This novel is about a 10-year-old girl named Beatrice. Bea has experienced much grief and loneliness lately- her beloved grandmother Glad passed away, her father is absent from much of her life, and her best friend moved to another state. Her mother is also struggling to keep Glad’s barber shop in business. Beatrice believes that if she transforms into the Tin Man, she will no longer feel sad and forlorn. She makes a handful of wishes, but wishing in fountains proves unsuccessful. An unusual new boy in town, Caleb, claims that his grandmother is a witch with magic powers. Beatrice makes a deal with the witch, which predictably goes awry.

This book, targeted for ages 8-12 (grades 3-7), had some plot inconsistencies which left the reader with questions. For example, we are led to believe that Caleb’s grandmother (the witch) stole money from a store. If she indeed has magical powers, what is her motive for the robbery? The reader never finds out if she is caught for the crime.  Beatrice has 8 rescue cats, named after the planets. The cats accompany her to school, sit at the table for meals with Bea, and go into stores with her. The inclusion of the cats in the story was largely superfluous, especially if we are to believe that Bea and her mother can barely afford to feed themselves. Bea’s loneliness would have been more profound and relatable without the inclusion of these farcical feline companions.

While this book may be a good fit for children of divorced parents or children experiencing grief, Bea felt quite unrelatable as a result of the magical realism that was absurd at times and distracting from the narrative. Bea receives a written message from her deceased grandmother, one word at a time, in the pocket of doll.  Bea’s father does make a brief appearance before predictably leaving again, but not before Bea gives him an expensive family heirloom to help his fraudulent money-making scheme. Bea is naively trusting for a character we are made to believe is smart and discerning. The dialogue of the young characters also felt unrealistic.

Two stars.