Kindle
$4.92
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$14.95
Paperback
$7.99
Kindle Price: $4.92

Save $1.47 (23%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $12.28

Save: $4.79 (39%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Annie Barrows
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Magic Half Kindle Edition

by Annie Barrows (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 306 ratings
See all formats and editions
From New York Times bestselling author of the Ivy and Bean series and blockbuster The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society comes a sweet and charming time travel story.

Miri is the non-twin child in a family with two sets of them-older brothers and younger sisters. The family has just moved to an old farmhouse in a new town, where the only good thing seems to be Miri's ten-sided attic bedroom. But when Miri gets sent to her room after accidentally bashing her big brother on the head with a shovel, she finds herself in the same room . . . only not quite.

Without meaning to, she has found a way to travel back in time to 1935 where she discovers Molly, a girl her own age very much in need of a loving family. A highly satisfying classic-in-the-making full of spine-tingling moments, both books in the delightful time-travelling Molly and Miri series is perfect for the whole family.

Don't miss the sequel:
Magic in the Mix

Awards for The Magic Half
The Virginia Readers' Choice Award list (2010-2011)
Missouri Mark Twain Reader Award nominee (2010-2011)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee
2011 Rhode Island Children's Book Award
2011 Massachusetts Children's Book Award
2011 Washington State Sasquatch Reading Award
Masterlist: 2011-2012 Florida Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (grades 3-5)
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 11 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 6
  5. Publisher
    Bloomsbury USA Childrens
  6. Publication date
    August 10, 2010
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  11. ISBN-13
    978-1599903583
  12. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—The middle child between two sets of twins, Miri often feels left out, overlooked, and unremarkable. When her family moves to a new home, she feels lonelier than ever. She soon learns from an elderly neighbor of a legend surrounding her house. According to town lore, many years earlier a thief left buried treasure somewhere on her property. Quickly, the siblings race to uncover it. Soon after the hunt begins she notices a small piece of glass taped to her wall. Looking through the lens, Miri finds herself still in her room, but in 1935. It is here that she meets Molly, a girl badly in need of help to escape her abusive situation, but Miri accidentally returns to her own time before she can save her new friend. Alone again, she must figure out how to rescue Molly before it's too late. This fast-paced story will delight anyone who has ever believed in magic, longed for a twin, or imagined the secrets their home might hold. The characters and setting are realistic despite the subtle elements of magic and time travel. Barrows conjures up a delightful tale brimming with mystery, magic, and adventure that will surely enchant readers everywhere.—Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Barrows, author of the well-received Ivy and Bean (2006),  tries her hand at a time-slip story. Miri is the cheese in a twin sandwich. Her older brothers torment, while her toddler sisters annoy. But soon after the family moves to an old Victorian house, Miri has something to take her mind off her siblings. Looking through the lens of an old eyeglass, she is transported back to 1935. There she meets Molly, who lived in the same house, under the thumb of her violent cousin. Miri becomes committed to bringing Molly to the present, but how is she going to do that? Finally, she puts together a plan, but so much depends on timing, to say nothing of the nature of time itself. Although Barrows once again presents utterly real kids, time travel is the core of the story, and though the logic seems thought out, readers may feel as Miri does: that getting their heads around the slippery concept gives them a headache. Still, this is pleasing fare that adds a bit of history and a tad of mystery into the mix. Grades 3-6. --Ilene Cooper

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00413PHUU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1st edition (August 10, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 10, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2298 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 306 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Annie Barrows

Annie Barrows

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Annie Barrows writes for both grownups and children. If you’re a grownup, read this paragraph:

Annie Barrows is the co-author, with her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer, of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, published by the Dial Press in 2008. An international best-seller, translated into 38 languages, the novel was adapted into a feature film in 2018. Her best-selling second novel, The Truth According to Us, was published in 2015. Annie lives in Berkeley, California, with her family.

