An anxious aspiring filmmaker bands together with an unlikely friend group to protect their beloved state animal in this “stirring” ( Booklist ) contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Jamie Sumner and Erin Entrada Kelly. Twelve-year-old Olive Blackwood’s dream is to direct blockbuster fantasy movies, just like her dad wanted to before he died. She decides to apply to the highly competitive Rose City Summer Film Camp with the help of her best friend, Kayla. But Olive isn’t sure how she can cast the movie when the mere thought of talking to a stranger makes her nervous. Then a surprise project in Olive’s film class presents her best chance at going to Rose City: the group who makes the best documentary trailer will receive a recommendation to the elite program! But Olive’s hopes are quickly dashed when she’s paired with the two worst students in class: loud Jo Willems has a flashy style of dressing just as intimidating as their outspoken opinions and David Moore is even quieter than Olive, fading into the background. It seems impossible for the three of them to find enough common ground to produce something noteworthy. When Olive stumbles across an old lady chasing a beaver with a frying pan, she’s disturbed to discover it’s legal to kill beavers in Oregon—which has the animal on the state flag! Olive posts the video she took of the incident, and it goes viral. She wants to raise more awareness, and if she uses her documentary to do it, she could even get the coveted Rose City recommendation at the same time. With the help of unexpected friendship, counseling, and a little everyday magic, can Olive make her voice be heard? "A stirring story that will give any film aficionado a boost of confidence and creativity." ― Booklist "Two thumbs up for this necessary novel about anxiety and self-advocacy." ― Kirkus Reviews Sonja Thomas (she/her) writes stories for readers of all ages, often featuring brave, everyday girls doing extraordinary things. Raised in Central Florida—home of the wonderful world of Disney, humidity, and hurricanes—and a Washington, DC, transplant for eleven years (go Nats!), she’s now “keeping it weird” in the Pacific Northwest. Ruled by coffee and cats, a few of her favorite things are dancing to music blasting in the living room, traveling to new places and buying a magnet before leaving, and snuggling with her furry friend, Gabbie Lu—just don’t let her roommate’s three other cats know! Sonja is the author of Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence and Olive Blackwood Takes Action! . Chapter 1: Voilà! Our Spell Is Done Chapter One Voilà! Our Spell Is Done FADE IN: EXTERIOR OLIVE’S BACKYARD. DAY. Fully fenced backyard of charming bungalow house nestled in an urban neighborhood lined with tall trees. CLOSE-UP of OLIVE holding an opened velvet bag. KAYLA digs her gloved hand inside and pulls out rose-colored marbles. They both lay the marbles one by one in the grass, preparing for their “Reveal It Now” spell. OLIVE (VOICE-OVER) My best friend, Kayla, and I always do our best to follow the rules of magic. One of those rules, and my favorite, is that Magic Is Stronger When Done Together. A winter chill hugged the air, but Olive didn’t mind. She preferred doing spells outside when no one was around. And as usual, Mom was still at work. But even more important, Olive was on a super-important mission. Today she would choose the perfect story for her next film. “Any ideas yet?” Kayla asked. Olive pushed up her red glasses. “Still thinking.” She shrugged. There were several loglines bouncing around in her head: A reimagining of The Witches , where a young kid stumbles onto a wizarding convention and must save the good witches from their evil grandmother, even after being turned into a cat. - A silent Halloween dinner with a daughter and her deceased father, when suddenly they’re ambushed by candy corn–eating zombies. - When a bully unleashes a destructive spell on a middle school, timid thirteen-year-old twins must step up to save their classmates. But Olive wasn’t ready to say them out loud yet. Before sharing, she wanted to choose her favorite one with 100 percent confidence. Even when sharing with her best friend. “I have the perfect film for you,” Kayla said. Olive plucked another marble from the bag. “Yeah?” “Nick and James claim that there are R.A.A.T.S. roaming the park near our neighborhood.” Olive paused. “Say, huh?” “R.A.A.T.S. Rodents at a tremendous size.” Kayla rolled the few marbles she had left in her hand. “You could do one of those found-footage movies. A town invaded by gigantic radioactive rats!” Kayla’s older twin brothers were always making up ridiculous stories. But it could make an interesting film. It reminded Olive of the R.O.U.S.—rodents of unusual size. These giant ratlike creatures live in fire swamps in one of her dad’s favorite fantasy films from decades ago, The Princess Bride . Olive mentally added