When Izzy O'Donnell saved the students at Miss Posterity's Academy for Practical Magic her courage caused the Mayor of New York to allowed new "kindling schools" to open, and open them to any child who wanted to apply, even if they are poor, and that his how Maeve O'Donnell ended up with her older sister at the Manhattan School for Magic; but unlike Izzy, Maeve is terrified of magic because she feels its wildness, and fears that she will never be...

"Have you ever been told that you're not enough? That you're not strong enough, tall enough, or fast enough? Bessie was told she was not enough. This book combines an imagined story of Bessie Stringfield as a young girl with historical facts about the real Bessie, a true adventurer and one of the first African-American women to travel solo across the United States on a motorcycle"--Back cover.