Abby Carnelias One Only Magical Power by David Pogue

Abby Carnelias One Only Magical Power Reviews

• 
  Kailyn Kausen

  RTC
• 
  Colleen Venable

  One of the sweetest, most thought provoking middlegrade novels I've read in a long time! The premise is that we all have some magic power however dumb and completely useless. Like saaaay spinning an egg with earlobe tugs or maybe even levitating a quarter of an inch, but ONLY if we are thinking about Bison....walking backwards...wearing...um...diapers? Most people never find their magical power...but this book is about a group of kids who do. A devouring read. Each chapter ended with a sentence that firmly hit me in the gutt or funny bone, which were then perfectly matched by an amazing opening sentence to start off the next. This really is a gem and it wasn't just the fantastic premise or creepy intriguing cover, though those helped. I'm so glad David Pogue took time to put away the toys for a bit and prove that he isn't just gadgets and gizmos but is REALLY one heck of a good writer. Oh and yes, if you noticed that extra bookshelf-category I put this in, it did make me cry, but not for any of the reasons you may be guessing.
  
  Okay MAYBE one of the reasons you are guessing, at least if you are guessing "backwards Bison in diapers." I have a feeling I won't be the only reader laughing at that part.
• 
  Thurston Hunger

  The boys seemed to like this one, and it planted an early seed of corporate distrust, assuming they did not take this as a pity party for Big Pharma and their struggles to make billions off pills.
  
  Anyways, its hard to argue with the idea that all kids are special, and having it set loosely against a back drop of magic (I wouldn't read this strictly for a kid who is fascinated by magic, as that is a small part of the story). Pogue's humor got a few chortles out of the boys, but keep in mind they are easy marks at this age and see Dave Pilkey's talents as limitless.
  
  Fans of Pogue's tech column will find that he mostly kept his inner geek in check, although we do have some simple cryptography and talk of piezo- and motion- sensors (and powers calculated to by pass them). So in that way Abby Cadabra's band of renegades are a gang of hackers, perhaps?
  
  An aside to fellow parents, if you are going to read it aloud then practice a little Kermit the Frog for when Phil Shutters shows up. Oh and one other comment, it was fascinating to me how towards the end, as Pogue writes himself into the story, the boys were so certain this was a "true story." It shows how lovingly trusting young kids are, and how they are ready to accept the strange, wonderful and indeed magical, into their lives.
  
  Just keep them away from telemarketers and Soylent Green.
  
• 
  Shanel Sayre

  All I remember from reading this was the letter she sent to her family with the secret message. I thought that was the coolest thing. 8/10 would recommend.
• 
  Josh Newhouse

  What a odd but nice little story... Reminded me in the second half of the limit... What a great message and what a great activity you could do with this book with an elementary class as a brainbreak... Maybe even as a science experiment...
• 
  Julia

  3.5
  
• 
  Samma Lynne

  Actual rating: 3.5
  
  Great concept. The ending and explanation of the framing device saved it from being a straight 3, but it still felt a bit flat in many places.
• 
  Josie

  Actually really, really, really good. Very unpredictable. I liked it, totally recommend it. :)
• 
  Sierra

  A great book about friendship. It isn't as dumb as you would think
• 
  MaoMeow1035

  5th to 7th grade level
  Abby finds that she has a magic power and she goes cra-cra. She decides to go to a magic camp to see if anybody else has powers. Once she gets to Camp Abracadabra, she finds that she is not the only one with powers. She transfers to a creepy place where her life becomes a bore as instrucors are more enthusiastic than she is about her egg spining magic. Suddenly, she and her friends have a suspision and she gets involved into a lot more drama than she hoped. Plz read the book to find out more and i wont say any more cause' it would spoil the book!!!!!
• 
  Curtis Gibby

  Better for its intended YA audience than for me.
• 
  Samantha Reid

  I read it for my fourth-grader's book club. It was cute and a quick read.
• 
  Urs

  I have read several of David Pogue’s technology and computer books, as well as many of his articles. He is a good writer who provides useful information in a very readable and sometimes humorous format. Still, who knew that he could write a decent children’s book, too?
  
