Willow has never felt like she belonged anywhere and is convinced that the only way to find a true home is to travel the world. But her plans to act on her dream are put on hold when her aloof and often absent mother drags Willow to Salem, Massachusetts, to wrap up the affairs of an aunt Willow didn’t even know she had. An aunt who may or may not have been a witch. There, she meets Mason, a loner who’s always felt out of place and has been in and out of foster homes his entire life. He’s been classified as one of the runaways, constantly searching for ways to make it back to his mom; even if she can’t take care of him, it’s his job to try and take care of her. Isn’t it? Naturally pulled to one another, Willow and Mason set out across Salem to discover the secret past of Willow’s mother, her aunt, and the ambiguous history of her family. During all of this, the two can’t help but act on their natural connection. But with the amount of baggage between them—and Willow’s growing conviction her family might be cursed—can they manage to hold onto each other? [x]
Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch was gifted to me by a loving friend of mine who works at an independent bookstore. They sent me an ARC of it, along with another book, and the second I read the description on the back, I knew I'd love it. Before I get into the review, I will put a blanket spoiler warning for the book!! I won't go into a lot of specifics, but there is one major spoiler near the end of my review, which I put another spoiler for right before it.
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This book has a dual first-person point of view, switching between Mason and Willow, which lets the reader see into both of their lives and learn about their innermost thoughts. I think this also contributed to how connected I felt to the characters because I was reading their thoughts, their experiences, and their very personal lives through their own eyes. Each chapter was labelled with their names so you don't get confused about whose point of view you were reading in, and in almost every chapter the point of view switches, so it was easy to predict whose point of view you'd be reading in next. I personally enjoy dual points of view, as it allows you to explore more than just one main character and lets you get a feel for both parties involved in the story. It also grants you access to another view of the character; in Willow's POV, for instance, I learned things about Mason that he might not say about himself in his chapters, and vice versa.
Some people prefer a single point of view as they find it easier to follow along with. I know as well that some people dislike the first-person point of view. If either of those things is true for you, you might not like this book as much as I did/do.
I have always loved YA books in general. Maybe it's because I was a young adult when I truly dove into books and my own writing, and the familiar plot lines and tropes are comforting to me. Or maybe it's because I can still connect with and relate to the younger characters in these books. This was definitely the case when reading Spells for Lost Things. Though my story is quite different than Willow's and Mason's, I found myself relating to their feelings of being lost and alone and never quite understood. This initial and almost instant connection I had with the main characters drew me in and allowed me to truly experience the story alongside them.
This story is so personal, so emotional that it drew me in and made me experience various emotions alongside Willow and Mason. I could feel their heartache and heartbreak, their confusion surrounding the little mysteries interwoven throughout the story (which I will talk about shortly), and their excitement at the prospect of maybe finding someone who could relate to their feelings of being lost.
All my life, and even to this day, I felt a little lost, a little alone, and very uncertain of my future. Though my experiences and upbringing were different than Willow's and Mason's, I could still relate to their pain. I know what it's like to feel distant from your family; to feel like you never truly belong or fit in; to not have hope for the future. I can relate to all of the feelings Willow and Mason felt, so when I was reading their stories it was almost as if I was reading a part of my story, too.
On a happier note, I mentioned the little mysteries within this story. Both Willow and Mason have their own little mysteries to solve, and this brought me a lot of intrigue and curiosity and made me want to keep turning the pages. For Willow, she has to figure out 1) why her mother never mentioned her dead sister or any of the eccentric aunts they meet in Salem, 2) why she never mentioned their family being actual modern-day witches, and 3) if the supposed curse on their family is true and if it is, how to break it. Mason's mysteries are pretty different: where is his mother and why did his new foster parents work so hard to foster him specifically?
All these questions and mysteries drive the plot forward and also help Willow and Mason grow closer. Speaking of which, I do love romance in a story, and while this isn't a romance book, the budding relationship between Willow and Mason pulled at my heartstrings. Speaking of relationships, all of the relationships (romantic and otherwise) were quite realistic and added depth to the story and characters within; from Willow's distant relationship with her mother to Mason's strange growing fondness with his foster siblings, each and every interpersonal relationship added to the story and made it feel more real. I know that seems like a "duh" moment; of course, the relationships would add to the story. But I've read some books where the relationships between characters felt forced and unrealistic and just made the whole book feel a little bland. Jenna Evans Welch, to me at least, captured the various relationships between family, adopted family, and new friends, and created a little community that I'd love to read more about.
I only have two minor complaints, if you will, about this book. The first one is minor, and it's only that I found the plot to be a little slow at the beginning. It took several chapters for Willow and Mason to meet, and though we're introduced to both Willow's and Mason's mysteries and struggles early on, I didn't truly feel connected to them until later in the book. But, maybe that's just me, and maybe it's just because the more I learned about the characters, the more I related to them.
***Major spoiler ahead! Skip the next paragraph if you don't want to be spoiled
The other complaint isn't really a complaint if you will but rather a shifted expectation. Mason's struggle throughout the book is trying to find his mom. His whole life is centred around his drug-addict mom who has lost custody of him. I was expecting him to find her, or that she'd find him and they'd be able to be together. He found her, but she pushed him away. She'd given up her parental rights to Mason's foster--now adoptive--parents and he was forced to deal with the fact that his mother might never recover from her addiction, and because of that, he might never see her again. I was disappointed at this, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm not disappointed because it affects the story or anything. I'm disappointed because that's reality. That's life. Not every story has a happy ending. Not every story ends the way you want it to. Many stories end poorly. Many stories have a silver lining. For Mason, his silver lining is that he gets to stay in Salem with his new family and get to be closer to Willow; he gets to start over and have a life that he never had.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the modern-day witch aspect, the YA struggles that I'm able to relate to, the undercurrent of romance, the secrets, and the way it was written. Because I did have an ARC, there were a few mistakes or inconsistencies, but I was listening to the audiobook as I went, and know they got fixed or changed. So, that little detail does not affect my overall impression.
I also loved this book because it was a gift from someone near and dear to my heart. I hadn't even heard of this book before my friend sent it; he just thought I'd like it. And my god was he right.
My overall rating for this book is 9.5/10, with 0.5 being taken away for the slightly slow beginning. But, overall, I loved this book and I recommend it to anyone who likes YA books with personable and relatable characters, real-life struggles, and hints of magic.
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