A Tale of Magic

Brystal Evergreen is a young girl who lives in the Southern Kingdom, where strict laws created by the town Justices prohibit women from becoming more than wives and mothers. Brystal and other women aren’t even allowed to read (although Brystal finds herself lost in stories of magic that her brother secretly supplies). Brystal considers herself lucky because in comparison to the other four kingdoms which punish magic users with the death penalty, the Southern Kingdom is praised for its mercy – those found practicing magic are sentenced to a life of hard labor at the miserable Bootstrap Correctional Facility. Brystal never expected to be one of them.  

When Brystal reads a magical incantation, she’s caught by the town guard and swiftly sentenced to life imprisonment by her own father, a Chief Justice. Brystal is sent to the Bootstrap Correctional Facility to be “re-educated.” The future seems bleak for Brystal until she is rescued from the academy by a mysterious woman named Madame Weatherberry, a self-proclaimed fairy who recruits Brystal to start an academy of magic. Madame Weatherberry explains to Brystal that there are two types of magic users, witches (who use dark magic for evil deeds) and fairies (magic users who use their power to do good). By creating the academy, training fairies, and using magic to help others, Madame Weatherberry wants to change the world’s perception of magic.  

Once Brystal accepts her place at the academy, she starts to develop her magic, as well as friendships with the other students. She also develops a close bond with Madame Weatherberry, although her teacher keeps disappearing for long periods to fight an evil witch called The Snow Queen whose growing power threatens to cover the world in snow.  

When Madame Weatherberry disappears, Brystal convinces the other students at the academy – her friends Lucy, Xanthous, Emerelda, Tangerina, and Skylene – to save Madame Weatherberry. The destruction of the north is devastating, shocking Brystal, but that is nothing compared to how surprised she is to discover that Madame Weatherberry and the Snow Queen are one in the same. Madame Weatherberry admits she can’t fight the Snow Queen any longer and asks Brystal to kill her, thus proving to the world that it needs good fairies to protect from evil witches. But Brystal believes that the world isn’t so black and white. Despite the evil and anger in Madame Weatherberry, Brystal chooses to see the good. Brystal says, “I’ll never understand why you chose violence as a road to peace, I’ll never understand why you chose fear as a remedy to hate, but I will not repeat your mistakes.” Brystal convinces Madame Weatherberry to keep fighting and allows her to escape. Brystal returns to her friends with a newfound determination to find a peaceful way to change the world’s perspective on magic. 

A Tale of Magic is a prequel to The Land of Stories Series that details how Brystal Evergreen later becomes Brystal Bailey, the Fairy Godmother. This story’s setting is set solely in The Land of Stories making it easier to read than The Land of Stories Series. If you’ve already read The Land of Stories Series, you should definitely check out this prequel series to learn more about the Fairy Godmother and how the Fairy Council (Brystal’s name for the coalition of fairies bringing about change) is formed. If you haven’t read either series yet, even though this book is a prequel, you should start with the Land of Stories because that book sets up the world in detail. A Tale of Magic is written under the assumption that the reader already knows what the Land of Stories is. Start with The Land of Stories to get the context you need to understand A Tale of Magic.  

A Tale of Magic is narrated by Brystal, who is an empathetic narrator. She cares deeply about others and sees the best in them even when they can’t see it themselves. Even though Brystal’s magic specialty is compassion, Brystal still has moments of anger and doubt, but these make her both relatable and realistic.  

This book’s theme may seem contradictory to Brystal’s character: rebellion. At first, Brystal is afraid to go against the path society has laid out for her. However, Brystal questions what she’s been told and aims to prove the innocence of magic, even if it means turning against the people she loves most. One of the most poignant scenes in the story is when Brystal stands in front of her father—the Justice who sentenced her to the correctional facility—and demands that he change his intolerant ways. Brystal questions her faith, her society’s criminalization of magic, and the patriarchy.  

