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mbenzz's review
3.0
Great children's book, though I was pretty dissapointed with the ending. They way it leaves off makes it pretty clear that a Book 2 would follow, as there are so many loose ends and unanswered questions. If this were the case, it would be a five star read. Unfortunately, since this book was published almost 3 years ago and there's still no sequel, it's just disappointment.
Maybe the author fully intended to write a sequel but something happened and that idea never materialize, but as a stand-alone book, the ending is extremely unsatisfying. Awesome story, really cool setting and great characters....I just wish I knew what happened to them.
Maybe the author fully intended to write a sequel but something happened and that idea never materialize, but as a stand-alone book, the ending is extremely unsatisfying. Awesome story, really cool setting and great characters....I just wish I knew what happened to them.
stephxsu's review
5.0
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. “Charming” doesn’t even begin to cover the magical delight that is ORDINARY MAGIC. From a fascinating magical world to laugh-out-loud character interactions, there is nothing ordinary about this book at all!
ORDINARY MAGIC is as good as a Pixar movie in terms of having both kid and adult appeal. Young readers will be fascinated by the colorful, yet familiar, world that Rubino-Bradway creates, replete with magic carpets, boarding schools, and kickass family members.
What makes ORDINARY MAGIC truly extraordinary, however, is its rare quality of appealing to a wide age range of readers. The story zips back and forth with witty banter, and it is the more experienced reader that will be delighted with how Rubino-Bradway mashes together so many almost stereotypical features of magical worlds to create one that is unique and not at all stereotypical. There are a whole bunch of cute romantic undercurrents throughout the story that will make you squeel with suppressed glee.
Readers will surely get a heck of an experience out of ORDINARY MAGIC. This is truly one of the most memorable middle-grade novels I’ve read in recent years.
ORDINARY MAGIC is as good as a Pixar movie in terms of having both kid and adult appeal. Young readers will be fascinated by the colorful, yet familiar, world that Rubino-Bradway creates, replete with magic carpets, boarding schools, and kickass family members.
What makes ORDINARY MAGIC truly extraordinary, however, is its rare quality of appealing to a wide age range of readers. The story zips back and forth with witty banter, and it is the more experienced reader that will be delighted with how Rubino-Bradway mashes together so many almost stereotypical features of magical worlds to create one that is unique and not at all stereotypical. There are a whole bunch of cute romantic undercurrents throughout the story that will make you squeel with suppressed glee.
Readers will surely get a heck of an experience out of ORDINARY MAGIC. This is truly one of the most memorable middle-grade novels I’ve read in recent years.
lobeliaparides's review
5.0
I loved it, it was a pretty sweet book. But I wish that it hadn't of ended without finding the five missing kids. That part was just sad :(
sparklingreader's review
4.0
Ordinary Magic is an Middle-grade fantasy novel set in a secondary world that feels very 21st-century - except that in this world, people use magic for almost everything. Making beds, getting breakfast, getting dressed, everything.
It’s Judging Day for twelve-year-old Abby Hale. Her family – siblings, cousins, aunts, and more - have all come to celebrate the festivities. There’s the family dress to wear and her mother’s special necklace. When she heads to the Guild for the Judging, she’s filled with anticipation. Why shouldn’t she be? Once she’s been Judged, she’ll finally be able to use magic like an adult. There’ll be no more waiting for an adult to handle the most basic of things—getting clothes out of the drawers, making her bed, getting the kitchen to cook. Her siblings all did well on their Judging Days, all 5s or higher, with her oldest sister Alexa receiving a very rare 9.
Abby joins a small group of first years at the school. Most of the students come from families that no longer want them. They see the school as a refuge, but they soon learn that safety is something they’ll have to fight for and not a comfort.
Rubino-Bradway does a great job working with the awful realities of bigotry, bullies, slavery, and physical challenges all couched in a cute fantasy story. This is a fast-paced, good read about how families often have to cope with the very real struggles of children with challenges, even ones that happen later in their lives. It brings out ugly truths that most of us refuse to acknowledge, but exist in the shadows. It’s a great story – that is obviously part of a series since so many threads are left dangling – but still a good read.
It’s Judging Day for twelve-year-old Abby Hale. Her family – siblings, cousins, aunts, and more - have all come to celebrate the festivities. There’s the family dress to wear and her mother’s special necklace. When she heads to the Guild for the Judging, she’s filled with anticipation. Why shouldn’t she be? Once she’s been Judged, she’ll finally be able to use magic like an adult. There’ll be no more waiting for an adult to handle the most basic of things—getting clothes out of the drawers, making her bed, getting the kitchen to cook. Her siblings all did well on their Judging Days, all 5s or higher, with her oldest sister Alexa receiving a very rare 9.
