You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
oh, this was so lovely!!! such a vivid, whimsical world and loveable characters!!!
Alice and I read this out loud together. I felt like the pacing was off, maybe that was enhanced by the nature of our sporadic reading schedule. I loved the way this world addressed racism and was so much h more inclusive than many magical worlds. And the details of the marvel cities were incredibly creative! But there were some fairly big plot holes, maybe they will be filled in later in follow up books. But there was almost too many plot pieces dangling, so much of the world to discover that it didn't quite come together. The climactic moment wasn't gripping and I'm sincerely confused why Brigit did what she did. I'll see if the second one pulls it together tighter because there's lots of potential.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I would recommend this title to students who like Amari and the Night Brother or Aru Shah and Tristan Strong. The author, who is also the COO of We Need Diverse Books, makes an intentional and explicit effort to include a diversity of perspectives and representations include racial, familial, and socioeconomic diversity.
Worth noting that there a lot of minor characters introduced within the first 100 pages, and it can be challenging to keep all of their names straight. Some of these characters do fade away and aren't as important after page 200.
Content Warning: racism, xenophobia, peer bullying, magic, mention of child death/infanticide
Worth noting that there a lot of minor characters introduced within the first 100 pages, and it can be challenging to keep all of their names straight. Some of these characters do fade away and aren't as important after page 200.
Content Warning: racism, xenophobia, peer bullying, magic, mention of child death/infanticide
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
2.5
This book had potential, but overall I just found it meh. I was way too distracted by how much it copied Harry Potter. If you’re going to write a book about a magic school, then yes, I suppose there’s going to be some overlap if you can’t get more creative… Magic invitations, magic transportation, magic letters from home, etc. But it’s all of the other little details: 3 main friends, one of which has a bunch of siblings, an evil society, the school changing routes to confuse students, a criminal that escapes from prison, footprints on maps showing where someone is, time manipulation jewelry, art of former headmasters that move - I mean, come on!! is there such a thing as content plagiarism?
And if I had never read Harry Potter before: I thought her world/character building was poorly done - too much, too fast. There’s a reason Harry Potter was seven books long…
Also, the narrator needs accent lessons!
This book had potential, but overall I just found it meh. I was way too distracted by how much it copied Harry Potter. If you’re going to write a book about a magic school, then yes, I suppose there’s going to be some overlap if you can’t get more creative… Magic invitations, magic transportation, magic letters from home, etc. But it’s all of the other little details: 3 main friends, one of which has a bunch of siblings, an evil society, the school changing routes to confuse students, a criminal that escapes from prison, footprints on maps showing where someone is, time manipulation jewelry, art of former headmasters that move - I mean, come on!! is there such a thing as content plagiarism?
And if I had never read Harry Potter before: I thought her world/character building was poorly done - too much, too fast. There’s a reason Harry Potter was seven books long…
Also, the narrator needs accent lessons!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this SO much!
This has a magic school setting, which enhances the slight similarities between this and HP. That said, the world building is better in this novel than in HP. Clayton includes multiple cultures with their unique magical creatures and talents. It's incredibly inclusive.
This is the first year the magic school accepts Conjurers. Conjurers seem to be magical workers who are the descendants of Enslaved Black Americans. The school already accepts Black folks from West Africa and the Caribbean. The magic school is set up in the sky, and it seems Marvellers have their city and homes in the clouds, so to speak.
Conjurers deal with the dead and the afterlife. Which seems to be looked down on by Marvellers. Marvellers are those who have magic, which isn't Conjure. Non magical folks are called fewels, pronounced like fools🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭 The Conjure home city is NOLA and let me just say it was magical as fuck. There's even a scene in Congo Square🎉
Some of the discrimination modeled antiblackness and lateral oppression amongst the Diaspora. It's subtle but handled well.
This has a magic school setting, which enhances the slight similarities between this and HP. That said, the world building is better in this novel than in HP. Clayton includes multiple cultures with their unique magical creatures and talents. It's incredibly inclusive.
This is the first year the magic school accepts Conjurers. Conjurers seem to be magical workers who are the descendants of Enslaved Black Americans. The school already accepts Black folks from West Africa and the Caribbean. The magic school is set up in the sky, and it seems Marvellers have their city and homes in the clouds, so to speak.
Conjurers deal with the dead and the afterlife. Which seems to be looked down on by Marvellers. Marvellers are those who have magic, which isn't Conjure. Non magical folks are called fewels, pronounced like fools🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭 The Conjure home city is NOLA and let me just say it was magical as fuck. There's even a scene in Congo Square🎉
Some of the discrimination modeled antiblackness and lateral oppression amongst the Diaspora. It's subtle but handled well.