Book Review: Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders

Posted on August 19, 2025 at 6:23 am by Gene Ambaum

Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders. Tor, 2025. 9781250867322. 320pp.

Jamie teaches classes while continuing to research but failing to write her dissertation. She has a secret — she can do magic. She shares this with her mother, Serena, who used to be a lawyer but who retreated from life because of scandal and the death of her wife, Mae. But Jamie does not share the secret with her partner, Ro, which causes huge problems between them, as does the way Serena begins to use magic.

Jamie’s magic is about expressing what she truly craves, about asking for what’s possible and not getting greedy. It seems to have few and fast rules. I loved how she uses it to research Sarah Fielding and her companion, Jane Collier. In particular, Jamie is looking into a novel written in 1749, Emily, that’s often attributed to Fielding; Jamie feels like the book is full of secrets meant just for her. (When Jamie becomes the target of harassment, she continues researching the friends’ correspondence and the novel, and discovers the truth behind that feeling.)

I don’t read much fantasy with contemporary settings, but Charlie Jane Anders has written two of my favorites, this book and All the Birds in the Sky. Seriously messed-up parents, a realistic romantic relationship, magic, and literary analysis — this book would have been perfect for me when I was studying English literature, and it’s perfect for me now.