Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I remember having really enjoyed the 1980s British television series based on this book, but had never read the story itself. My daughter had it from the library recently and loved it, so I read it afterwards - lovely story, quite slim and simple but packs in lots of drama and atmosphere. As a bonus, we were happy to find and watch the old series on Youtube: I hadn't remembered the special effects were that hokey, but otherwise it stands up very well!
I was absolutely enchanted by this story of a young boy searching for his lost sister. Gwyn discovers that he is a magician, and he can use his magical abilities to call his sister, Bethan, back home. She has been missing for four years, and Gwyn's family is broken by her loss. Through a series of magical encounters, Gwyn searches for his sister and discovers his own powers.
The setting is in the Welsh countryside, which immediately gives a sense of legend and myth to the story. The magic system that Gwyn learns is very wild and mysterious. The magic seems to work more on instinct than by any rules or definite actions. If Gwyn wishes for something and focuses on what he wants, his magic will go out into the world and bring something back to him that will help him accomplish his goals. That is how Gwyn first releases the Snow Spider, and gains her help in his quest for his lost sister.
I loved Gwyn's character! He is so plucky and brave, but he also has a moral courage and an optimism in the face of darkness that really impressed me in so young a child. Seeing his relationship with his father was upsetting at first, but gratifying in the end. Their relationship is one of the main developments in the story, and it's beautifully written.
As always, Jenny Nimmo's writing is charming and delightful. It pulls you into the story with such original and imaginative details. I just love her books! I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!
The setting is in the Welsh countryside, which immediately gives a sense of legend and myth to the story. The magic system that Gwyn learns is very wild and mysterious. The magic seems to work more on instinct than by any rules or definite actions. If Gwyn wishes for something and focuses on what he wants, his magic will go out into the world and bring something back to him that will help him accomplish his goals. That is how Gwyn first releases the Snow Spider, and gains her help in his quest for his lost sister.
I loved Gwyn's character! He is so plucky and brave, but he also has a moral courage and an optimism in the face of darkness that really impressed me in so young a child. Seeing his relationship with his father was upsetting at first, but gratifying in the end. Their relationship is one of the main developments in the story, and it's beautifully written.
As always, Jenny Nimmo's writing is charming and delightful. It pulls you into the story with such original and imaginative details. I just love her books! I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!
Got me in my Welshfeels, especially with the dad stuff. It was nice that he stopped being so much of an assbag but I still resent him. Nain was AMAZE and I related a lot to her and Gwyn. I'm excited about reading the next one :)
This is one of the weirdest books I have ever read even in the fantasy genre. I kept thinking it was set a long time ago (I think maybe the rural welsh setting helped me think that) and being stunned when there were bits of the modern day in the story. I didn't like some of the way the characters related, but I was drawn in and wanted to know what would happen next.
I also have some liking with any book with a Gwydion in it!
I also have some liking with any book with a Gwydion in it!
Gasp! This is Book 1 of a trilogy, Goodreads? No way!
I found this beautiful. I'm a sucker for Welsh syntax in stories set in Wales, and a sucker for stories that have beloved sisters in them, and stories that have loving descriptions of food that make you taste it, and magic that is strange and powerful and difficult to explain and understand. It's very small and packs a huge emotional punch all the same.
I found this beautiful. I'm a sucker for Welsh syntax in stories set in Wales, and a sucker for stories that have beloved sisters in them, and stories that have loving descriptions of food that make you taste it, and magic that is strange and powerful and difficult to explain and understand. It's very small and packs a huge emotional punch all the same.
An alright read but not one that really grabbed my attention
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Young Gwyn's world has been lonely since the disappearance of his sister Bethan. His parents, particularly his father, are still grieving and his father blames Gwyn for his sister's loss. On his ninth birthday, though, his life takes a strange turn as his nain (grandmother) gives him five gifts and tells him that now is the time to find out if he's a magician. One of the gifts, a brooch, is tossed into the wind and becomes Arianwen, the snow spider. And so begins a journey which could finally heal the wounds at the heart of Gwyn's family...
It's years since I've read any of the Magician Trilogy, and this first in particular was one of my favourite ever books as a youngster growing up in North Wales. After mentioning it in a post earlier today, I stumbled across it in my bedroom and took that as a sign to reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered - and while I was surprised by parts of it, I certainly wasn't disappointed.
One of the surprising things about it was just how short it was - at under 150 pages, I read through it incredibly quickly - while another was that, in the end, it's not really about the magic. It's a deep tale of grief, of longing to say goodbye, and eventually of healing. It's very different from Nimmo's later Charlie Bone series, which most YA's today will be far more familiar with, being shorter and with slightly less developed characters, but it's just as enchanting in its own way. It also has one of the sweetest endings I can ever remember reading.
I'll try and review the sequels at some point, although I'll need to find them to reread them first - but trust me when I say it's well worth getting the trilogy, which is available from Amazon for just £4.49 at the moment. From what I remember the TV series, starring Sian Phillips as Nain, was also well worth getting but is sadly unavailable on DVD today.
Very high recommendation to fans of JK Rowling, CS Lewis and Susan Cooper.
It's years since I've read any of the Magician Trilogy, and this first in particular was one of my favourite ever books as a youngster growing up in North Wales. After mentioning it in a post earlier today, I stumbled across it in my bedroom and took that as a sign to reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered - and while I was surprised by parts of it, I certainly wasn't disappointed.
One of the surprising things about it was just how short it was - at under 150 pages, I read through it incredibly quickly - while another was that, in the end, it's not really about the magic. It's a deep tale of grief, of longing to say goodbye, and eventually of healing. It's very different from Nimmo's later Charlie Bone series, which most YA's today will be far more familiar with, being shorter and with slightly less developed characters, but it's just as enchanting in its own way. It also has one of the sweetest endings I can ever remember reading.
I'll try and review the sequels at some point, although I'll need to find them to reread them first - but trust me when I say it's well worth getting the trilogy, which is available from Amazon for just £4.49 at the moment. From what I remember the TV series, starring Sian Phillips as Nain, was also well worth getting but is sadly unavailable on DVD today.
Very high recommendation to fans of JK Rowling, CS Lewis and Susan Cooper.