For fans of The Midnight Library and In Five Years , The Unwritten Rules of Magic is a spellbinding novel that blends magic and memory in an unforgettable journey through love, grief, and the hidden cost of perfection across three generations of women.
Emerson Clarke can't remember a time when she felt in control. Her father—a celebrated author—was a chaotic force until he got Alzheimer's. Her mother turned to gin. And recently, her teen daughter has shut her out without explanation. If only she could arrange reality the same way she controls the stories she ghostwrites, life could be perfect.
Or so she thinks.
After her father's funeral, Emerson steals his vintage typewriter—the one he'd forbidden anyone to touch—and tests its keys by typing out a frivolous wish. When it comes true the very next day, she tries another. Then, those words also spring to life. Suddenly, she becomes obsessed with using the typewriter to engineer happiness for herself and her daughter. Easier said than done.
As Emerson shapes her real-life circumstances, she uncovers disturbing truths about her family’s history and the unexpected cost for each story-come-true. She should destroy the typewriter, but when her daughter's secret finally emerges, Emerson is torn between paying the price for bending fate and embracing the uncertainty of an unscripted life.

St. Martin's Press

Wednesday Books

Tor Nightfire

United States, United States of America

2026-02-11