The djinni Bartimaeus is summoned by an ambitious young magician, Nathaniel, and sent off across London to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the sinister Simon Lovelace. A whirlwind of espionage, murder and rebellion ensues. (author website)

Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny." (Goodreads synopsis)

It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won't stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven-- and their uncle, Doc, tells them he's going to train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations--especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs...and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through. (Goodreads synopsis)

Content Notes: 

Accurate historical portrayals of systemic and individual racism, violence, loss of family member, discrimination, bullying, supernatural horror (age-appropriate), magic.