A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd is a story of family and friendship, history and regrets, individuality and hope. Felicity Pickle is a young lady who hasn't stayed in any one place long enough to truly call it home in quite a while. It seems Felicity's mother, Holly, just can't settle down in any one place. But now the Pickle's--Felicity, her mom, and her younger sister Frannie Jo-- have ended up in Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, the place where Felicity's mother was born and grew up. There's definitely something different about Midnight Gulch; the people who live there say there used to be magic in the town. Felicity hopes there's enough magic still in the town to get her mom to settle down and quit moving from place to place. Staying in Midnight Gulch becomes even more important to Felicity as she gets to know her Aunt Cleo, her Uncle Boone, and becomes best friends with Jonah Pickett. 
 The problem is that there seems to be an old curse on the town caused many years ago by an argument many between two brothers. The curse took most of the magic away, and Felicity thinks the curse is going to end up causing her mom to move again. Felicity and Jonah come up with a plan-- if Felicity can just win the town "duel" of talents, maybe her mother will be more likely to stay... especially if winning the duel might break the curse! 
 Natalie Lloyd is a master of wordcraft. Her writing is special-- there were lots of passages I reread just to savor her wonderful way with words, and she portrays her characters in such a way that you feel you know them. This book is the "complete package"-- a good storyline with well-developed characters and beautiful use of language. I completely enjoyed it!