Almost Magic — Kathleen Bullock

Ever since she turned twelve, Apple Bramblewood's life has been plagued by visits from weird creatures from the magical realms.

It seems she is a rare Attractor, a Wizard whose sole talent is solving the clamorous demands of very odd beings, usually in the most unorthodox, haphazard, and klutzy ways. Apple doesn't want to be an Attractor; her most passionate goal is to attend the ordinary high school with ordinary kids where her perfect older sister, Cornelia, is allowed to go. Her parents have no doubts about Cornelia's magical prowess, but Apple seems destined to be home-schooled forever if she can't pass the entrance exam and perfect at least one magical enchantment.

Almost Magic is Apple's first-person account of that magic summer between childhood and adolescence and, in Apple's case, one filled with the most amazing, hilarious, and often dangerous events.