  In this book, Abby Carnelia discovers that she has a special power, although a seemingly useless one. She goes to a ritzy magic camp to try to learn more about her power, and eventually ends up in a super camp with campers that have similar, seemingly useless powers. Only, Abby and her friends learn that it is not a camp at all, and that they may be guinea pigs for a pharmaceutical company!
  
  I read this book with my nine and eleven year old nieces. The content was appropriate for their ages. Abby and her friends are funny characters, and the premise is an interesting one. My nieces really enjoyed the book, and I did, as well. Knowing the author even had a tiny payoff in the book.
  
  This was not the best children’s book around, but it was a good, enjoyable read for the age group and more than tolerable for an adult that might read it with a child. I bought two copies of this book, so that we all could read it together, and I do not regret the purchase.
  
• 
  Amanda

  I listened to the audio book read by David Pogue himself and found it to be pretty enjoyable. He isn't the best reader I've come across but he does a pretty god job of doing voices and conveying the story in an interesting way.
  
  In her kitchen, while helping her mother make a salad, Abby Carnelia discovers her one and only magical power. Her power isn't something exciting or useful and she really can't believe that she has it. After a few days, she comes to terms with her new found "power" but feels pretty alone. After her parents spot an advertisement for a magic camp, Abby starts to feel like maybe she'll find other kids with powers at camp. After arriving at Camp Cadabra, Abby meets Ben, a camper with a great magic trick. When Abby and Ben are both transferred to a super camp for very talented kids, they start to realize that something about this camp is not right and they need to act quickly before they become participants in something much bigger and more sinister than a simple summer magic camp.
• 
  Kate

  Maybe this review isn't entirely objective because I didn't finish the book. But since I am reviewing the audiobook version, I think it's only fair to warn potential listeners: good grief, is this insufferable. Pogue should never have performed this himself; it is read gratingly, in an overdramatic tone of voice, and it doesn't help that Pogue's natural speaking voice is a bit hard to listen to. Abby's father's voice and her camp counselor's in particular were brutal to listen to.
  
  I took this audiobook out from the library, ran some errands around town, and returned it on my way home after suffering through most of the first CD. It was that bad. The writing was terrible with tons of purple prose and unrealistic dialogue (what 11-year-old girl greets her friends with "HEY DAWG!" or refers to "firing up Google"?), and nothing at all was happening by the time I'd gotten through the first of five CDs. Maybe it's more bearable in written word form, but as an audiobook, I found it absolutely intolerable.
• 
  Chelsea

  Abby Carnelia is a special kid. While helping her mother make lunch one day, she discovers she can make a hard-boiled egg spin simply by tugging on her ears. In support of this new talent, her parents send her to the prestigious Camp Cadabra to learn more about magic. Once there, she meets other kids just like her. But it soon becomes clear that something at the camp is not quite right. Abby and her new friends need to figure out exactly what is going on... before it's too late!
  
  This book is totally super cute. It is full of age appropriate pop-culture references, fun and interesting little tid-bits about magic, and has a fun "summer camp" atmosphere. The kids' dialogue is true to life, the story is believable, and the writing does not condescend to the reader. David Pogue has written a whimsical story about coming into your own, and kids all over will be racing to find their unique power!
  
• 
  First Second Books

  One of the sweetest, most thought provoking middlegrade novels I've read in a long time! The premise is that we all have some magic power however dumb and completely useless. Like saaaay spinning an egg with earlobe tugs or maybe even levitating a quarter of an inch, but ONLY if we are thinking about Bison....walking backwards...wearing...um...diapers? Most people never find their magical power...but this book is about a group of kids who do. A devouring read. Each chapter ended with a sentence that firmly hit me in the gutt or funny bone, which were then perfectly matched by an amazing opening sentence to start off the next. This really is a gem and it wasn't just the fantastic premise or creepy intriguing cover, though those helped. I'm so glad David Pogue took time to put away the toys for a bit and prove that he isn't just gadgets and gizmos but is REALLY one heck of a good writer. This book feels like bright orange.
• 
  Miss Pippi the Librarian

  Abby Carnelia wasn't looking for magic. It appeared before with a simple tug of an earlobe. After tugging her earlobe, a hard boiled egg spun around. It's different, it's freaky. Did other kids have such powers?
  
