A Snicker of Magic

Mama, also known as Holly Harness, is a lonely woman who struggles to find peace because of a family curse. Felicity describes Mama’s eyes as “full of all the sadness in the world” (1). Mama grew up in Midnight Gulch but set out on her own as soon as she was old enough. She explains, “I feel like I’ll lose my mind if I don’t keep moving” (128), but her restlessness creates instability for her daughters, Felicity and Frannie Jo. Mama has two siblings, Cleo and Boone. She has not kept in touch with Boone over the years, but her family stays with Cleo during their time in Midnight Gulch. Mama has never told her daughters the story of the Brothers Threadbare, though it is the reason why Mama cannot stop roaming.

Mama’s central conflict is feeling trapped and lonely. With the curse of the Weatherly brothers keeping her from settling down, Mama spends her free time driving around. She’s always planning the family’s next move. Mama has separated from Felicity and Frannie Jo’s father, Roger Pickle, but she still carries his photograph in her purse. Mama used to enjoy painting, and she found work traveling around to paint murals. However, she stopped painting around the time she and Roger separated. Mama’s story arc revolves around grappling with her wandering heart, learning to paint again, and reconnecting with her family. With encouragement from Felicity, Cleo, and Boone, Mama takes on the job of painting the Gallery, the wall of an old building where Stone Weatherly used to paint magical murals. Mama struggles with this endeavor, becoming “so frustrated by her own lack of inspiration that she was eager to quit, and therefore even more eager to bolt” (239). Mama complains about something being missing in her mural, but she cannot figure out what.

Things change for Mama when Felicity breaks the curse at the talent show. Without her wandering heart holding her back, Mama realizes that her family is the missing piece to the Midnight Gulch mural. She adds all the townspeople, as well as herself, Felicity, Frannie Jo, and Biscuit, to the landscape, showing that she has realized her family belongs in Midnight Gulch. With the curse broken, Mama gets to stay in one place, surrounding herself with the love of her family and friends.

Aunt Cleo is the sassy, foul-mouthed sister of Mama and Boone. She is Felicity and Frannie Jo’s aunt. Cleo’s hair is grey and blonde, and she is “almost twenty years older than Mama” (54). Cleo has an affinity for quilting and a collection of hedgehog knick-knacks. She is always smoking and has questionable driving skills. Cleo’s central role in the story is to act as the glue keeping her family together. Not only does Cleo reunite her siblings and introduce Felicity and Frannie Jo to their uncle Boone, she also provides Felicity with information about their family and the curse of the Weatherly brothers. Although reluctant to talk about the brothers, Cleo eventually confesses to their heritage tracing back to Stone Weatherly. She reveals that “it ain’t magic we got in our veins now” but rather “the stupid curse that witch woman gave” (159). Cleo’s information about the family curse and the woman who created it helps steer Felicity in the proper direction to break the curse. Cleo also gives Felicity the locket that holds Isabella Thistle’s perfect memory, which is a vital piece to the curse’s puzzle.

Aside from her supporting role, Cleo’s own arc revolves around her loneliness and her broken relationship with Day Grissom, whom she dated 20 years ago. When Felicity asks Cleo what she’s praying for, Cleo responds, half-jokingly, “A man” (58). Day Grissom makes several attempts throughout the story to contact Cleo and have a conversation with her, but Cleo ignores him every time. Finally, when Day shows up to serenade her and apologize for the past, Cleo gives him a chance, and the two rekindle their romance. In the end, Cleo ends up marrying Day Grissom, fulfilling her desire for companionship. 

Jonah Pickett is Felicity’s first friend and her romantic interest throughout the book. Jonah is 12 years old, has “messy-spiky blond hair” (31), and uses an electric wheelchair. Like Felicity, Jonah also has a special talent. Jonah has “know-how” that gives him the ability to know when someone is troubled and how to fix it. Jonah uses this gift under the moniker of “The Beedle” to help the people of Midnight Gulch. Jonah inherited the Beedle title from Oliver Weatherly, whom he works closely with. Jonah initially reaches out to Felicity because his know-how kicks in when he sees her at the sign-up sheet for the talent show. Jonah firmly believes that helping Felicity win the talent show will make everything right for her, but he cannot explain how or why. Still, Jonah’s know-how is never wrong. Felicity agrees to let Jonah help her because “spending more time with him seemed too spindiddly [‘better than awesome’] an offer to pass up” (41). Felicity likes Jonah because he’s “the only person [she’s] ever met who’s as weird as [she is]” (37). Jonah helps Felicity gather words and learn about the Brothers Threadbare by taking her around town and introducing her to key people like Oliver Weatherly, Florentine, and Rosie Walker. Jonah’s friendship gives Felicity the strength and courage to face her fears about public speaking.

