Reviews

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts by Erika Lewis

therearenobadbooks's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 It was a fantastic start packed with action, magic, and Celtic lore. Kelcie joins an amazing magical academy after living the past eight years in the human world with no memory of her true inheritance. A chosen one, epic adventure, magical Academy kind of story with a great team of elemental magic (and more) heroes who team up to save their school from powerful forces. 

Kelcie discovers more about her past but also about herself. She doesn't control only one element but more. Lots of action with well-written, easy-to-follow, and visualize scenes, whether it's the present or flashbacks into her past. Funny and emotional with great world-building. Feels complete and exciting. I'm jumping into book two right away. 
 The audiobook is also super exciting. I had to go with it whenever my chores interrupted my reading, and it was amazing. 

notmaddi's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

laura_cs's review

5.0

A fantastic middle-grade that delves into Celtic mythology! Perfect for kids (or anyone) who loves Percy Jackson, Aru Shah, and Amari Peters!

aielinnae's review

5.0

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy of the Unbreakable Arts brings to mind Alan Gratz’s League of Seven or Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor series: small group of middle school students who have extraordinary abilities and superhuman level snark join together to solve a grander mystery, make friends, and possibly save the world. Not necessarily in that order, but it’s a winning formula for a fun, enjoyable start of a new series. I look forward to seeing what Kelcie will accomplish with her fianna and den mates in upcoming installments.

ahoyhoy's review

adventurous challenging lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

writing feels  unpolished. but i enjoyed it  so 1 star?? so bad its good yknow  im kinda invested now . kinda like keepers of the lost cities writign style but worse also the plot twist was revealed in the blurb 

nerdyfoxreads's review

3.0

Kelcie Murphy is basically a Celtic-inspired Percy Jackson meets Harry Potter with a few additional twists and turns! It starts *very* similarly to the PJ series, and these similarities put Kelcie Murphy at a disadvantage. It makes it almost impossible not to compare the two, and Kelcie Murphy feels a little flat in comparison.

I wish there had been a little more time spent world-building and describing what was going on. There is a glossary in the back, but I didn’t know about it until the end

nithpanthiel's review

5.0

I don't usually write reviews as I'm new to GR but I had to write one for this book.

This review will NOT contain spoilers!!

I'm a librarian who received this as a giveaway advance copy. I'm always looking for things to suggest to my students when they finish a series like Harry Potter and are craving more. This book will definitely satisfy that craving.

Most of the time when I'm reading a new book, I can be quite judgmental and opinionated. Erika Lewis, however, left me thinking, "please let this be a series...." before I even read halfway. I read the whole thing the same day it arrived. If you adore plot twists just as much as I do, this is a fantastic book. A lot of fantasy books nowadays tend to be quite predictable. Kelcie Murphy did have its predictable moments, but there were a few that threw me off guard, leaving me with my mouth open. Kelcie Murphy earned all five stars from me and I highly recommend this to everyone, not just middle schoolers!

eclecticbookreviewer's review

3.0

Kelcie is a courageous girl who has been alone for a long time. However at her new magic school she finds a family. The dialogue in this book is fun and there is plenty adventure. I enjoyed reading about all the mythological monsters etc. The story was a good introduction to this series.

jody_diou's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.75

joeyhannah's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

3.5