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meeshkablack 's review for:
The Secret World of Maggie Grey
by Granger
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think calling this book “Black Harry Potter” does the book a disservice. It’s so much more than that. Yes there is magic, yes they are at a school. For the main characters (yes there are a lot of them) they find themselves like many young people today trying to discover who they are who they want to be how they fit within society. They are trying to figure out if they want to conform to social norms, or if they want to break away and do their own thing. For Maggie and Asha, they are also struggling with discovering their origins/ancestry. They are grappling with how to embrace change adapt to a new culture/world and overcome their pasts. Working through feeling like an outsider in a place around people who are more similar to you, but also not like you. People who grew up in this environment and understand the culture that you should understand but you don’t so you can’t relate to them. Then on top of all that just like young people today they are discovering that the history they have been told may not be what truly happened. AND then there is a murder. This book is so much more than “Black Harry Potter”
For anyone who is going to give this book a try I encourage you to go into it with the knowledge that this book is told from multiple POV‘s, I think in total there are five maybe six so go into it knowing that. It’s like watching a tv show that has multiple characters and you see things from each of their POVs. Also this book is unapologetically black if you are not used to AAVE or you think it’s grammatically incorrect this is not the book for you.
Ok now on to vibes of the book.
I have really struggled with getting into the fantasy genre for years now but this book… I couldn’t put it down. It sucked me in from page 1. I was intrigued and just couldn’t stop trying to figure out what was going on. I loved getting to know each character and absolutely loved the different POVs. It’s kinda like the game of clue. It’s a fantasy murder mystery. I loved seeing the girls building their friendship while discovering who they are and the sprinkle of romance that is mixed in. FAN F*CKING TASTIC!!! Lastly, this book was so damn funny!!! All the shade and clap backs just had me cracking up! When Asha went off on Solo at that party!!! Chefs f*cking kiss! And Quan!!!! I want a cat like Quan so bad!!! The way his temperament is so stank just like cats had me cracking up. I love Quan!!!
I can definitely understand why some people may not have vibed with this book it is a unique writing style. But for me, I loved it. It feels good to be back into fantasy again. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series and I’m even more interested in reading her other books under her other pen name.