Melissa Keil

Sophia is smart, like genius-calculator-brain smart. But there are some things no amount of genius can prepare you for, and the messiness of real life is one of them. When everything she knows is falling apart, how can she crack the puzzle of what to do with her life? Joshua spends his time honing magic tricks and planning how to win Sophia's heart. But when your best trick is making schoolwork disappear, how do you possibly romance a genius? In life and love, timing is everything. From Melissa Keil, the award-winning author of Life in Outer Space and The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, comes this captivating novel about two extraordinary teens, and the unsolvable problem of life after high school.

The Secret Science of Magic

Lysh (She/Her)

For me, “The Secret Science of Magic” by #LoveOzYA author Melissa Keil, was relatable and quirky. Being a relatively recent high school and uni graduate, I still vividly remember the tension of year 12 career decisions, feel the nervous butterflies fluttering during university open days, and the awkward certainty of my first kiss. In this novel, we flip between the point of view of Sophia and Joshua, near high school graduates at St Augustine’s in Melbourne. (With further research, I’m unsure if this is based on a real Melbourne school or simply made up to suit the plot. There is one in Yarraville but that seems further removed from the Fitzroy/Carlton/Collingwood/Abbotsford Convent settings described throughout...). 

Sophia is a genius with severe anxiety and has only come to have an anxious response to the world since others have brought to her attention the fact that she doesn’t function in a “normal” manner. She struggles to understand jokes, communicate with others, and spend time with crowds. Sophia has no idea what career path to follow; afraid of failure in the face of high expectations. Joshua feels the burden of his parents’ breathing down his neck about university courses. To take his mind off this stress he focuses on learning magic tricks and uses these to make himself known to Sophia, who he has been fawning over for years. 

I appreciate how relatable this novel is to young adults. The plot points were moving and important for the stage of life the characters were in. I love the subtle and natural inclusion of a Sri Lankan main character - Sophia! THIS IS WHAT DIVERSE LITERATURE SHOULD BE LIKE. Nothing was forced, but it simply reflected a very real and modern Melbourne experience. Kiel’s writing style was wonderful and her inclusion of modern pop culture references added to my love of the characters and my connection to them as “real” people I could bump into on the street. Not to mention the love story - organic and truthful to life. Well done, Keil! 

I would have liked to see a more even split between Sophia and Joshua’s chapters. This novel was very heavy on Sophia’s point of view, which meant Joshua’s development was lacking. I also would have enjoyed seeing Sophia’s parents and her interactions with them as they are strangely absent from the whole novel. 

Recommended to young adults in the truest sense of the word 
Format: paperback
Rating: 4/5 Stars 
2018: 29/40 books

The Secret Science of Magic

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