Old Magic is the story of a girl, Kate, who was raised as a "witch" by her grandmother. One day a new boy, Jarrod, shows up at school, and she senses that he has powers, too, but is unaware of it. She learns about him and his family's history and how unlucky they've been, almost as if they were cursed. Together they go on a journey through time to stop the surse on his family.
The thing I like most about this book is the use of a strong female protagonist, something that is rarely seen in today's literature. Kate knows what she wants, what she believes in, and isn't afraid to stand up for herself.
What I didn't like was how the author used the male protagonist, he was weak and had low self esteem. Is there some literature law that you can't have both a strong male protagonist and a strong female protagonist? The author's portrayal of Jarrod's character was unrealistic. He starts out weak, and then he'll gain confidence, and then he'll rapidly lose his confidence for seemingly no reason. This just seems very unrealistic to me. In my experience when people gain real confidence, they tend to keep it up until someone or something tears them down; they don't just go back to being weak for no reason. I just don't see any real character growth for Jarrod, until, literally, the last page.
Overall though, I did enjoy the book. It was very entertaining and great for a quick read.
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