Practical Sorcery

Henry Noble carries a heavy load. For the two years since the disappearance of his father, he has toiled as the family's chief breadwinner. Protector of his mother and two obnoxious younger brothers, he finds himself trapped in the drudgery of a boring job counting the King's gold, all the while dreaming of a life of magic and wizardry. When a glimmer of light appears, he snatches at it only to stumble into treachery and deceit. Henry and his timid friend Peter are forced to embark upon the scariest journey of their lives.

Siobhan still dreams of becoming the world's most powerful sorcerer. But she has once again been forced to face the horrifyingly dark side of their world. When a miscast spell can turn you into a city-killing monster out of nightmares, nowhere and nothing is truly safe. As the Verdant Stag gang grows more powerful, the fearsome reputation of her alter ego, the Raven Queen, blooms with them until it seems to gain a life of its own.

Mexican witchcraft, or brujeria, has long been an integral part of traditional Mexican culture that permeates all strata of social hierarchy, ethnicity, or level of education. "Brujeria de Rancho" refers to brujeria as it is practiced in the rural areas of Mexico. There, the brujos de Ranch offer their healing and divinatory powers, acting as advisors, and even meting out justice through the use of cursing and hexing for people who are often not able to pay lawyers' fees.

In truth, Percy just wants to lead a normal life – low-key, boring, and predictable. So when a mysterious hag appears with a (fake) luck talisman, Percy jumps at the chance for a bit of normalcy. But as strange coincidences start to converge around him, Percy finds himself in the middle of all sorts of misadventures.