In a family full of amazing magical talents—such as the ability to create fortune-telling pickles! —what does it mean when you’re the kid who isn’t very special? That’s one of the questions Kate O’Shaughnessy asks in her newest middle grade novel, Brittle Magic (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2026), which comes out on October 20. The book marks something new for O’Shaughnessy’s list of award-winning titles: She winds a fantasy element through the kind of powerful contemporary story that her fans have grown to love. In the new novel, each member of twelve-year-old Shiloh Brittle’s family has a magical talent—but Shiloh fears she’s the exception. Middle grade readers will strongly relate to Shiloh’s consuming search for her own special gift, the thing that makes her a unique and valued individual.
Here, O’Shaughnessy talks with Lisa Bullard about writing her first fantasy, reading to process big emotions, and following one’s passion.
Why did you decide to write a fantasy? What inspired the idea of a family in which each member has their own quirky magical talent?
Fantasy was my favorite genre as a young reader, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at it as a writer. For Brittle Magic, because the story has its roots in contemporary realism, I wanted to make sure that the magic in the story served a specific purpose. I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a cozy magical story about family secrets, set at a creaky farmhouse in the Berkshires, so it only made sense that the way magic would show up was woven through Shiloh’s family tree. I also wanted to use magic to highlight the individuality of each person in her family—which is how it came to be that each Brittle family member gets their own specific magical talent. (Unless, of course, you’re Shiloh. In which case, you were born without a talent. Or so you’ve been told …)
I hope readers get swept away in trying to uncover the mystery of what Shiloh’s talent is, and why it’s been kept a secret from her for all these years. I hope readers have fun coming up with the idea of what their own Brittle talent might be!
If you were a Brittle family member, what would be your magical gift?
My Brittle talent would be an animal talent. As a huge dog lover, I would manifest it to be so. One Brittle has the talent to “speak the language of eagles.” I want that one—but for dogs.
One Brittle has the talent to ‘speak the language of eagles.’ I want that one—but for dogs.”
Grief, and the different ways it has shaped Shiloh’s family, is another important element in Brittle Magic. And of course, grief always has a profound impact on a story (as it does on a person’s life). How did you handle writing about this complex emotion?
Losing someone I love is my most profound fear and has been since I was a kid. I used to cry at sleepovers, certain something terrible would happen to my family while I was gone. As a young reader, dealing with grief and loss in fiction was a safe way for me to experience, understand, and process this fear and its corresponding emotions. And now, writing is how I process my experiences with and feelings toward loss, which are, generally: If you’re lucky, your life will overflow with love, which means there will inevitably be loss, but it’s a worthwhile—albeit painful—tradeoff. One of my favorite quotes is “no mud, no lotus”: pain and joy are inexorably intertwined. You cannot have one without the other.
What other details about your childhood would you like to share with young readers?
I had big emotions as a kid. My parents often likened me to a tropical storm: the emotions would suddenly appear, dark and swirling and thundering, and then disappear just as quickly. I had a very vivid—sometimes too vivid—internal life. Often it felt like this was a bad thing, especially when the intensity veered negative, and I wished I could be more go-with-the-flow and happy-go-lucky. But I think this vivid internal and emotional life is part of what made me interested in books as a reader (I loved reading about other people’s internal lives) and also led me to become a writer. So, as cliché as this may sound, I would say that sometimes what feels like a weakness can instead become a strength.
Your books share powerful elements: complicated family situations, circumstances that generate raw emotions, and characters searching for something they’ve lost—or something they’ve never been able to find. Brittle Magic includes those things, while also embracing a touch of magic. How did writing a fantasy compare to writing your other contemporary novels?
I like to include all those things you listed in every story I write—raw emotion, complications, imperfect characters—because that’s life, isn’t it? Life is complicated and raw and messy, and my favorite stories often reflect that truth back to me as a reader. They remind me that I’m not alone in my imperfection, in the rawness and bigness of my feelings, in the complications of my life. I tried to focus on these same things while writing Brittle Magic, so even though it is a fantasy, it didn’t feel all that different from writing my contemporaries! It was extremely fun, however, to come up with ideas for all the magical Brittle family “talents” that are recorded in the Big Book of Family Talents. That was very fun to brainstorm, and I enlisted friends and family to come up with talents, too.
