Unicorn Academy 6 – Olivia and Snowflake

Julie Sykes's Olivia and Snowflake is a Unicorn Academy story for 7 year olds about a girl who's kept one big secret from her friends all year.

What happens

It's the last week before the Graduation Ball and Olivia might not be going anywhere. Her unicorn Snowflake still hasn't found her magic. They haven't bonded either, so Olivia could be stuck at the academy for another year.

The funny thing is, part of her doesn't mind. Olivia's home is like a palace (twelve bedrooms AND an indoor swimming pool) and she's never told anyone. She's scared they'll think she's like snooty Valentina, who is very rich and very unkind.

So if she doesn't graduate, nobody comes round for a sleepover and nobody finds out. Who hasn't told a little fib that somehow got too big to fix?

Her friends in Sapphire dorm have other ideas. They wake her before sunrise to put Snowflake in "danger" and shock her magic out. Giant gorse bushes, a ball of fire and a wobbly rainbow later, there's still nothing (and Olivia's heart is pounding).

What makes it really sweet is that Olivia and Snowflake are both getting things a bit wrong. Snowflake has been keeping something back too. When they finally own up to each other, curled in the straw of her stable at night, it's a lovely moment about trust going both ways.

There's plenty of fun around them as well. Valentina shows off with her unicorn's brand-new magic and a dust devil rips through all the decorations Sapphire dorm spent days making.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Things get properly scary later on. Olivia is tricked into going somewhere quiet, has a sack pulled over her head and wakes up locked in a hut. After that there's a chase and a ring of magical fire round the lake.

If your reader is a worrier, that's probably one for daytime rather than bedtime. Her friends do come for her, though. And if they've been loving the mystery so far, this is where it gets super exciting.

What to read next

This is the sixth book and the end of the girls' first year, with a mystery that's been running through the earlier books. So if your reader hasn't met Sapphire dorm yet, start at the very beginning with Sophia and Rainbow. Olivia and Snowflake are there from the first day.