  Abby's journey is amusing. If readers enjoy everyday magic, this would be an excellent read to pass along. If readers are more into fantasy magic, this selection would be easy to pass up. The best part of the book would be the author's notes at the end of the story. I wish his notes would have been at the beginning. I would have enjoyed this story with the extra background knowledge.
  
  David Pogue writes for the New York Times. He also appears on television and blogs. As a reader, his rendition was all right. It felt a bit over the top to me. At times, his enunciation was not clear. It was rather amusing to hear a magic camp called, "Abra Cadaver." As I stated earlier, if a child is interested in reality based magic, this book is for you.
• 
  melissa1lbr

  Things I Liked:
  This book was a lot of fun to read. Abby was a regular girl, until she discovers her power. But, she still felt very much like your average tween looking to figure stuff out. The magical aspect of the book will appeal to fans of Savvy and The Girl Who Could Fly and the humor and fun will appeal to everyone else. A sweet and silly book that will have kids wishing they could figure out what their odd power is.
  
  Things I Didn't Like:
  I have to admit, the book seemed pretty forgettable (despite its silly premise) and it certainly lacked the personality and spunk of the two books mentioned above, possibly because of the adult narrator aspect. It also was a bit predictable in the story, as I was quite sure of a few things almost from the start. Still, it will make for a fun fantasy read for younger tweens.
  Full review at
  One Librarian's Book Reviews.
• 
  Reading Vacation

  I loved the idea of kids having magical powers. In fact, it makes me wonder if everyone has some sort of magical power inside of them just waiting to be found. Abby had to tug on her ears while looking at a hard-boiled egg to make the egg spin. The funniest one was a girl who had to think of a bison walking backwards in a diaper to make her power appear. All of the powers were pretty useless, but that is part of what made the story so fun to read.
  The story turned more serious when the drug company came into play. I didn’t like the idea of a drug company doing tests on the kids. It was disturbing to think about. I did, however, like to read about Abby and her friends plotting their escape.
  
• 
  Adriana

  I was expecting something cute and fluffy when I picked up this book. It's not cute and fluffy. I was, in fact, horrified. This is not a children's book like
  The Penderwicks is a children's book. It's more like
  Harry Potter is a children's book, Harry Potter references not withstanding.
• 
  Tracy

  This was a harmless story with an odd ending. Abby, an 11 year old girl, accidentally discovers she can make a hard boiled egg spin when she looks at it while tugging on her earlobes. And...that's pretty much it. She wants to figure out why she can do this, so she goes to magic camp. The magic camp is normal at first, but when camp counselors notice Abby's special power, things start to get weird.
  
  Not sure if this is a spoiler, but her magic is never explained, other than the author saying "there might be a little bit of magic in all of us." I can see a little kid really latching onto that idea. The intended audience will enjoy this story.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Addison Children's Services

  Abby isn't very interested in magic, but when she accidentally discovers she can make a hard-boiled egg spin by tugging on her earlobes, she thinks perhaps she should sign up for magic camp to see if she can get some explanations. She doesn't get any explanations, but she does get selected for super magic camp along with a girl who can levitate a � inch by thinking of buffalo running backwards wearing diapers, and a boy who can fog glass by counting in Spanish by twos while inhaling. When they arrive at super magic camp it looks a lot more like a high security corporate headquarters than any summer camp they have ever seen. So now that they are in, can they get out?
• 
  Elle Blake

  This is the most AMAZING BOOK EVER!
  Like I read this book 2 years ago and I forgot the title..
  I searched for 4 hours straight looking for it because yes it's seriously that AWESOME!
  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THE PLOT!
  This book is perfect for everyone!
  To unleash your powers you have to do the most unusual -est thing like Pull on both your earlobes
  (Can't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything)
  Just trust me on this one..
  If it's a rainy day and you so happen to have the book...
  Then you are one lucky person and I hope you enjoy it..
  While I have to go find a library that actually has it...
  I MUST FIND IT!