Life is complicated and raw and messy, and my favorite stories often reflect that truth back to me as a reader.”
Do you have any advice for students who want to write a fantasy story?
As for advice, I would say follow the fun. Whatever world-building or magical elements make you feel excited to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys), focus on those first.
What’s your favorite part of writing for young readers?
Gosh. A million things. Getting to reinhabit the mind of a kid while I write and being reminded what an open, curious, creative, hopeful state of being that is. Meeting kids in real life during school visits and seeing this firsthand. Books were a safe space for me as a kid, so the idea I might get to create that same safe space for a kid today is an honor beyond measure. I could go on and on, but put very simply, kids are the best, and due to the nature of my work, I get to be reminded of this on an almost daily basis.
Books were a safe space for me as a kid, so the idea I might get to create that same safe space for a kid today is an honor beyond measure.”
This is a big fall for you and new books: your debut YA novel, A Season for Falling (Storytide/HarperCollins, 2026), was just published in September. What would you like to tell readers about it?
A Season for Falling is my YA debut, and it’s an autumnal second-chance romance set in a small town in Connecticut. I would say it’s great for fans of Gilmore Girls, which I used to watch snuggled up in bed with my little sister as a teenager (while, appropriately, living in Connecticut). It’s about a former child star whose new life is totally upended when her ex-best friend and costar shows up to film a movie on location nearby.
Was it a big change for you to write for the YA audience instead of the middle grade audience?
In some ways, writing it was a big change—the internal life of a teenager is definitely a different ballgame than that of an eleven- or twelve-year-old; but in other ways, it was the same: teens and kids alike all seek their own versions of belonging, truth, and self-knowledge. For my YA, I did enjoy that the main character was old enough to have a past. In my middle grade, my characters are fully present and in those important moments of their childhood. In my YA, I was able to have my main character have more perspective on those important years by the simple virtue of the fact that she’s older.
Do you have a favorite anecdote about how a reader has responded to one of your stories?
My favorite moment with a reader was during a bookstore event and signing. A boy had come to listen to the talk with his dad and approached me at the end with an absolutely beat-up copy of Lasagna Means I Love You (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2023), which is my second novel. The cover was falling off, the corners were bent, the glue was failing. His name was Thomas, and he told me it was his favorite book, and he apologized for the state of it. Little did he know that it was the state of it that delighted me so completely. A beat-up book is one that has been handled and thrown in a backpack and read and reread; it’s a sign of true love. Whenever I doubt myself when I’m working on a new story, I remind myself of the look of Thomas’s book, and it’s enough to put the wind back in my sails.
What’s your best advice for young people who have a dream they want to pursue?
I was a big reader as a kid. Books were a part of my life, my identity. Like Thomas, I read and reread my favorite books until the covers fell off. But! When it came to learning how to read, I was behind my peers and needed to take a remedial class to help catch me up. I always like to share this fact with students when I’m doing school visits because for many things, being passionate matters so much more than in-born talent. My advice is to not get too hung up on something if you aren’t the best at it … yet. What matters most is following your passion. Do the things that make you excited to wake up, make you excited to be alive. Passion comes first, and with hard work, talent can—and usually will—follow.
My advice is to not get too hung up on something if you aren’t the best at it … yet. What matters most is following your passion.”
Can you tell your fans any details about your forthcoming books?
Yes! As you’ve mentioned, I have two novels releasing this fall: Brittle Magic, my middle grade fantasy, out in October, and A Season for Falling, my seasonal YA romance (my debut YA!), out in September. Both are set in New England in the fall, so be ready for crunchy leaves, crisp air, and autumnal vibes in both. My next YA, another seasonal romance, is set to come out fall 2027, so stay tuned for that!
What are the best ways for educators and librarians to connect with you or to follow you on social media?
I try my best to keep my website as up-to-date as possible, so you can find current information on my website at kloshaughnessy.com. In terms of social media, I am definitely most active on Instagram! My handle is @kloshaughnessy there as well.
