The Seven Magpies

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

In the early days of World War II, Maureen Frazer, 14, is sent to a
boarding school in the Scottish highlands. Largely ignored by her seven
roommates, Maureen learns that they belong to a club, the Secret Society
of Magpies. In order for someone to join the Magpies, Kathleen, the
prefect who controls the club, must leave a “sacrifice” at full moon
before a Celtic standing stone. The disappearance of the sacrifice fuels
the girls’ imaginations, so that when Maureen spots a furtive stranger
in a nearby valley, in the minds of the Magpies he becomes a German spy.


This evocative novel offers rich historical detail. Middle-school girls
will empathize with the sense of isolation associated with observing an
in-group from the outside. Recommended.