Product Description

Gypsum LaZelle is the middle child in a gifted family of witches and warlocks. But unlike her siblings, she has no gift to call her own. Until she wakes from a fever--and discovers that she possesses a strange and frightening power.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #684934 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-25
• Released on: 2004-05-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Amazon.com
The LaZelle family of southern California has a secret: they can do magic. Real magic. As a teenager, a LaZelle undergoes "the Transition"--a severe illness that will either kill him or leave him with magical powers. If he's lucky, he gains a talent like shape-changing or wish-granting. If he's unlucky, he never experiences Transition. If he's especially unlucky, he undergoes Transition late, which increases his chances of dying. And if he survives, he will bear the burden of a dark, dangerous magic: the ability to cast only curses. And curse he must, for when a LaZelle doesn't use his magic, it kills him.

In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Fistful of Sky, Gypsum LaZelle is unique among her brothers and sisters: she has not undergone Transition. She resigns herself to a mundane, magic-bereft existence as a college student. Then one weekend, when her family leaves her home alone, she becomes gravely ill... --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
Stoker winner Hoffman attains a new level of maturity and complexity with this coming-of-age contemporary fantasy. Unlike her charismatic, beautiful mother and her four remarkable siblings, Gypsum, the middle daughter of the magical LaZelle family of Southern California, is a misfit who hasn't "transitioned" during adolescence into her special gifts and powers. Instead, she takes after her perfectly normal father. Intelligent, resourceful and caring, Gyp deals with her lack of magic by growing into a self-effacing, low-profile but still greatly beloved member of the family. Then suddenly at age 20, Gyp attains her gift, the "unkind" power of curses. Gyp's struggles to deal with her newfound dark power are emotional, frightening and hilarious. By the story's end we've had to confront, just as the LaZelles do, that even members of the most wonderful, loving, close-knit families in the world can innocently inflict considerable damage on each other. While making the story both humorous and enlightening, Hoffman never allows the reader to forget this is also a scary situation for her group of exceptionally well-developed characters. The lyrical writing flows at a perfect pace and is as engaging as the characters. With its themes of family, magic, love and healing, the novel may appeal more to women and adolescents than men, while its ending may be a bit too touchy-feely New Age for some. But the sense of wonder, lack of cynicism and sheer craft compare to vintage Ray Bradbury.awards.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The LaZelles are remarkable in one all-important way: when the children become young adults, they "transition" into magical versions of themselves. Once in a while, one doesn't transition until much later, which rarely bodes well for the late bloomer. Now out of high school, Gypsum is the apparent late-bloomer of her generation. Her father, nonmagical because LaZelles must marry out of their clan, her tutoring job at the local city college, and, more often than not, food are her consolations. But one weekend when the rest of the family is visiting her eldest sister, Gyp falls very sick--and wakes up with the oddest feeling. Discovering the extent and disturbing side effects of her power makes for some very effective confrontations with formerly pitying family members and for chilling moments when she proves able to draw personalities out of inanimate objects, including even the stones she walks upon. The plot moves gently along, and the book's real attractions arise from its portrait of family dynamics and its sympathetic heroine. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Very imaginative
Gypsum LaZelle is a misfit in her family. All of her siblings have come into their magical powers, inherited from their beautiful mother, and she has resigned herself to the fact that like her dad she'll have to live her life without the assistance of magic. More than a fantasy, this book delves into the dynamics of this family which is why I find it so interesting (though the magical aspect is very imaginative as well). Gypsum's mother is beautiful, perfect and very controlling. She does some unforgivable things to Gypsum, if you ask me, but much like reality you can't choose your family. Fortunately, Gypsum has a close relationship with (most) of her siblings and dad's a good guy.

Eventually, Gypsum falls ill and undergoes her transition and inherits a dark power which is common when transition arrives so late. Fearful of what her power may do she must use it or it will poison her (so says her uncle when she comes to him feeling sick to her stomach). I'm just at the point where she is tentatively experimenting with her newly discovered power of wishing things into existance.

This book managed to hold my attention to the end even though I had to keep putting it aside because my reading time has been reduced to 5 minutes every other day. It's a good look into the family dynamics of magical household.

Really Great
I loved this book, my mom found it at value village and it took me a while to actually pick it up but once i did i coundlt put it back down, so amazingly imagitive and beautiful. I was finished within two days , such a easy read. Just alot of fun , now i want to raed her other books

interesting
i flew through this book, it took me literally an evening to read through it. i thought it was very fun and engaging and was sucessful at bringing magic into a modern setting (something that can be more difficult than is seems apparently). overall it was very enjoyable. a great, light read.