Grandad again. She feels an affinity with him & begins the truth behind the hidden folk. There is mystery & magic in this fantasy tale as Ramya discovers herself & her powers.

Magical and amazing

Best book I’ve ever read

I loved this book!

It was full of magic.

The grandad as he put mystery in the story.

I would recomend it to someone as it is magical and mysterious.

I haven't read A Kind of Spark - and clearly i should! Elle McNicol is amazing at drawing you into this books quickly.

Ramya's family are celebrating her 5th birthday at their house in London. Or at least her parents are celebrating - the only person Ramya is interested in is her beloved Grandfather. One of his presents is a beret. Gran and Grandpa call her smart, her parents think otherwise - they later find that she is dyspraxic (affecting motor control eg her handwriting).

At the party a lady, Portia, wants her to play something on the piano but Portia makes her uncomfortable, anxious and she says No! A fact her parents can't forgive and try to make her say sorry - again she refuses. Grandfather tries to intervene and he is banished from the house. That was seven years ago she hasn't seen her Grandparents since.

Now, her family have moved to Edinburgh. She's at High School, her dyspraxia means she spends hours in SEND classes learning to write neatly. She objects to this. Mr Ishmael, her teacher, gets it but he has to get her there! It's boring and frustrating to be treated this way when she is smart. Suddenly she 's called from class - to the office - her cousin Marley (the son of her mother's sister) is there too. Their Grandfather has died. But she has never spoken to Marley, so they sit in silence.

Her mother and father refuse to go to the funeral. At first Ramya is forbidden, but her mother relents. She sits on the family front row, but there's no one else there. Then her Grandmother enters with Aunt Leanna and Marley and a man she guesses is her Aunt's partner. Then as she turns to look at the coffin entering she sees them - a man she doesn't know who is looking at her and her Aunt Opal, grandfather's favourite (according to her mother). As she leaves the man speaks to her, he knows who she is, he tells her that her Grandfather has left her something and to meet him at his office, above a bookshop quite near her Aunt Leanna's shop. At the wake her Aunt's partner introduces himself. He's interested in her parents, they read the news, she uses that as the excuse for them not being there. He leaves and goes back to Leanna. Her Grandmother suddenly appears beside her and tells her to eat, and then walks away again.

She leaves and decides to visit the stranger at his office and everything changes, she walks past the statue of Greyfriars Bobby and it comes to life but it appears that no one else sees this. The little dog sits outside the bookshop, she goes inside where she's told it had a Medusa hex put on it by a powerful witch. She is given a book that her Grandfather has left her but the pages are empty. The stranger reminds her she saw a statue move, tells her that she has a gift that will change everything. She touches the book; her name appears.

From that moment Ramya is drawn into a world of magical creatures that she has to understand. A world where Glamour has a whole new meaning. She befriends Marley, her Aunt Leanna and even Aunt Opal!

I was wishing that the witch with all the power was the character I wanted it to be but I wasn't prepared for all the twists in this amazing story. I loved the inclusion of The Kelpies to the story.

I absolutely loved this book. I tried to read it towards the end of term and just couldn't focus. I tore through it this week and then had to slow myself down to savour the reading experience.
Set in Edinburgh, this book is perfect for fans of folklore and mythology. The protagonist Ramya is dyspraxic as, I believe, is the author who is also autistic. Elle McNicholl is an author to watch. Check out A Kind of Spark as well.