Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Mister Magic

I received a digital Arc from Netgalley and Del Rey in exchange for an honest review! The quotes are taken from the Arc and are subject to changes!

➽ Mister Magic is a creepy, surreal story about an old children’s programme! The ritual show Mister Magic used to be one of the longest-running programmes for children … until it suddenly ended 30 years ago. The problem? No one can find any proof it ever aired or existed in the first place 👀 There’s no known studio, director or any information on the internet. Many websites and posts dedicated to an in-depth look at the show suspiciously get deleted right after. In between the chapters, we get to see some articles and Reddit threads where people talk about the show and how it shaped them. They all remember watching it, but still cannot find any concrete proof as all footage has disappeared. I loved the ominous atmosphere of the book, as something clearly isn’t right and everything about the show and how it ended sounds suspect.

Now a podcast has announced a reunion of the child stars of Mister Magic, the first evidence there has been in decades. There are so many questions: who was Mister Magic – the mysterious black figure in the cape? Why did the show end? And how come no one has any footage? I was thoroughly creeped out, especially as there are tons of creepy rhymes the children used to sing (and if you look closer at the chapter headings, you’ll find something sinister there) 🤐

➽ The story also focused on Val – who cannot remember anything about her past. She’s been living on a ranch the past 30 years, but after her father dies, her old costars and friends find her again. Val has the feeling she knows them … but she cannot remember ever being on the show or how it ended. Her father was terrified of something coming after them, so he isolated her and Val feels like she never really lived her life. Despite the risk, she decides to go with her old friends, who are heading for the reunion and podcast taping. Val has been repressing and closing all doors in her mind, but she needs to find out what happened and why she can’t remember anything before coming to the ranch. We mainly follow her perspective, as she grapples with guilt, blame and who she used to be on the show.

➽ Apart from the horror, this also discussed childhood & nostalgia! All of the former child stars – Val, Marcus, Javi, Isaac and Jenny – struggle with their life after the end of the show in their own ways. They feel stuck and yearn for the time on the show when they felt whole. Despite Mister Magic ending, the show never really left them and keeps haunting them decades later. There’s discussion of nostalgia and how accurate a rose-tinted look at the past really is: was their childhood better? or is it just easier to believe everything was perfect back then? The book had a lot of messages around growing up and being molded into something your parents want. The rhymes from the show are constantly brought up and you slowly question how good they really are. Did Mister Magic shape them into good kids, or just kids that were obedient and how their parents wanted them. I liked the discussions around the children’s agency and their hope for their own children.

➽ All in all, this was an intriguing, fast Horror with lots of depth! The characters, the creepy atmosphere and the discussions around childhood and control made for a great narrative. The author’s note also shone some light on the book, as it’s inspired by her own experiences with being Mormon and leaving this religion behind. You could tell that it was a personal book for her!

“Hope has far more hooks than fear, far more capacity to tear her apart from the inside.”

Content Warnings

autumnleafgirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Release Date: August 1, 2023
Genre: Supernatural Mystery / Thriller
Themes: Forgotten media, childhood trauma, 90s PBS nostalgia

We've all watched a show like "Mister Magic" - all about a cast of kids building world with their imagination and learning life lessons. It's the kind of show that lingers on the edges of your memory, only teased out now by a nostalgia-fueled YouTube compilation or an off-handed mention from a friend. But what happens when the nostalgia comes back to haunt you?

The five surviving cast members from the "Mister Magic" television show are all grown up now. Brought together for the 30th anniversary of the show's ending and wracked by the trauma they experienced as children, they must learn who they are, how their lives are intertwined, and who they can trust as adults in a world that seems determined to drag them back into the otherworldliness of the show.

It's a fascinating concept, perfect for this era of the recovered child star, the unnecessary reboot, the tell-all book/podcast/documentary. Kiersten White's imagination goes off the rails in a good way painting a picture of the titular fictional kids' show, the nostalgic populace who watched it, and the elements conspiring against our protagonists. The question of the tragic accident that resulted in the show's ending is a compelling, entertaining mystery that make it easy to pick up and finish in just a few settings.

On that, a note about genre... While I wouldn't necessarily agree that "Mister Magic" is a horror novel, I think it works well as a supernatural mystery-thriller. Don't go in expecting gore or exorcisms or demon animatronics - instead, keep an open mind for some interesting abstract anxiety about self and identity and a unique metaphor for the author's exit from Mormonism.

That said, this story isn't without its challenges. The book's pacing, and specifically the drip of relevant information that typically drives a mystery-thriller, was somewhat inconsistent. We spent a lot of time towards the middle rehashing what certain characters don't know and what no one would care to admit and a lot of time at the end getting a waterhose of information straight to the face. Despite one theme of the book being about imperfections and character development, the characters more often than not defaulted to their stereotypes, which seemed like a missed opportunity.

For fans of: At face value, this book is going to his a very specific subset of people directly in their feelings: If you grew up watching "The Big Comfy Couch," "Zoom" or even "Out of the Box" on TV and are now the kind of adult that falls asleep watching YouTube videos about lost media, this is the book you didn't know you needed. Seriously, perfect intersection of nostalgia and current interests.

On the literary side, fans of Edgar Cantero's "Meddling Kids" will appreciate the similar your-childhood-all-grown-up approach, while fans of books like Elizabeth Little's "Pretty as a Picture" will appreciate the mystery, if they're open to a supernatural twist. Overall though, this book will appeal to those looking for an interesting, not-too-dense mystery that digs into the recesses of your brain for all the things you've lived long enough to forget about.

The verdict: "Mister Magic" is a fun read that leverages the eerie nostalgia of early childhood afternoons watching PBS to build up to an interesting mystery with a surprising solution. While it's not necessarily as intense as a true horror book, it'll scratch the itch for someone who wants a little creepiness to their thrillers and please those looking to for a unique take to the thriller genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for an ARC in exchange for a truthful review!

Content Warnings

More...