Most students and staff at Esther’s boarding school think that the new teacher, Mrs. Pollock, is wonderful—her teasing is so funny! But Esther, who is white, thinks Mrs. Pollock’s humor is cruel. Why doesn’t anyone else agree? It’s not the only strange thing going on. Esther’s dad, a historian, is convinced environmental changes disrupting the oceans is the work of an evil fiend, but he can’t get others to take him seriously. After an attack by Shadow Mages at the school, observant Esther tries using the limited magic skills she has to keep everyone safe. But Mrs. Pollock’s continual “teasing” make it harder and harder to feel confident, something Esther already struggles with. Then Esther discovers that she has magical gifts beyond anything she imagined, but accepting them means re-living a traumatic event from her early childhood. She’s caught glimpses of it in her dreams without understanding the whole story, let alone that it holds the key to why Esther’s mother seems to ignore her—a source of ongoing pain. Told in Esther’s first-person voice, this distinctive fantasy is uplifting even as it tackles serious issues, including bullying, manipulation, fear, love, fallibility, and forgiveness. Esther’s family’s dynamics with sisters Imogen and Astrid and their parents are intriguing, as is the way the book explores how easily people rationalize cruelty, in a story that ultimately is a triumphant tale of self-worth. (Ages 9-12)