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Thursday, April 25, 2013

“The Weight of Wishes” from Nina Kiriki Hoffman's Permeable Borders


Permeable BordersNina Kiriki HoffmanFairwood Press
Originally appeared in Children of Magic
Available online here.


The narrator's daughter, Lisa, has magic abilities and transforms her father into an elf when he walks in.  Under this transformation, he is able to wrap presents and finish decorating the tree.  But what happens when she becomes a rebelious teenager?  How will they control her?  The self elf has a plan.

This plays off Jerome Bixby's classic SF tale, "It's a Good Life" -- to good effect.  If you have a child who suddenly develops supernatural power, what does an ordinary parent do?  Hoffman tries to handle this realistically.  Next, she asks, where did those abilities come from?

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