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adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this story but it was formulaic and not written very well. I was brought out of the story by the odd "diary" pages and their exposition. I know this was written for a young audience but I thought the dialogue was weak and the plot elements very rushed and thrown together.
I'm interested to see if the next book's writing is any better. I know every fantasy book about a young wizard who doesn't know he is in fact a wizard will be compared to Harry Potter but frankly this book is so rushed that I didn't even think of the parallels until I was finished.
All in all a good first draft that was published too early.
That said I would recommend it for a young reader who is interested in the story idea but is not a strong reader.
I'm interested to see if the next book's writing is any better. I know every fantasy book about a young wizard who doesn't know he is in fact a wizard will be compared to Harry Potter but frankly this book is so rushed that I didn't even think of the parallels until I was finished.
All in all a good first draft that was published too early.
That said I would recommend it for a young reader who is interested in the story idea but is not a strong reader.
This ended up being a lot of fun, & I'll probably read others in the series now.
Review for all three Magic Thief books posted here.
Review for all three Magic Thief books posted here.
"The Magic Thief" is a simple story with not so simple characters geared toward middle and upper elementary readers. I found the story enjoyable and thought that the character development was really well done. This would be a nice introduction to the fantasy genre for some children.
Rather better than Septimus Heap; didn't have all the extraneous description that author uses, this one has just enough. Quite enjoyed.
The grumpy wizard’s journal made things a bit clunky, but I was willing to just go along for the ride of this adventure. I could see it being a kid’s good gateway to more challenging fantasy.