The Magnolia League

  The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch follows Alex, a deadlocked hippie raised on a communal farm after the death of her mother as she moves to Georgia to live with her rich grandmother who is the leader of the elite Magnolia League.  Alex soon finds out that the good looks and riches that come to the Magnolia League are the result of magic and that magic comes with a cost.

The Magnolia League while flawed was very engrossing.  Alex was a likable character and the magic of the Magnolia Girls (MG's) made for a story that flowed very well and I had no problem finishing the book and will be reading the sequel.  However, unlike in many novels instead of the main character learning and growing from her experiences Alex became more vapid and shallow as each chapter progressed and only had a slight redemption in the end. 

Appropriateness:  This is not a book I would recommend to teenagers that are not reading adult books on a regular basis.  The substance use was so frequent (and not portrayed negatively) in this book that it bothered me.  The main character was raised on a pot farm and smokes pot a lot with no consequences at all and there is also lot of drinking and partying which is encouraged by the adults in her life.  In the beginning of the book for example, Alex is found smoking pot by her grandmother who tells her that it smells bad and that she should smoke cigarettes instead because that's what they own stock in.  The drug use is seen to be normal, and no big deal.  The pot growing farm that Alex is born on is seen as bad only in a consumerist way.  Alex goes to several drunken parties and her friends drug her to perform magic several times.  Her romantic relationships were unhealthy (with her first boyfriend calling her Pudge and refusing to acknowledge her relationship in public) and she was more worried about the physical aspects of her relationships (and willing to take them to the next level very quickly) than the emotional.  If your child chooses to read this book I'd be sure to have a long discussion about drug use, healthy relationships and why money and looks will not make you happy.  


This book will be enjoyed by teens who enjoyed The Lying Game, and the  Gossip Girl series.


Review copy obtained by publisher.