Chicago Winter Break (School for Unusual Magic #2)

Three friends discover magic and mayhem around every corner of their school in this illustrated series from New Yorkercartoonist and NAACP Image Award nominee Liz Montague that’s perfect for fans of Witchlings and The Wizards of Waverly Place.

After a chaotic semester of Elementary Magic, Rose, Amethyst, and Lav have found themselves with new magical skills up their sleeves which will come in handy when they begin Middle Magic next year. But school is the last thing on their minds over winter break. Tensions are high between the Land Walkers and the Merfolk’s mysterious leader Frost. Worse, Amethyst’s mom has gone missing with an extremely illegal wand, and everyone--their classmates, Principal Ivy, the Committee--thinks she’s somehow involved in the disappearance of Rose’s cousin Heather. But Amethyst is determined to find her mother and set everything right. Her mom just has to be innocent!

When a secret about Amethyst’s identity is revealed, her whole world comes crashing down. She doesn’t understand how her mom could keep something so important from her. Is her mom actually the villain or is something even darker at work here? She’ll have to trust that Rose and Lav can keep the peace above ground while she ventures underwater for answers...

Liz Montague began as a cartoonist for The New Yorker in 2019. She is the author-illustrator of the graphic novel Maybe an Artist, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, the picture book Jackie Ormes Draws the Future, and middle grade series Magic for Beginners. Liz is passionate about nature and emotional literacy. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her husband Pat.