{4.5 stars, read as an ARC in September 2011} 
 "Do you still want to be a spy?" I asked. "Or do you want to be an apothecary now?" 
 Benjamin thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure," he said. "Right now there doesn't seem like much difference." 
 I did not expect this book to be quite as charming as it turned out to be. It's one of those that if I had happened to read it as a child, years later I would come across it in a bookstore and think back fondly to how much I loved it. The Apothecary is a lot of things rolled into one--Cold War espionage, fish-out-of-water, Bildungsroman, first love, and..wait for it...magic. The magic in the book is very precise and scientific, which makes all the more plausible. That's what I loved most about the story. Even though everything about it is very fantastical, it's written in a way that causes you to think to yourself, "Oh yeah, that could TOTALLY happen," all while it charms your socks right off. Highly recommended for both kids and adults, especially for those that are fans of From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.