Welcome to Aldermere
Unseen Magic is the debut middle grade novel of Emily Lloyd-Jones and released on February 22, 2022.
The northern California town of Aldermere is notable for two things: its redwood hiking trails and for being a hotspot of weirdness. But what the town hides in plain sight is this: magic is real. And so are monsters.
11-year-old Fin moved to Aldermere with her mom when she was eight. Since then, she has come to regard the town as home, weirdness and all. The town has certain quirks: doors must be labeled or they can go anywhere; the ravens run their own protection racket; a monster lives in a nearby creek; knives can get a taste for your blood. And the tea shop does more than supply tea. It can change a person in exchange for a memory.
Fin has been using the tea shop to ease her anxiety, but when the tea shop abruptly closes, she decides to use the magic all on her own… to disastrous results.
Unseen Magic contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Fin's father was implied to have been both emotionally and physically abusive. Fin's mother escaped him and took Fin, and the two moved every few months as he kept stalking them. They went to Aldermere as a last resort, and Fin ended up trading away her memories of her father in exchange for the magical tea to ease her anxiety.
- Achilles' Heel: All magic including Teafin can be destroyed by fire. Which is particularly worrisome in California.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Despite herself, Fin ends up slightly amused by some of Teafin’s pranks, including vandalizing the mayor’s lawn.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- In universe, everyone speculates why Nick almost never comes into town. Is it because he’s been exiled? Because he cannot live within the boundaries of the magic?
- It's unclear whether or not the teashop can be found again. While it’s implied that Talia might have the means to locate it, there’s never any confirmation.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Fin, despite fully believing in the magic and strangeness of Aldermere, still doesn’t buy into the myth of Bigfoot.
- Arc Words: “Be brave."
- Asshole Victim: Arrogant, condescending River loses the science fair when Teafin steals part of his wind turbine.
- Awful Truth: Subverted, because while the truth that Fin's father was an abusive stalker is awful, running from that truth is what causes a lot of Fin's problems. Coming to terms with her past and her memories is what helps her anxiety.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Fin is a caring and empathetic young girl but it turns out she does have a wilder side. Teafin sets fires, pulls off pranks, and doesn't care what people think about her.
- Big Bad: While at first it seems like Teafin is going to have this role, Ben is actually the true threat to Aldermere.
- Big Damn Heroes: Morri, the raven, shows up at just the right time to help Fin save Aldermere.
- Book Ends: Both the beginning and ending of book have Fin going to see Talia.
- Both Sides Have a Point: When Ben talks to Fin about his reasons for selling out Aldermere, she can’t deny that there’s some validity to them. The town is dependent on tourism and with climate change and the uncertainty of the magic, using the tea as a tourist draw could revitalize the town and enrich its inhabitants. However, that would risk imperiling the magic and the local residents being driven out.
- Brick Joke: Eddie and Aunt Myrtle mention Mayor Downer trying to unsuccessfully implement a town ordinance about lawn height, and in a flashback, Fin wanders by the Mayor as she is measuring her neighbors' lawns.
- Chekhov's Gun: The rose quartz mortar is mentioned in the first scene but it isn’t until much later that Fin finds out the tea isn’t magical but the mortar is.
- Bittersweet Ending: Fin prevents Ben from outing Aldermere to the rest of the world and makes peace with both her mom and Teafin but the teashop is gone and may be lost forever. Fin herself also accepts that she needs to see a counselor for her anxiety and to deal with her newly recovered memories of her abusive father.
- Central Theme: You cannot run away from fear.
- Cool House: Fin and her mother live in an a-frame cottage in a redwood forest.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fin, as it turns out. She just doesn't remember it.
- Destructive Saviour: Teafin spends half the book trying to stop Ben but most of her methods seem to harm more than help. From setting a shed on fire to ripping a door-label free, chaos always follows in her wake. And Fin herself saves Aldermere by forcing the teashop to vanish.
- Does This Remind You of Anything??:
- Talia’s magical tea is used for everything from pain relief to building confidence to making Fin less anxious. It’s a form of magical self-medication.
- Fin's worries about Aldermere's inhabitants being pushed out of the town should the magic become public knowledge sounds a lot gentrification.
- Eldritch Location: While it appears charming, Aldermere flaunts the laws of physics in a way that can be terrifying. An unlabeled door can send a person anywhere in town, so you could be minding your own business when someone accidentally walks into your house.
- Enemy Mine: Fin ends up teaming up with Teafin in order to save Aldermere.
- Evil Feels Good: Teafin clearly revels in the chaos she causes.
- Funny Background Event: While Fin is inside the teashop for the first time, Mayor Downer is measuring people’s lawns to make sure they’re within town regulations only to have her ruler stolen by the ravens.
- Gentle Giant: Frank, a local handyman. He is intimidatingly tall, but he treats his pet ferret with kindness and is very easy-going.
- Improvised Weapon: When the tea monster first awakens, Eddie grabs an old lacrosse stick to defend the house. And after that, it becomes both his and Fin’s favored weapon.
- Made of Magic: Teafin is made of magic and tea. This allows her to shapeshift and fit through the smallest of cracks, but it also leaves her very vulnerable to fire.
- Mysterious Note: At the end of the book, Fin receives an envelope with a small packet of tea and a note reading, "Just in Case".
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If Ben hadn't tried to steal the tea, Fin likely would have just kept losing her memories.
- Nothing Is Scarier: The Bower's Creek monster. It never appears, no one knows what it is, and it stray eats pets. Everyone in Aldermere is very careful around that creek.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Mayor Downer tries to rule the town with an iron fist, but to her irritation, absolutely no one complies.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Fin when she first sees Teafin for the first time.
- Eddie has one of these moments when he realizes that they're going to fail their science fair presentation in order to save Aldermere.
- Ominous Fog: Being set in a redwood forest, Aldermere is often full of fog and mist. One wonders if that is part of the reason so many monsters live near town.
- The Reveal:
- The tea monster that Fin accidentally creates is a doppelgänger made of Fin's own discarded memories.
- The reason Mom and Fin moved so often was to escape Fin's abusive father, and the reason Fin doesn't remember him is because she traded those memories for magic.
- Useless Bystander Parent: Very much averted with both Mom and Aunt Myrtle. When Ben tries to physically attack Fin, Mom goes full Mama Bear. She also left her husband and went on the run for several years and returned to the hometown she hated in order to keep Fin safe.
- Quirky Town: Aldermere is a small town in north California full of Eccentric Townsfolk. And then there is the town itself:
- Doors have to be labeled or you can end up anywhere in town by walking through one.
- If a knife cuts you, you should get rid of it or else the knife will try again because it has a taste for your blood.
- Normal-looking deer have incredibly creepy shadows.
- There are also ten-legged mice and possibly Bigfoot.
- There's a monster in the creek and the only way to safely cross is to drop food into the water to make sure it isn't nearby.
- The teashop can sell you magical tea but it'll cost memories.
- The ravens require weekly tribute or else they'll start wrecking your garbage.
- Running Gag: Fin and Eddie using a lacrosse stick as an ineffective weapon, even though neither one of them plays lacrosse.
- Wham Line: When Fin remembers what she magically forget.Fin: Dad.
