{"id":27162,"date":"2022-10-01T01:10:45","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T05:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=27162"},"modified":"2022-09-27T17:52:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T21:52:20","slug":"book-review-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2022\/10\/01\/book-review-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review \u2013 The Magical Girl\u2019s Guide to Life by Jacque Aye"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book Review
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>The Magical Girl\u2019s Guide to Life:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>Find Your Inner Power, Fight Everyday Evil & Save the Day with Self-Care
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>by Jacque Aye
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>Published by Ulysses Press
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>192 pages
\n<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>Publication date: December 21, 2021<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

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The Magical Girl\u2019s Guide to Life<\/em> is an anime-inspired approach to self-help for magical girls of any age. Guided by the gentle and encouraging hand of Jacque Aye, the reader is taken on a journey through personal growth and empowerment as explored through the anim\u00e9 trope of the \u201cmagical girl\u201d or mahou shoujo<\/em>, which can be seen in shows and movies like Sailor Moon, Kiki\u2019s Delivery Service,<\/em> and others.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Featuring colorful, lighthearted illustrations and multiple-choice quizzes, the book starts with an introduction to the idea of the Magical Girl and a quiz to help the reader discover what type of Magical Girl Power she possesses. This is followed by an exploration of the Magical Girl\u2019s Origins, Names, Weapon, and Familiar, with suggestions for how to find or manifest each of these in your own life. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From there, Aye talks about how to find, assemble and maintain a Girl Gang to support you, and how to battle the Monsters that represent life\u2019s challenges. This is followed by chapters on Self-Care, Beauty, and Finding Love, all of which discuss balancing your emotional life, taking care of yourself, and exploring romantic avenues with an honest, open heart. There is a short glossary and suggested Magical Girl anim\u00e9 watchlist at the end of the book as well. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I should probably confess that while I\u2019ve seen some anime movies and TV shows, I am by no means an aficionado of the genre, and haven\u2019t watched any of the media referenced in this book except Kiki\u2019s Delivery Service<\/em>. I really wasn\u2019t sure what to expect, but I was utterly charmed! Aye peppers her well-crafted advice with personal stories and struggles, exploring many ways of dealing with challenges and manifesting joy and love. Difficult topics such as anxiety, depressions, and breakups are all explored with emotional honesty and sensitivity. The book doesn\u2019t deal with any of these topics in exceptional depth or complexity, keeping things light and positive for the most part, while keeping a gentle emotional space open for the hard parts. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This would be a great book of advice for a young woman in high school or college, or any fan of the Magical Girl trope. There\u2019s really not any Pagan or witchcraft content here ? while the word magic appears in the title, this book is about a different kind of magic. The book is beautifully illustrated and designed, with cuteness popping out of ever pop-culture-filled page. It’s a delightful book of self-love, self-care, and growth that shines a light on the struggles and power of Magical Girls through the charming vibrancy of Aye\u2019s encouraging prose.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jacque Aye is the CEO of Chigami Studios and \u201cHead Magical Girl\u201d of the Adorned by Chi<\/em> lifestyle brand! Since launching Adorned by Chi<\/em> in 2015 Jacque has grown her business tremendously, racking in 6-figure sales within the first two years of operation and a development deal within the first five!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Adorned by Chi<\/em> has also worked with the likes of Sanrio, collaborating on a collection for their Small Business, Big Smile<\/em> initiative. As a leader in the manga and anime space, Jacque has grown her small tight knit community into one that boasts over 100,000 magical beings across social media. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jacque is a vocal supporter of mental health awareness and self care amongst Black women, and advocates for those suffering from social anxiety. In 2020, Adorned by Chi<\/em> was able to donate $20,000 to the Loveland Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Magical Girl’s Guide to Life on Amazon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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About the author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sarah McMenomy <\/b><\/span><\/span>is a visionary artist, author, and witch. <\/span><\/span>Pulling inspiration from trance states, dreams, auras, psychedelia, and the natural world, she weaves together themes of nature\u00a0and the occult in her artwork and writing. She has created art and written for books, magazines, games, and more, as well as producing digital fine art prints and acrylic paintings.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
\nShe is the creator of\u00a0The Entanglement Tarot<\/a>, a hex-shaped occult Tarot deck designed for spell-craft.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
\nShe is co-runner of\u00a0Pagan Pages, for which she also writes articles and book reviews, and she also publishes art on her Portfolio site<\/a> and other work on her Tumblr<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n