44 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah Beth DurstThe Spellshop
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Free Knowledge for the People
One of the primary plot devices in The Spellshop is the way that magic, and the knowledge of magic, is hoarded by the wealthy. At the beginning of the novel, Kiela is an unwitting part of this flawed system. She works at the major central library where sacred knowledge is carefully guarded, and she is employed as a custodian of this knowledge. Within the safe confines of the library, Kiela is shut away from the political unrest happening just outside her walls. When the revolution finally comes to the library doors, it is a natural progression of the tension that was escalating for a long time. Because Kiela’s life and worldview are so limited, she has no idea how the less privileged classes are suffering. She herself soon admits, “The empire was hoarding magic, and the outer islands […] were suffering because of it. She hadn’t thought of what that meant on a practical day-to-day level” (47). Kiela is able to acknowledge that she willfully turned away from the problem because it didn’t directly affect her.
Once Kiela escapes with a small selection of this coveted knowledge, she’s able to see firsthand the results of hoarding magic for the elite. The island has become run-down and impoverished, and Larran’s merhorses are unable to give birth—in effect, going extinct. Bryn explains some of the seemingly unrelated problems that have come out of this withdrawal of resources, such as reduced fishing and damaged farms that produce fewer fruits and vegetables. Additionally, unregulated magic use has been made illegal, so the islanders can’t even attempt to help themselves. Soon, Kiela begins to understand the true implications of the political system she escaped and that she has an opportunity to help make it right. However, in an act of self-preservation, she’s still careful to keep that knowledge to herself. She calls her spells “remedies” and resists sharing the exact procedures with others. When her new friends arrive looking for more tree growth remedies, Kiela is faced with a choice: to continue propagating the damaging systems of the empire or to risk her own safety by sharing her knowledge with others.
When a new threat comes to the island, Kiela is forced back into the secrecy that she very nearly overcame. Radane’s appearance in the novel is a sharp reminder of the elitism and greed of the empire. This threat is compounded even further when Captain Varrik and his crew arrive to enforce the empire’s staggering laws. At the novel’s climax, Varrik is threatened by the very problem that his people created: a storm created from imbalanced magical protections. Kiela decides to use her knowledge for the good of others, even at her own risk, thereby committing to her new understanding and beliefs. Varrik affirms her choices by refusing to punish her and her coven, as he understands that accessible and equitable use of magic is the only way for everyone to prosper, even if he can’t admit so due to his legal obligations.
The Value of Kinship and Community
As a “cozy” fantasy novel, The Spellshop proposes that one’s life can be positively enhanced by the addition of healthy social connections and by becoming part of a supportive community. Kiela’s motives are strictly utilitarian when she first arrives on Caltrey. When Bryn first extends her friendship, Kiela thinks, “I’m not looking for a friend. I have Caz. And my books” (46). She only ventures into town (a disproportionately intimidating venture) for provisions and seeds from which to grow her garden. What she encounters is initially overwhelming and unfamiliar, a sharp contrast to her previously isolated life. She also bristles at Larran’s intrusion because she’s so set on being self-sufficient. However, she soon realizes that self-sufficiency is not only impossible—it’s also dangerous. Larran saves her from making a potentially damaging mistake, and in doing so, she begins building a tentative friendship.
As Kiela makes more connections in her early days on Caltrey, she learns that community can be symbiotic; she’s able to make a difference by extending her own aid and skill just as they are able to support her. An example of this is her business partnership with Bryn: By exchanging jam for ingredients, they’re both able to benefit and emerge stronger because of it. The whole becomes greater than its disparate parts. This theme emerges again when Radane arrives and puts herself at odds with the community; in doing so, she works against her own goals. Larran cautions her to treat the islanders with respect and compassion in order to secure their aid, but Radane refuses. This puts her life in danger and keeps her even further away from what she needs. Once she learns to work with the people of Caltrey instead of against them, she’s able to find safety, belonging, and even love. She also plays an integral role in dispersing the magical storm at the novel’s climax and rescuing Captain Varrik. Earlier, Kiela determined that the “wind-speaking” spell could only be done with a group of magicians (a microcosm of the larger community); later, that group comes together to affect a momentous change. Within this moment is the novel’s key message: One becomes more powerful with the support of allies. Both Kiela and Radane are happier being part of a community, and each plays an essential role in making that community stronger.
Rebirth and New Beginnings
In the framework of traditional story archetypes, The Spellshop is arguably a story of rebirth. Also called the “fall then rise” story arc, these stories follow a protagonist who undergoes a metaphorical death and rebirth into a new state of being. In this novel, Kiela’s “death” comes at the very beginning when she’s forced to flee her home. Until this point, her entire existence had been contained within the library and its mission; it formed the basis of her personal identity. When she emerges from the confines of the burning building into the open sea, she embodies a state of blank innocence much like a child emerging from the womb. Kiela then arrives in Caltrey and catalogs the skills she’ll need to learn in her new home, such as baking and gardening; in a brand-new environment with no skills or experiences, she starts from a baseline of nothingness.
Kiela takes her literal and figurative first steps when she goes into the town center and immerses herself in her new existence. Bryn, her first friend, recognizes the process from her own experiences and reflects, “Starting over is difficult work. You need fuel” (45). In addition to the “fuel” she receives, Kiela also returns home with new allies on her journey of rebirth. Bryn can empathize with Kiela’s raw state because she went through it herself in the past. Following a tragic loss, she ran away just as Kiela did and was forced to completely recreate herself in a new environment. This puts her in a unique position to understand both inner and outer perspectives. When Radane arrives trying to create a new life for herself as well, Bryn and Kiela can show her compassion despite her adverse actions. By the end of the novel, both Kiela and Radane have moved away from the more negative elements of their characters and embraced healthier personality traits such as openness, honesty, and a willingness to love. In doing so, they also bring renewal and a new beginning to the other islanders who helped them on their journeys of rebirth.
A visual symbol of this theme is nature, including the many natural elements that Kiela helps heal through her newfound magical skills and bonds with the community. Her garden, the trees, local spirits, the well, and the merhorse population all recover through her efforts. This plotline of restoring the island carries throughout the plot and threads through the other themes, as Kiela is using previously restricted knowledge to develop relationships with others. With these various forms of life being revitalized and growing anew or, as with the merhorses, giving birth, the story offers a more literal manifestation of the idea of rebirth and new beginnings.
