title: Bad Magic (The Bad Books)
author:  Pseudonymous Bosch 
description: Gr 46Bosch is back with a novel that's part mystery, part adventure. This series opener features sixth grader Clay, the younger brother of the hero from Bosch's popular "Secret" books (Little, Brown). After an incident with some graffiti, Clay finds himself spending his summer at Earth Ranch, a camp for delinquent youth on a remote volcanic island. While at camp, Clay encounters a motley crew of eccentric kids; a llama that understands Spanish; a mysterious library; and, perhaps, even a bit of magic. Bosch employs, to great effect, his signature irreverence and hilarity packed into parenthetical asides and footnotes. The end result is a wacky, suspenseful mashup of Shakespeare's The Tempest and a summer camp tale that is a delight to read. Bad Magic is a clever and playful novel. An excellent addition to middle grade fiction collections.Amy Koester, Skokie Public Library
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00355.jpeg)
  
  OTHER TITLES BY OLIVER PÖTZSCH
  
  The Faust Series
  
   _The Master’s Apprentice_
  
  The Hangman’s Daughter Series
  
   _The Hangman’s Daughter_
  
   _The Dark Monk_
  
   _The Beggar King_
  
   _The Poisoned Pilgrim_
  
   _The Werewolf of Bamberg_
  
   _The Play of Death_
  
   _The Council of Twelve_
  
  The Black Musketeers Series
  
   _Book of the Night_
  
   _Sword of Power_
  
   _Knight Kyle and the Magic Silver Lance_
  
   _Holy Rage_
  
  ![](Images/image00354.jpeg)
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events,
  and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used
  fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
  events is purely coincidental.
  
  Text copyright © 2019 by Oliver Pötzsch
  
  Translation copyright © 2021 by Lisa Reinhardt
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or
  transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
  recording, or ot