Though Jonah enjoys using his know-how and working as the Beedle, he confesses to Felicity that “sometimes the best thing about doing Beedle stuff is that it keeps my mind occupied” so he doesn’t think about his dad’s deployment. Jonah worries about his father throughout the book, but he keeps it to himself most of the time. Jonah wishes he could have given his father something to keep with him in his travels. In Chapter 27, Jonah’s father returns to Midnight Gulch, reuniting with Jonah and his mother.

Boone Harness is Felicity and Frannie Jo’s uncle, and Mama and Cleo’s brother. He wears a cowboy hat and boots and carries his banjo with him most of the time. Boone has been performing in Nashville under the name Boone Taylor, but in Chapter 11, he returns to Midnight Gulch to see Cleo. He is unexpectedly reunited with his other sister, Holly, too. Boone meets his nieces for the first time in Chapter 11. Felicity describes him as having “sad, sky-colored eyes” and looking “a lot younger than Cleo” (108). Boone has returned to Midnight Gulch to recover from a broken heart. Boone plays an important role in resolving the family curse because he is in possession of Berry Weatherly’s banjo. Felicity first discovers the link between the banjo and the curse when Boone plays “Fair and Tender Ladies” at the Gallery. The song causes Felicity’s locket to burn hot against her chest and ripple. Using this experience and the rest of the information she’s gathered, Felicity figures out that Stone and Berry Weatherly’s instruments must play “Fair and Tender Ladies” together to break the curse. Felicity has Boone play the song at the talent show while Toast plays the song on Stone Weatherly’s guitar. Their chords align, and the curse lifts. Boone plays the song once more when Felicity and Jonah release Florentine’s burdens, freeing Stone and Berry Weatherly’s shadows into the mural.

In addition to his role in breaking the curse, Boone works on recovering from his broken heart. When Boone first comes to Midnight Gulch, he remarks, “I don’t know if I’ll ever play that banjo again. Every good love song I played came to me because of her. Now they’re all ruined” (116). However, with time and new banjo strings from the Beedle, Boone starts playing his banjo casually again. He eventually grows confident enough to play in public while Mama works on the Gallery and for Felicity at the talent show. The final chapters and the Epilogue hint at Boone building a relationship with Miss Lawson, showing that he has overcome his heartbreak and embraced a new beginning.

Florentine is the descendant of Isabella Thistle, who created the curse for the Weatherly brothers that still plagues Felicity’s family in the present. Florentine has long, black hair that she braids with yellow ribbons, and she is usually found sitting at the Gallery, with “an old canvas bag slumped on the ground beside her” (143). Florentine isn’t entirely sure what she carries in the bag, just that it’s “strange magic […] Sad magic” (152). Florentine carries these burdens in the bag, unable to set them down. She knows she must find something, but she isn’t sure what. The burdens keep her in Midnight Gulch, but she wishes to travel to the coast eventually to be reunited with her long-lost love, Waylon.

When she is first introduced, Florentine’s role in the Weatherly curse isn’t clear. Florentine does not inform Felicity or Jonah about her relationship to Isabella Thistle. Florentine’s link to the curse is revealed in Chapter 22, when Jonah’s mother shares what Florentine told her during her hair appointment about her heritage and her search for Isabella Thistle’s perfect memory. Florentine’s conflict mirrors that of the Pickle family, as the consequences of Isabella’s curse continue to plague her. While the Pickles are cursed to never stop wandering, Florentine is bound to Midnight Gulch by the same magic. When Felicity breaks the curse, the locket opens, revealing Isabella’s perfect memory. Felicity frees Florentine from her curse by exchanging the locket for her burdens. Florentine leaves town, off to the coast to find Waylon, shortly after Felicity and Jonah free the Weatherly brothers’ shadows from Florentine’s bag.

Oliver Weatherly is Midnight Gulch’s original Beedle, as well as the grandson of Berry Weatherly. Oliver and his wife, Eldee Mae, bought the ice cream factory after the Honeycutts passed, bringing ice cream to the people of Midnight Gulch again. Oliver’s primary role in the story is to provide Felicity and Jonah with information about the history of the town and the Brothers Threadbare. Oliver is an boisterous old man who is well known in Midnight Gulch and friends with many of the townspeople. He often brings gifts of ice cream and never shies away from a story. Together with Jonah, Oliver continues to carry out Beedle assignments, helping the people of Midnight Gulch whenever they need it.

Oliver was a troublemaker in his younger years, but when he met Eldee Mae, he turned his life around. He was also changed forever by his visit with Stone Weatherly, who told Oliver to use his words. After this visit, Oliver gained his magical dove tattoo and confessed his feelings for Eldee Mae, leading to their long, prosperous relationship. Oliver’s insights about Stone Weatherly, Isabella Thistle, and the rest of the town helps Felicity solve the riddle and lift the curse from her family and the people of Midnight Gulch.