Shayna herself complains she feels like “a pawn in a strategic game.” At least ditzy Shayna adds some humor to the proceedings, and “gothic Tinker Bell” Seneca brings in some pathos and punk flavor. The teens’ passivity robs the book of a sense of urgency. From then on, various fairies give our young heroes plot-solving gifts like the titular Himalayan Crystals and shuttle the gang from scene to scene while lecturing them on Fionian history. Understandably, the pace slows when Graham takes us to the real world to meet her four main characters, and the story nearly stalls out after they stumble into Fionia. Picture book author Graham ( Gabby Giggles, 2012) starts her YA debut with a bang the opening scene depicting Brigara’s banishment is exhilarating. What Brigara doesn’t know is that these students have their own latent powers, and when they learn to control them, they will have the ability to bring her down once and for all. She will send four of her students-Jake, Seneca, Shayna and Connor-over the magical threshold that leads into her homeland, Fionia, and manipulate them into doing her bidding once they’re stuck inside. Brigara lusts for revenge, and she has a plan.

More specifically, she is Brigara, a rogue druid who was cast out of a parallel fantasy universe centuries ago for practicing forbidden magic. Bridget is more than just a witch to her students she’s a witch, period.

Middlefield is a middle-of-the-road Midwestern town with a secret: Local high school biology teacher Ms. Four teens must find their courage and their way home after a druid traps them in a magical land.

Crossroads and the himalayan crystals