The Rosemary Spell

Starred review from September 28, 2015
Debut author Zimmerman blends Shakespeare and magic in the enthralling story of three friends confronted with a mysterious book and a curious spell. Thirteen-year-old Rosemary “Rosie” Bennett, named after a line from Hamlet (“There’s Rosemary, that’s for remembrance”), and her friend Adam feel abandoned by Adam’s older sister, Shelby, whose attentions have turned to her boyfriend and play practice. Then the two find an old book hidden in a locked cupboard in Rosie’s house, which was once owned by legendary poet Constance Brooke. What they believe is Shakespeare’s false codex holds a powerful spell, one that creates “void and nothing.” Endangering Shelby, the two must figure out a way to reverse the spell before their memories of Shelby disappear forever. Their only hope is Constance, facing Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home. Zimmerman peppers the novel with engaging teachers, cozy reading nooks, and soft-lit bookshelves, a welcoming reprieve against the distressing portrayal of Constance’s Alzheimer’s and Rosie’s abandonment by her father. Plays and lore of Shakespeare trickle through this expertly plotted novel, which will leaving lovers of—and newcomers to—the Bard wanting more. Ages 10–14.

October 15, 2015
Grades 5-8 Like many kids who love books, Rosemary longs for an otherworldly adventure, and this debut reminds us to be careful what we wish for. Rosie lives in an old house where nothing ever happens, until she and her friend Adam find an old book hidden in a cupboard. Its pages are blank except for a few names and a quotation from Hamlet that Rosie knows as the source of her name: Rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray you, love, remember. When Rosie and Adam add their names to the book and see writing appear on the pages, they are thrilledand unprepared for the havoc that follows. Soon Adam's older sister, Shelby, disappears and, worse, no one can remember her. Even Rosie and Adam can only remember Shelby after they repeat one of the book's spells. When the children discover they have a narrow window of time to reverse the spell, they enter a breathless chase to find the counterspell. Zimmerman provides a wonderful blend of literary puzzles, adventure, and musings over memory and identity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2015
Rosemary and her friends explore memory and relationships through Shakespeare's works in Zimmerman's debut novel. Books engulf Rosemary Bennett's life. She and her mother, Claudia, a professor of English and a Shakespeare aficionado, live in the old house of their village's poet, Constance Brooke. While her father's books remind her of his absence, the rest of her bookshelf recalls fond memories with her best friend, Adam, and his sister, Shelby. Adam and Rosie work together on a school poetry project about Brooke, whose Alzheimer's makes it hard to remember her faithful visitors. Shelby's busy high school life is making it hard for her to remember Rosie and Adam too. But when Shelby falls victim to a magical hidden book in the cupboard, Adam and Rosie must fight to keep her and her memory alive. Zimmerman invites readers into a layered and magical mystery across generations of literature. She deftly weaves the difficulty of loss into a tale of triumph, Rosemary's strength of character keeping her buoyed through the emotional tumult she must navigate to save her friend. The sober subject matter demonstrates Zimmerman's understanding of what young readers face in real life, and the addictive flow of magic and suspense will keep pages turning until the very end. A spellbinding story about friendship and the power of prose. (Fantasy. 10-14)

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July 1, 2016
Adam, Rosemary, and Adam's sister Shelby grew up together, bonding through their interest in books. Now that Shelby is in high school, though, the threesome begins to dissolve. When Adam and Rosemary find a cursed book--just like in the novels they love--Shelby's metaphorical disappearance becomes a lot more literal. This well-constructed literary adventure holds obvious appeal for bookish middle-grade readers.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2015

Gr 4-8-Literary mystery and magic come together in a story for book lovers. Rosemary and her best friend, Adam, discover an old book in a locked bedroom cabinet, a book with writing that appears and disappears. When they read one of the poems to Adam's sister, Shelby, she vanishes, as do most of their memories of her existence. Using a quote from Hamlet written in the book to keep Shelby's existence alive in their minds, Rosie and Adam search for a way to bring her back. An elderly local poet whose brother vanished years ago may hold the key to reversing the spell, but her Alzheimer's makes her memory unreliable and their journey more difficult. The book is well written and full of rich language and detail. The incorporation of Shakespearean references and poetry gives the story a more mature feel and balances the youthful earnestness of Rosie and Adam. The mystery and magic are subtle, but the little clues that pop up keep the story tense. The many literary references, however, may be more appealing to librarians and teachers than to most middle school students, and there is limited action to grab young teens' attention. VERDICT This is an enjoyable story that the right readers will appreciate but may not pick up on their own without a recommendation.-Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.