Spoiler
At the Guild, the unthinkable happens. Abby doesn’t even pass the first level. She’s ordinary, an ord. The head of the Guild tells her parents how to get rid of her. Selling her is no longer an option since King Steve made that illegal, but they have other options on how to deal with an Ord. Thankfully for Abby, her parents defy convention but their love for her can’t solve everything. Just because selling Ords is illegal, bigotry isn’t. The local school will no longer keep Abby enrolled. Abby’s sister, Alexa, tells them about a secret for ords where Abby will learn how to live without the aid of magic. More importantly, she’ll learn how to defend herself for there are many people –and creatures—who would love to get their hands on an ord.Abby joins a small group of first years at the school. Most of the students come from families that no longer want them. They see the school as a refuge, but they soon learn that safety is something they’ll have to fight for and not a comfort.
Rubino-Bradway does a great job working with the awful realities of bigotry, bullies, slavery, and physical challenges all couched in a cute fantasy story. This is a fast-paced, good read about how families often have to cope with the very real struggles of children with challenges, even ones that happen later in their lives. It brings out ugly truths that most of us refuse to acknowledge, but exist in the shadows. It’s a great story – that is obviously part of a series since so many threads are left dangling – but still a good read.
brandypainter's review
3.0
I really enjoyed the characters. I loved Abby, Fred, and Peter. Abby's family was great too. Each of them were so different and full of life and personality. I also very much liked the concept of the novel. A school for ordinary kids born into a magical world. Yet there were times when the ordinariness of the school was a bit dull. Like the instructions for dish washing.
The biggest problem I had was buying into the world. It was incredibly modern yet had a king and what seemed to be an arcane system of justice. TV, movies, newspapers, paperback novels, "calls" across long distance, all of these were part of the world and yet there were "adventurers" running about going on epic quests behaving in a medieval fantasy setting fashion. It was a strange melding of contemporary and medieval thinking that just never rang true for me. The way the "ords" were treated so harshly by most of society was odd too. I can see the parallels to groups in society that have been ostracized due to differences that caused them to be perceived as lacking. I just couldn't see how it fit into the world. Again, all those modern elements made it unbelievable to me. I also couldn't understand why on earth this society raised children to the age of 12 who couldn't do anything for themselves. They have to be followed around so someone old enough to use magic could open doors, turn on faucets, get them dishes. As a parent this is an utterly ridiculous concept to me.
The biggest problem I had was buying into the world. It was incredibly modern yet had a king and what seemed to be an arcane system of justice. TV, movies, newspapers, paperback novels, "calls" across long distance, all of these were part of the world and yet there were "adventurers" running about going on epic quests behaving in a medieval fantasy setting fashion. It was a strange melding of contemporary and medieval thinking that just never rang true for me. The way the "ords" were treated so harshly by most of society was odd too. I can see the parallels to groups in society that have been ostracized due to differences that caused them to be perceived as lacking. I just couldn't see how it fit into the world. Again, all those modern elements made it unbelievable to me. I also couldn't understand why on earth this society raised children to the age of 12 who couldn't do anything for themselves. They have to be followed around so someone old enough to use magic could open doors, turn on faucets, get them dishes. As a parent this is an utterly ridiculous concept to me.
postitsandpens's review
4.0
EDIT: Reread in January 2023. I think this is actually more of a 4-star read at this point in my reading journey, so I've downgraded it here on Goodreads. It's still a great middle grade story, and I loved revisiting Abby and her friends as they try to survive in a world that's not made for them, and where not having magic makes you "less than" in the eyes of the public. There's a lot to unpack with that plot alone, in terms of how it relates to current times, but I don't really want to dive into that right now. The biggest thing that lowered my rating is that this book needed a sequel, which was never written. It ends without a definitive stopping point, with an ambiguous ending that would be more impactful if it had been completed. I'd still recommend this wholeheartedly, but I'm just not as blinded by heart eyes this go around.
Original Review:
You guys, I ADORED this book. Like, I'm sitting here having finished it and just want to draw hearts all over it. There is so much about it that I just loved - our main narrator, her fantastic family, the whole point that you can be so much more than people think you can, the entire world itself - that I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to find the right words and am just going to end up gushing all over this, which probably isn't helpful to anyone reading this review. But I am SO putting this on the list of books to buy for my students! So much good stuff in this book, seriously.
Okay, fangirling done, or at least it will be tempered a bit from here on out. This book was like a reverse Harry Potter, in which, instead of realizing she's a wizard (like Harry does), Abby is born into a world where everyone can do magic, and it's expected that she'll be able to do magic because everyone just does. But it's discovered that Abby is what the world calls an "ord" - as in ordinary, as in no magical ability whatsoever. In this world, most "ords" are sent away from their families because their status reflects badly on everyone around them, but Abby's family isn't normal, see, because all of them - her amazing parents and her awesome siblings, all of which I loved to pieces (I think Gil is my favorite) - actually LOVE her, and therefore try to figure out what to do to help her and keep her safe.
