Another unexpected young adult novel in the works, lo and behold it's from none other than Jenna Evans Welch herself! Spells for Lost Things follows an interweaving story between Willow, who's mother is within reach but metaphorically a million miles apart, and Mason, who's mother is anywhere else in the world besides right next to him. Evans Welch does a spectacular job introducing a hodophile, Willow - a young woman before her senior year of high school who finds herself in the throws of deciding she'd rather be anywhere else deemed "home" than next to her mother in their California abode created after a divorce from Willow's father. Her mother receives an unexpected notification that her twin sister has passed away and needs her affairs tidied up in none other than Salem, Massachusetts. It was the utterance of a twin sister that caught Willow off guard from her mother's admission, but the prospect of traveling to Salem was something Willow yearned for. Another plot to tie her name on in the unrelenting list of travel destinations - maybe it'd even disclose the untold story of her mother's past.
In comes Mason, a young man within the foster care system yearning for a loving return to his mother, a recovering addict in the throws of getting her life together to reunite with her son once more. Mason is a lover of science, astronomy pointedly and makes it apparent with the keeping of a stargazing journal in which his nightly observances coincide with his deepest thoughts on paper within a spiral notebook. In the throes of moving throughout the country, navigating between foster homes over the years, Mason finds himself relocated in Salem, Massachusetts - where an unexpected friend of his mother has decided to take a venture into becoming a foster parent and volunteered the idea of Mason residing with her, her husband and four other children. What better way for Mason to feel welcomed than with an unlimited amount of glitter and understanding of coffee in the morning?
It's within the timeless historial city of Salem, Massachusetts that these two souls find each other - in the mere late/early hours of a night where the stars are brightest and the fates are rendering themselves rather predictable. Willow wants nothing more than to discover just what her family past is and who better than to delve in than with a fact-finding genius, Mason, who has nothing better to do than hope for a sign in discovering his reunion with his mother? Maybe this girl just happens to be that sign for him, so of course taking the plunge would only help both their circumstances. Little had they known, answers most sought out aren't always the ones we're hoping for but rather what we need. Evans Welch does a tremendous job of specifying that in this young adult novel about love, family, finding oneself and believing in something out of this world.
Ultimately, this book was a 5/5 for me! I loved the cover when it was debuted, I was instantly intrigued with the sense that Evans Welch was writing another novel based around a well-known location in which many readers could either relate to or imagine visiting. Yet, I've been to Salem, Massachusetts as of late and instantly was able to place myself in the shoes of Willow and Mason. I found that more riveting in this novel than among Evan Welch's others. I have a dream of traveling and appreciated the aspect of her detailed location in her "Love &" series, but I found a sense of "home" in this novel, which I can confidently say was a goal for readers to experience. The attention to detail - between describing characters, moving between locations or time periods, even giving readers a look into Willow and Mason themselves, was done splendidly.
I appreciated the aspect of Willow's and Mason's dilemmas in their personal lives. I think it was important to show the viewpoint in which a child could be exceptionally close to their parents in a matter of physical space, but so far apart in soul - then vice versa. I also truly think it was a difficult topic to depict in having an addict as a parent and then forgoing the parent to admitting they can no longer care for their child and choose to abandon the relationship between mother and child. I think it was an exceptionally difficult topic for Evans Welch to write (possibly) but even more difficult and strained for a reader to experience and yet, accept. Despite the horror of believing this situation could occur, IT DOES. I think it was important for Mason's ending to not necessarily be a happy one between his mother and he, but a wake up call in realizing what's best for us may not be what our brain desires but what our hearts call for.
I'd recommend this novel to anyone interested in folklore of Salem, Massachusetts. Anyone interested in a young adult novel following romance, but always intertwined with the balance of finding oneself and realizing what's right in front of them may be worth everything overall. :)
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