Sorcery for Beginners

Magic is nearly lost from the world, but there are a few sorcerers left to defend the ancient gifts.  They are on the lookout for those with potential, young people who can train in the magical arts. 

Owen doesn't really see himself as a person with potential.  He spends most of his time playing video games and going through the motions of life.  It's only gotten worse since his mother left to study orangutans on the other side of the world, and he and his father move to Las Vegas.

He's on the run from some particularly nasty bullies when he stumbles across an impossible looking bookstore.  There he meets Euphemia Whitmore who tells him he has potential and convinces him to purchase a book called Sorcery for Beginners.  Owen doesn't really believe in magic, but if a spell could turn back time and keep his family together, it's worth a shot. 

Owen goes to a group of magic cosplayers from his school for help, and they find some success, but they are also attacked by bullies.  To save himself, Owen uses magic against them.  This sets of a chain of events that makes him and his friends targets of a Las Vegas millionaire with connections to organized crime and the greatest anti-magic secret society in the world. 

Their challenge is to protect the book, magic, and themselves from these powerful enemies.  That's asking a lot from a kid who's never even tried to be good at anything before. 

Matt Harry's series opener is a fun magical adventure with a modern setting.  The illustrations add verisimilitude to the story.  Hand this to Harry Potter fans! Recommended!