I really thought Magic in the Mix was a very readable middle grade time travel novel that will probably have lots of appeal to young readers despite or even maybe because of the amount of Civil War history included. Molly and Mire can't help but wonder why all this happened? After all, the magic is supposed to set things right, not make them more complicated. And Ray and Robbie, dressed in Union uniforms for their reenactment, have just been captured by Confederate soldiers. Suddenly, Miri realizes that her brothers have time traveled back too, but to where? When she and Molly follow them, they discover they are in the midst of the Civil War as it happened in their neighborhood. So the boys try to sneak out of the house when the parents and youngest twin sisters are out. Turns out, the boys really like enacting the Civil War, but then they get in trouble (again) for not doing their homework, and they are not allowed to go back to the battlefield until all it's done. Meanwhile, twins Ray and Robbie are in trouble in history class, and have to participate in a Civil War reenactment to help bring up their grade. When Molly realizes that she could possibly change her mother's fate by going back to 1918 again and preventing her from meeting her future dad, she begins to believe maybe she needs to do, even though it would mean giving up Miri and her new, great life with the Gills.

Molly's mom had died after marrying and having Molly, which is why she was living with mean Aunt Flo in 1935. But why? Then, they are also sent back to 1918 and Molly meets her real mom as a teen. But suddenly, during some house renovations, the magic comes back, the girl time travel back to 1935 again.

Now Molly has lived in the present long enough that she doesn't make too many slip ups about her former life. OK, that and more is what happened in Annie Barrows's first book The Magic Half. Both girls traveled forward to Miri's time and have lived as twin sisters ever since, and luckily, everyone has a little mind adjustment so no one except Molly and Miri remembers what it was like before Molly arrived - they remember only that she was always there.

The only difference is that Molly was originally living in 1935 when Miri traveled back in time and found her. Molly and Miri Gill are fraternal twins, unlike their identical older twin brothers Ray and Robbie and their identical younger twin sisters Nora and Nell.

The magic half by annie barrows