I don’t like reviewing memoirs in the traditional sense because, well, how can you rate someone’s life story? But in this case, I will heartily say this memoir deserves 5 books. Fajardo grew up in Minnesota with her mother, never feeling like she fit in with the fair-skinned blonde kids. At 19, she travels to Columbia to meet her father to try to piece together their shared past. Her father is thrilled to see her and he and his wife try to make her feel welcome in this colorful and dangerous place. He is an artist and photographer and it’s in his art where she begins to see his love for her and for his native Columbia. Slowly she begins to unravel the story of her parents and why her mother divorced her father. Many years later, after she has found her own love and begun her own family, Fajardo is surprised to learn another secret that adds another facet to her identity. There is another trip to Columbia, another chance to understand, another attempt to reach out, forgive, make amends. Her identity is constantly shifting and I believe the magic she refers to in the title is in the mysterious alchemy that makes family. What combination of blood, shared experience, and time unites people? Ultimately, Fajardo finds joy and peace in her messy, complicated family. // This book deals with those universal questions of identity and love and I found Fajardo’s writing to be moving and insightful. I’m not sure if the title accurately reflects the story though, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. It was a pleasure to read.