Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mister Magic

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

10 reviews

wowsmeows's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"Growing up isn't inherently loss, it's just change. Maybe she can't taste sparkles anymore, but she has a lifetime of moments that feel like that."

Mister Magic is the story of an old children's TV show that everyone remembers, but there is no evidence it ever actually existed. Thirty years after the show abruptly ended, the last cast members have a reunion and uncover the past.

I'm really not a horror reader (I'm a scaredy cat!) but I saw this book being recommended and the plot really intrigued me so I was willing to give it a go.

However, I do think classing this book as a horror is maybe being kind. It's a bit creepy in places, but at best I'd say it was a thriller or just supernatural fiction. It ends with a bittersweet and perhaps even a somewhat wholesome conclusion, so I don't think it can really be classed as a horror. It's an interesting concept but didn't really deliver with the fear.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the novel, and was ready to delve into the story and uncover the mysteries, but it lost some steam towards the end. As it was drawing to a conclusion I felt maybe it could have benefitted from having been explained a bit better and explored a bit more. I found myself a bit lost with some of the descriptions as I went through the big conclusion, but maybe that was just a me problem.

From the author's note at the end of the novel, it becomes clear that the whole book is basically an allegory for religious trauma, which looking back now is very obvious. I almost wish this had have been explored a bit more as cults are just inherently creepy.

Also,

for a book called Mister Magic, the titular character makes a stunning lack of appearance. I kept waiting for the big bad to appear out of the shadows for a grand finale, but nope.

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herasrevenge88's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Why am I crying over a horror book? Why do I want a happy ending? This book was slow paced but had an insidious tone. I both enjoyed and dreaded reading it because I wanted to know what was going to happen but the pace was so slow I felt like I might be disappointed at the end. I shouldn't have doubted Kiersten White. This is my second book that I've read that is written by her and while the first one I read was a faster pace it had similar vibes: there's more to what's going on here than you are originally lead to believe. This book had me questioning the reality of the world the characters were inhabiting, the other people they interacted with and even the reality of who they thought they were. The pacing does pick up about halfway through the book but its only faster compared to the previous part of the book. I've never read a book that I liked this much that I took this many voluntary breaks from it to absorb what I just read and to try to analyze what I've read so far.

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense

4.5

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mynameisrebecca's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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verafran's review against another edition

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mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

I consider this book an easy read. I picked the themes quickly, and figured some of its mysteries and twists.
The writing has a good flow that makes it easy to read and the main characters are what they're supposed to be.

It could be a 4 star book, but I can't pass behind a plot hole/misshap that, to me, messes up a crucial part of the story.

So, halfway through the book, Val answers the guy's phone and that's the ranch lady, asking where she is, telling her she has the money and new documents so she can start a new life anywhere - as someone new. Tell her to not tell anyone/not trust anyone looking for her. All good and well. BUT.
She was the one who exposed Val in the first place when she put the announcement about Val's Dad passing and the funeral on Facebook. She was the one who told Val to relax, that they were no longer in danger.
The author used this to start the story and completely forgot about it.

The editor didn't notice or didn't care, probably thought readers wouldn't care.
Most people probably won't, but sadly I did 😔.

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I picked up this book expecting an entertaining creepypasta-flavored romp through cosmic horror. Instead, I cried my eyes out and felt like some wounded piece of myself got picked out of the darkness and bandaged. (And I lack the Mormon religious trauma this author is digging into!) I am tempted to push this into the hands of every millennial I know.

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livlamentloathe's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I finished the last page and burst into childlike tears. When I was ten pages from the finale, I thought: I’m not going to cry. What a JOKE I am!!!!! How can Kiersten White top Hide? She can’t! thought Olivia a few weeks ago when she borrowed Mister Magic from the library. Olivia from a few weeks ago is a FOOL.

Mister Magic isn’t Hide, but it has the same magic, the same horror. The horror that is reality, rules, arbitrary laws and systems and governments. The horror of previous generations and the lies they foist onto us. White survived Covid-19 and Trump and realized that horror isn’t a bogeyman. Horror is already here. Waking up is the real nightmare.

Mister Magic is a recovery. It’s closure. It’s acceptance and the peace of the After. We cannot accept reality if we’re living in the past. If we cannot move on. And neither can Val or anyone else. We need to open the doors.

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aileron's review against another edition

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dark hopeful 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

4.0

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huntress's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

“The one exception to our failing memories of the show: the theme song. You still know it all these years later.”

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.”

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