Review: Ms. Mulligan and the Enchanted Ice Cream by Tiffany Elaine

MS. MULLIGAN AND THE ENCHANTED ICE CREAM

by Tiffany Elaine

Ingramelliott

Middle Grade Fantasy

326 pages

Ms. Mulligan lives a charmed life. Literally.

Tabby Easterland wakes on her twelfth birthday to find herself magically transformed into the twenty-five-year-old "Ms. Mulligan," an event witnessed only by her young friends - the platinum-haired southern belle Dolly Hargrave and the hard-boiled urban detective wannabe Kat Dorsett. Hiding her true identity, Ms. Mulligan becomes a teacher at her own school, where a desperate search for answers lead the girls to seek out Tabby's long-lost father, discover an ancient mystical society, and fight the evil Black and White Sisters--witches determined to complete a long-planned curse upon Tabby. In a race against time, will love be enough to overcome the crippling curse and restore Tabby to her former self?

Although ripe with humor, romance, and thrills, Ms. Mulliganultimately reveals something deeper - Tabby's surprising discovery of inner strength and the bonds of love that persevere even amid the darkest of threats. 

MY TIDBITS

This reminds a bit of  the movie 13 Going On 30, but with a more solid middle school twist and a pinch of magical fun.

It's Tabby's twelfth birthday, but the last thing she expected was to wake up in a body of herself in her mid-twenties. Her best friends do their best to help her figure and sort things out. With a little luck and a bit of disaster, Tabby ends up as a teacher at the middle school and discovers some strange things about her own parents she never knew. Throw in the boy of her dreams actually chasing another girl and a science teacher who is more than she seems, and it's an adventure. Especially when the witches show up, ones that aren't to mess with.

I was excited to get my hands on this book and wasn't disappointed. This is middle school drama with tons of magic and adventure thrown in. Tabby is a delight to follow as she tries to come to terms with her situation and figure things out. Even when circumstances race out of control with her parents, witches, curses and everything else, she handles it very well for a twelve year old. She's fun to cheer for until the very end.

The book flows nicely and presents very realistic middle grade characters. Tabby's friends are true blue and have personalities all of their own, which help form a fun trio. There are several messages in the pages as well, but nothing which nears being preachy. Rather, the lessons learned flow right with the story and are grabbed up automatically. There could have been a bit more action, but the drama will hit the intended audience just right. It's a fun story with lots of imagination and is sure to be enjoyed by readers who love a little adventure, school drama, and magic.


And here she is...

Tiffany Elaine grew up writing stories for her friends to read chapter-by-chapter instead of doing homework. She brought her love of words to a career in business and entertainment writing, but fiction remains her first love. Tiffany lives in North Carolina with her family. Ms. Mulligan and the Enchanted Ice Cream is her first novel. She’s currently working on the next novel in the series, Ms. Mulligan and the Council of Butterflies.
Learn more at www.msmulligan.com