The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia (An Illustrated Novel)

Leia Ham

With atmospheric illustrations full of warmth, adventure, and friendship on every page, The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia is an unforgettable magical school story. To Sparrow Xia, power feels like fire; red-hot sparks dancing along her fingertips, or the blazing flames her brother wields. In a world where kids have magic and adults don’t, being a super-rare fire mage should give her the edge she needs to make the most of her magical years. But Sparrow feels like a fraud―for all its rarity, her fire-magic is so weak she can barely conjure more than a match flame. Starting school at Zenith Academy for Magical Development is her one chance to finally strengthen her magic―to turn her pitiful match flame into something powerful. Something special. While Sparrow battles to master her talents, a strange illness begins to seep into the school, draining students of their magic. When Sparrow and her new friends are drawn into the search for a cure, they’ll soon find that when magic means everything, some people will go to terrifying lengths to try to keep it. With exciting, atmospheric illustrations on every page, The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia is the beginning of an unforgettable adventure overflowing with friendship, mystery, and the truth that magic is everywhere.

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Dahlia • May 31
With a day left in AANHPI Heritage Month, I wanted to share some more of my favorite AANHPI reads to continue the celebration all year long! 🫶🏼

• The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia by Leia Ham - A captivating, witty, and magical middle-grade fantasy with stunning illustrations that explores family, friendship, and the weight of expectations. (Leia will join me for an Instagram live on June 12th to discuss and celebrate TMMoSX! We hope you join us. 🥳)
• The Ex-Boyfriend's Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee by Saki Kawashiro (translated by Yuka Maeno) - A hopeful, entertaining, and cozy novel of food, love, and the power of friendship inspired by the author’s own breakup story.
• Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei - An emotional, sea-swept SFF novel of sisterhood and salvation set in Earth’s future after an ecological disaster.
• Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong - A cinematic, sweeping YA contemporary fantasy with ghosts, Malaysian folklore, and friends-to-lovers romance.
• Shim Jung Takes the Dive by Julia Riew - A whimsical, heartfelt middle-grade fantasy with Korean folklore and captivating adventure set in an underwater kingdom.
• Midnight, at the War by Devi S. Laskar - An emotional, thought-provoking novel following a journalist set soon after 9/11.
• Dinner with an Astronaut by Leroy Chiao with Victoria Bruce - An entertaining and informative memoir of Leroy Chiao, one of the first Asian American astronauts, filled with witty anecdotes and thoughtful insight into space exploration.
• Morbid Curiosities by S. Hati - An addictive, creative, and emotional YA thriller set in San Francisco with a haunting STEM dark academia atmosphere.

Happy AANHPI Heritage Month! Thank you to HTP Books, Fierce Reads, Mariner Books, Epic Reads, Macmillan Audio, Crown Publishing, and Scholastic Press for the free review copies!