"It was weird, I felt exactly the same today as I did yesterday. Shouldn't you feel different after you find out that you're, you know, totally useless? I guess not. You're born an ord, I knew that. So I'd always been useless. I just didn't know it until yesterday." (8%)
At this point my heart was pretty much breaking for Abby, but I had faith that things would get better, and they did, for the most part. See, Alexa, Abby's eldest sister, runs a school for "ords", where the kids can go to learn how to live without magic (you know, in which they learn to do things like all of us do, unless one of you has actually received a Hogwarts letter). It's at this school where Abby starts to discover herself. She makes friends, and goes to classes (most of which are pretty mundane and normal, but they do have a self-defense class with a really kick-ass instructor), but it's totally not boring to read about because throughout it all Abby is making these self-discoveries and becoming such a strong person. And there are all of these funny asides and humor integrated seamlessly into the narrative that the entire reading experience was just completely engaging and fun.
The book does have some darkness in it - see, ords sell for a lot of money on the black market, and Abby has a run-in with a pair of thugs who desperately want her early on (in which Alexa is completely awesome), who then spend the majority of the rest of the book in pursuit of her - and there's some sadness and danger and absolutely gripping scenes that left me white-knuckling my Kindle and wanting to read faster than my eyes can actually move so I could see how things would turn out, but the entire thing was just so perfect that I was through it in a few hours and wanting more (because this seems like it's definitely the first in a series, to which I say, bring it on!).
I also like the little hints that something may potentially happen between Abby and Peter somewhere down the line after they're both much older (since they're only twelve here), because I really adored their "friendship" (I use quotes because Peter maintains that they're not friends, thank you very much), plus I'll be interested to see what happens when her parents realize the truth about Alexa's love life (which I totally saw early on). But really I just want more of this world, more of Abby, more of Abby's family and friends, more, more, more!
If you want a really wonderful book about learning to accept oneself that also incorporates magic, fabulous characters, and a unique world, definitely give this one a read. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Original Review:
You guys, I ADORED this book. Like, I'm sitting here having finished it and just want to draw hearts all over it. There is so much about it that I just loved - our main narrator, her fantastic family, the whole point that you can be so much more than people think you can, the entire world itself - that I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to find the right words and am just going to end up gushing all over this, which probably isn't helpful to anyone reading this review. But I am SO putting this on the list of books to buy for my students! So much good stuff in this book, seriously.
Okay, fangirling done, or at least it will be tempered a bit from here on out. This book was like a reverse Harry Potter, in which, instead of realizing she's a wizard (like Harry does), Abby is born into a world where everyone can do magic, and it's expected that she'll be able to do magic because everyone just does. But it's discovered that Abby is what the world calls an "ord" - as in ordinary, as in no magical ability whatsoever. In this world, most "ords" are sent away from their families because their status reflects badly on everyone around them, but Abby's family isn't normal, see, because all of them - her amazing parents and her awesome siblings, all of which I loved to pieces (I think Gil is my favorite) - actually LOVE her, and therefore try to figure out what to do to help her and keep her safe.
"It was weird, I felt exactly the same today as I did yesterday. Shouldn't you feel different after you find out that you're, you know, totally useless? I guess not. You're born an ord, I knew that. So I'd always been useless. I just didn't know it until yesterday." (8%)
At this point my heart was pretty much breaking for Abby, but I had faith that things would get better, and they did, for the most part. See, Alexa, Abby's eldest sister, runs a school for "ords", where the kids can go to learn how to live without magic (you know, in which they learn to do things like all of us do, unless one of you has actually received a Hogwarts letter). It's at this school where Abby starts to discover herself. She makes friends, and goes to classes (most of which are pretty mundane and normal, but they do have a self-defense class with a really kick-ass instructor), but it's totally not boring to read about because throughout it all Abby is making these self-discoveries and becoming such a strong person. And there are all of these funny asides and humor integrated seamlessly into the narrative that the entire reading experience was just completely engaging and fun.
The book does have some darkness in it - see, ords sell for a lot of money on the black market, and Abby has a run-in with a pair of thugs who desperately want her early on (in which Alexa is completely awesome), who then spend the majority of the rest of the book in pursuit of her - and there's some sadness and danger and absolutely gripping scenes that left me white-knuckling my Kindle and wanting to read faster than my eyes can actually move so I could see how things would turn out, but the entire thing was just so perfect that I was through it in a few hours and wanting more (because this seems like it's definitely the first in a series, to which I say, bring it on!).
