Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope


Children - Preteen
187 Pages
Reviewed on 02/07/2018
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

M. Gail Grant resides in Canton, Georgia, surrounded by the North Georgia mountains, submerged in the culture of southern hospitality. Her writings have a twinge of the traditional, and balance between outrageous adventures, faith, and the mystical world of wizardry. Her youngest daughter, age nine, was the inspiration behind Magdalena Gottschalk: The Crooked Trail. Grant wanted to bring together a world of magic and enchantment within the every-day context. Watching her daughter's excitement as she watched the novel unfold was worth its weight in gold. She hopes Lily Brooke brings you lots of magic and wonder.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope is an action and adventure fantasy story for preteens written by M. Gail Grant. Magdalena was finally feeling healed after her extraordinary adventures that fall. Just sitting in the park watching as the Christmas season unfolded around her and wrapped her up in its magic was sheer delight. After the terrifying experiences she and her friends had had together, when they successfully battled and trapped the three demons, Magdalena had retreated within herself, not even reaching out to Gabriel, her best friend since they met in kindergarten. Gabriel wasn’t at all concerned about the fact that Magdalena was a witch, something that came out with her thirteenth birthday, and he was thrilled to see her finally outside again. The two best friends sat back and enjoyed the Christmas spirit that had descended upon the small town of Lily Brooke. They hatched a plan to get the gang together for a camping expedition. It had been way too long since the Mystical Alliance of Lily Brooke had been assembled. That night, the campfire was warm and cozy, and after a fun evening, the six companions were asleep, all snug in their sleeping bags. Then, Magdalena was roused from her slumber by strange noises coming from the woods. Could it be werewolves? Were they here? Now?

M. Gail Grant’s action and adventure fantasy story for preteens, Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope, is an exciting and fast-paced tale which follows the six young teens as they explore the Enchanted Forest and seek a way out of Queen Lindtzl’s booby-trapped castle. I was especially impressed with the strategies Magdalena and her friends use during their adventure and the way the six of them work as a team. Grant’s world of Lily Brooke and the Enchanted Forest is inspired, especially when seen in contrast, as the bucolic little town is such a difference from the supernatural world the forest represents. This story also works quite well as a coming of age tale as each of the characters adapts to the seriousness of their situation and masters fear and insecurity to help the other MALB teammates. Grant’s plot is sound and great fun to follow, and her characters are well-defined. Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope is most highly recommended.

Lit Amri

A vortex to another world, an enchanted forest and castle, and a three-headed beast- the magical adventure returns in Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope (Vol 2) by M. Gail Grant. Months after discovering her secret, 13-year-old Magdalena is still recovering from the chaos that happened last autumn. Luckily, the demons had been beaten and locked up inside enchanted lanterns, hopefully for eternity. She’s determined to enjoy her favorite festive season as Christmas approaches the quaint town of Lily Brooke. The MALB (Mystical Alliance of Lily Brooke) reunited and camped under their favorite old oak tree. The evening seemed perfect until Magdalena awoke to the sounds of werewolves.

The eye-catching cover complements the story and Grant’s prose is as charming as ever. The narrative is vivid, the dialogue is clean, and the moderate pace suits the plot well. That said, the beginning chapters may seem slow for readers who haven’t read the first book of the series, The Crooked Trail. There are enough details from its predecessor to give an idea how the story picks up from where it left off. On the other hand, reading the first book will give readers a better grasp of the dark subtlety of the premise. The characters’ development is deftly done and this definitely helps with the depth and the continuation of the story line. The MALB members show the strength of their friendship once again, as well as bravery and quick thinking. On the whole, The Slippery Slope is an entertaining and well-targeted fantasy for its intended young readers.

Deanna R Sweeney

Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope by M. Gail Grant is a tale about a young girl named Magdalena who is struggling to come to terms with her newfound existence as a witch. Magdalena and her friends, including her best friend Gabriel, have had many adventures together, but their latest has left them all reeling. A fight with demons to save their community has turned their view of the world upside down and they are desperately trying to regain some of their carefree childhood and put the incident in the past. Unfortunately for them, as they will quickly come to realize, once you open the door to the supernatural world, it isn’t so easy to go back to a life oblivious of its existence. Trouble finds this group of friends again and they set out on a desperate attempt to save one of their own.

Magdalena Gottschalk: The Slippery Slope by M. Gail Grant started off slowly and I found it repetitive at times, but I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. By chapter four the reader is thrown into an action-packed adventure with this group of friends. It was a good story and I think that it could be very well received in the pre-teen age group. If this was available in my 12 year-old son’s school library, I’m sure it would be one that he would want to read. I believe that if elementary school librarians gave this series a chance that it would be well received by young readers. I’ll be looking to purchase these books for my son. Well done!