Madame Weatherberry teaches Brystal that, “Ignorance is a choice. Hatred is a choice. Violence is a choice. But someone’s existence is never a choice or a fault, and it’s certainly not a crime.” People can choose to be intolerant, or they can choose to accept people for who they are. And Brystal chooses to support her friends no matter what. Similarly, Brystal extends this compassion to the world and Brystal ends the story determined to ensure that future generations will have a happy ending. 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• In most of the kingdoms, the punishment for witchcraft is death. “In the Northern Kingdom, perpetrators and their families were put on trial and promptly burned at the stake. In the Eastern Kingdom. . . [they are] hung in the gallows. In the Western Kingdom, suspected witches and warlocks were drowned without any trial whatsoever.” 
• When Brystal is imprisoned for practicing magic, she hears prisoners being tortured: “Bloodcurdling screams of prisoners getting whipped echoed through the halls.” 
• At the Bootstrap Correctional Facility, the young girls are physically abused. Those who deserve worse punishment are subjected to the “dunker.” This is a well where a girl is repeatedly submerged and eventually drowned. Brystal is sent to the dunker but is saved before she is plunged into the icy water. 
• Mrs. Edgar, one of the wardens of the Bootstrap Correctional Facility, slaps Brystal when she questions Mrs. Edgar’s perception of the Book of Faith and the nature of the Lord. Brystal said, “’What if you’re wrong about the Lord? . . . What if the Lord invented magic so people could help each other and enrich their own lives? What if the Lord thinks you’re the unholy ones for abusing people and making them believe their existence is a –’ WHACK! Mrs. Edgar slapped Brystal so hard her whole head jerked in a different direction. . . blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.” 
• Xanthous, one of the academy students, reveals that his father beat him after coming home from the pub where he found Xanthous doing something “unspeakable.” Afterward, Xanthous sets his home on fire, and his father perished. Xanthous explains, “As he was hitting me, I became angry – really angry. I felt all this heat building up inside me like a volcano. . . next thing I knew, there was fire everywhere. . . Our house burned to the ground and my father. . . ”  
• Emerelda, an academy student, tells a story about the Snow Queen. Emerelda says, “Many years ago, the Snow Queen was just a simple witch with a specialty for controlling the weather. One night, an angry mob found her home and killed her family.” Afterward, the Snow Queen turned evil. 
• Brystal and her friends witness a fight between trolls and goblins. “Brystal and her classmates watched the brawl in horror—they had never seen such violence in their lives. The creatures ruthlessly bludgeoned and stabbed one another, and when their weapons gave out, they resorted to twisting noses and pulling ears.” Brystal and her friends run away before they see anyone get seriously injured. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• The academy students find a bottle of “Fabubblous Fizz” when they break into Madame Weatherberry’s office. Xanthous asks, “There isn’t any alcohol in there, is there?” No one knows the answer. The students only have one sip each. It causes them to be able to blow bubbles out of their mouth. 
• It is mentioned that Xanthous’ father beats him after coming home from the pub drunk.  

Language  

• Heck is used twice. For example, when a witch breaks into his castle, the king of the Southern Kingdom says, “Who the heck are you?”  
• Brystal’s friend, Lucy, plays the tambourine. When Lucy says she’s going to give up magic and go back to playing the tambourine, Brystal calls the tambourine “stupid.” 
• Lucy insults witches by calling them “gizzard suckers.” 
• The Snow Queen calls Brystal a “stupid, incompetent girl.” 

Supernatural  

• In this world, magic can be used for just about everything from everyday tasks to creating storms, talking to animals, healing wounds, and more. It can also be used to turn one item into another; the possibilities are endless. 
• Some magic users have a specialty, a type of magic or spell that they are very good at. For example, Tangerina, one of Madame Weatherberry’s apprentices, controls bees. Magic users also tend to have physical attributes that represent what they’re good at. For example, Tangerina has a beehive of orange hair that drips honey and is home to a swarm of bees.  
• Madame Weatherberry can create storms. Her body is frostbitten due to creating powerful snowstorms. 
• Skylene, one of Madame Weatherberry’s apprentices, controls water and has water for hair that evaporates at her feet. 
• Madame Weatherberry has a magical carriage made of gold that is pulled by unicorns. Inside, there are plants that produce berries in every color of the rainbow. Madame Weatherberry can make the carriage into a brooch for easy transportation, which she does occasionally throughout the story. 
• Xanthous, an academy student, controls fire. His power is hard to control, so Madame Weatherberry gives him a medal called a Muter Medal, which allows him to suppress his abilities.  
• The castle that is home to the academy is magical and expands as needed. When new students arrive, a new bedroom grows in the castle. Madame Weatherberry explains, “The castle grows extra bedrooms based on the number of residents and designs the chambers around the occupant’s specific needs.” For example, Brystal’s room is a library, while Xanthous’ room is fireproof. 
• A few magical creatures, such as goblins, gryphons, and unicorns, are mentioned in the story.  
• Horence, a knight who protects the school grounds, is a spirit that can’t speak and rides a three-headed horse. Madame Weatherberry tells Brystal a story of how Horence was created. “Horence was in love with a witch. . . after he was murdered, the witch used witchcraft to bring him back to life. The spell was so dark and vile, the witch died in the process.” 
• Brystal finds a Tree of Truth that can answer any question. The tree can speak to Brystal in her mind. 

Spiritual Content  

• The Southern Kingdom’s religion comes from the Book of Faith. The religion is not described in detail but there is a “God” or “Lord” that is referred to occasionally with phrases like, “By God” and “God have mercy.”  
• Brystal reads in a banned book that the Book of Faith has been rewritten many times to fit lawmakers’ political agendas. “If the Book of Faith was as pure as the monks claim it is, there would be no need to amend it or publish versions over time. However, if you compared a current Book of Faith to one from a hundred years ago, you would discover vast differences between the religion of today and the religion of yesterday.” The book says that the law and faith should be separate, but the Justices of the Southern Kingdom have made the Book of Faith and the law the same, thus “any activity or opinion that questions the government is a sin… The Book of Faith no longer reflects the Lord’s will, but the will of men who use the Lord as a tool to manipulate their people.” 
• Brystal prays to God by saying, “Please, God, I need more than just faith to keep going. . .”