I also like the little hints that something may potentially happen between Abby and Peter somewhere down the line after they're both much older (since they're only twelve here), because I really adored their "friendship" (I use quotes because Peter maintains that they're not friends, thank you very much), plus I'll be interested to see what happens when her parents realize the truth about Alexa's love life (which I totally saw early on). But really I just want more of this world, more of Abby, more of Abby's family and friends, more, more, more!
If you want a really wonderful book about learning to accept oneself that also incorporates magic, fabulous characters, and a unique world, definitely give this one a read. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
pussinbooks's review
3.0
Ordinary Magic is a brilliant twist on the tradition of magic school ala Earthsea and Harry Potter. When twelve-year-old Abby Hale finds out she is an Ord, a person with zero magical ability, she is condemned by society as undesirable, and is open to being sold as a slave. The selling of Ords has been outlawed by the recently crowned King Steve, but not everyone cares about the law. Luckily for Abby, she has a family full of rational people who turn away the bigots looking to buy her.
This novel quickly won my heart with its witty cast. It's a feat of writing when minor characters have so much charm and personality that they feel like friends as much as the main character. Abby's brother Gil is a romance writer published under a woman's name, and her sister Alexa is a gifted, no-sense, butt-kicking magic user working in education. Rubino-Bradway does such a smashing job of connecting you with Abby's family that when it is finally time for Abby to move away to Ord school, you feel the same jitters Abby feels about leaving her comfort zone.
But once at school, a second cast of intriguing and sometimes frightening classmates are introduced along with the professors, whom are endlessly pleased when no deaths occur over the summer. Beneath the fun and playful tone of the story, there is a tale of very real danger and misery in Abby's world. While Abby is comfortable at school, many other Ords are homeless or being assaulted without any hope of seeing justice. But even the seemingly safe walls of Abby's school aren't enough to keep out nearly universal hatred, and some very unfriendly fae with some very sharp teeth.
Caitlen weaves the issue of Ord inequality to be parallels of racism, class systems, and ableism. In one particularly painful scene, Abby and her friends witness how an Ord whom is paid for work rather than enslaved is still made to perform stereotypes in order to entertain magic users. I found myself wondering if I should feel sorry for Ords--turns out I probably shouldn't. None of them seem to feel sorry for themselves, and don't envy magic users. The Ords often relish in their own way of doing things, but that is not to say they are portrayed as enjoying oppression. Ordinary Magic will raise questions about how you contribute to and combat oppression while delivering a thrilling story.
The ending leaves itself in a dangerous place. While this is the first in a series, the conclusion of Abby's first adventure is unresolved in troubling ways. This bit of realism does not itself feel out of place. Rather, it is the unmet call to action that feels strange. Rubino-Bradway has taken a risk that she will hopefully deliver on in forthcoming titles.
Ordinary Magic comes out May 8th from Bloomsbury USA. Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.
This novel quickly won my heart with its witty cast. It's a feat of writing when minor characters have so much charm and personality that they feel like friends as much as the main character. Abby's brother Gil is a romance writer published under a woman's name, and her sister Alexa is a gifted, no-sense, butt-kicking magic user working in education. Rubino-Bradway does such a smashing job of connecting you with Abby's family that when it is finally time for Abby to move away to Ord school, you feel the same jitters Abby feels about leaving her comfort zone.
But once at school, a second cast of intriguing and sometimes frightening classmates are introduced along with the professors, whom are endlessly pleased when no deaths occur over the summer. Beneath the fun and playful tone of the story, there is a tale of very real danger and misery in Abby's world. While Abby is comfortable at school, many other Ords are homeless or being assaulted without any hope of seeing justice. But even the seemingly safe walls of Abby's school aren't enough to keep out nearly universal hatred, and some very unfriendly fae with some very sharp teeth.
Caitlen weaves the issue of Ord inequality to be parallels of racism, class systems, and ableism. In one particularly painful scene, Abby and her friends witness how an Ord whom is paid for work rather than enslaved is still made to perform stereotypes in order to entertain magic users. I found myself wondering if I should feel sorry for Ords--turns out I probably shouldn't. None of them seem to feel sorry for themselves, and don't envy magic users. The Ords often relish in their own way of doing things, but that is not to say they are portrayed as enjoying oppression. Ordinary Magic will raise questions about how you contribute to and combat oppression while delivering a thrilling story.
The ending leaves itself in a dangerous place. While this is the first in a series, the conclusion of Abby's first adventure is unresolved in troubling ways. This bit of realism does not itself feel out of place. Rather, it is the unmet call to action that feels strange. Rubino-Bradway has taken a risk that she will hopefully deliver on in forthcoming titles.
Ordinary Magic comes out May 8th from Bloomsbury USA. Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.
jessiek04's review
5.0
This was a super cute book! Loved it! PLEASE let there be a sequel!!! (I checked, and Ms. Rubino-Bradway DOES intend to write at least one sequel, hopefully more. Day = Made.)