If you’re a kid, read this paragraph:

Wow! Was that boring or what? Annie has written a bunch of books for kids. In fact, she has written NINETEEN books for kids, and all of them are very very good. Mostly, they’re funny too. She has written the award-winning series Ivy + Bean; the also-award-winning Magic Half and its sequel, Magic in the Mix; Nothing, for young adult readers (that means it has bad words in it); a picture book called What John Marco Saw (don’t worry—she didn’t draw the pictures); and The Best of Iggy, which is the first book in a new series about—you guessed it!—a kid named Iggy who does not play the cello, plant flowers by the side of the road, or learn his lesson and become a better person. Still, he’s a pretty great kid.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
306 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

MICHAEL MCDONALD
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable for Older Audiences as Well!
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
A few days ago, after celebrating my deceased mother's birthday, I had a flash of memory of her reading this book to me when I was younger. I loved it then, and I love it now! I'm fifteen, and I loved the aspects of time travel and magic. I finished this book in a day. It was exciting, suspenseful, and had me on my toes the whole time! This needs to be a fandom (if any of you parents can pick up on what I'm saying). I love this book. You probably will, too. Read it to your kids. Read it to yourself. This book is extremely memorable, much more than the Ivy and Bean series.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
ElisNic
5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting page turner!
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2008
Verified Purchase
The Magic Half was recommended to me by Jeanne Birdsall the author of The Penderwicks (another terrific read for this age group) and I was not disappointed. My 10 year old daughter and I read it together. It was wonderful. Miri is quite a likable main character. She is adventurous and a strong thinker - my daughter was trying to figure out each step along with Miri throughout the book. We got so involved in the story that my daughter begged to finish it one morning after breakfast - we read over 50 pages that morning in order to find out the magical ending. This was a joy! My daughter could easily have read it on her own and I am so glad she chose it as one for us to read together!
25 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars pretty good
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
I am 19 and just finished reading this book. I thought it was a pretty good book. It is geared more to a younger age and it is very simply written but I still liked it. The story line us very cool and though I liked it ok for what it was I feel like it could have been more elaborate and taken to another level. I would say its perfect for about a 5th grader which is ironic since the lead character is a 5th grader.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
Such a cute and clever story! It takes place split between modern day and the 1930s. Miri feels like the one child in her family who isn't special. She discovers her place with the help from Molly, a girl who lived in their house decades ago. The story is sassy, smart, and touching.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Carol Mello
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic makes things right
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a story I would have enjoyed reading when I was 9 or 10 or 11. Miri is the only non-twin among her brothers and sisters and she feels left out. Like a fifth wheel. One day on time out in her bedroom, she notices a lens from a pair of eyeglasses taped to the baseboard. She is a girl with imagination and curiosity so she peels off the tape and looks through the lens (her own glasses were broken during a tussle with one of her brothers) to check out the lens. There's a special magic that occurs which takes her back 75 years to her bedroom in the year 1935. She meets Molly, a girl exactly her age who needs magical help.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JJTH
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun story but had language that was Not appropriate for our family.
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
I read this book, to my three older children ages 10, 8, and 6. They were super excited to read it each night and would routinely beg for one more chapter. Honestly, I think if they were to review it, they would give it five stars. I found that the story was exciting and fun, but that I had to constantly edit the language. This book was not appropriate for me or my children. The Lord's name was taken in vain repeatedly, as well as phrases like "you suck," "stupid," "you jerk!" "I hate you," and "shut up" used between siblings. The book did have dark undertones and discussed the possible murder of a young child, but the language was the most offensive to me. I was glad that I read it to them, so that I could edit it. I wish I could recommend this book to others, but I cannot. I have never written a review before, but I wish someone else had warned me.
26 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this delightful little book
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Loved this delightful little book! I'm an adult but this would appeal to the 10-13 year old group as well, I think. As a fan of Edward Eager and Elizabeth Enright, I'm always on the lookout for similar books - books that contain magic and a bit of mystery, and that take us back to our childhood days when anything is possible, fairies exist, and time travel is easily achieved! LOVED this book!!
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
sucks hate it
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
I liked this book. At first it seemed a little babyish but the ending was very pleasing. Great book for girls ages 9-11.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

kim8
5.0 out of 5 stars Magical Journey
Reviewed in Australia on May 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
I love a good time travel story and The Magic Half didn’t disappoint. Molly and Miri were always meant to be together and they made it happen. So glad this is a series. I want to spend more time with the girls and their family.
A fantastic middle grade book.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report