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A review by gschwabauer
The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
4.0
Parts of this were undeniably McKay--I'm giving it four stars despite its flaws because there were many scenes that touched me deeply. Unlike many other reviewers, I come to Hilary McKay expecting slice of life family stories, so I wasn't disappointed by the blended family focus. In fact, that's where the book shines: three siblings who didn't expect to be siblings navigating the complicated feelings that come with having to suddenly share parents, bedrooms, and financial struggles. Max, Abi, and Louis all feel distinct and likeable. I was moved by the slow connection that grows between Abi and Louis, his instant clinginess conflicting with her pressing need to keep some things just her own, all building to a beautiful mutual understanding. The way that Max and Abi take out early frustrations on each other, but through offered moments of kindness, develop a bond of trust and partnership.
Unfortunately, Abi is presented as the main character, but ends up being less interesting or surprising than her two brothers. She actually felt like a bit of a stereotype to me--the girl who really likes reading and understands that books are maaaaagic. Meanwhile Max is grappling with remorse after alienating a close friend, and Louis is learning that just because you love something--or someone--that doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Abi often disappears.
When I picked this up, I wondered "A Hilary McKay book with magic?" And the magic is the best and worst part. I expected a simple "isn't it incredible how books can transport you?" and got, bundled with it, a story about letting a secret grow and grow out of misguided love, the ways in which children feel responsible to protect whatever comforts them, even when that comfort comes at a terrible and violent price. How hard it is to admit that something you love and defend has been hurting you, has made you afraid, and how even the fear itself feels like a betrayal.
That side of the magic was masterfully done, even breathtaking. My heart hurt for Louis's loss even as I wanted him to be free. Which makes the novel's continual cheery insistence that learning to read is also its own kind of real magic! Yay! We'll all just keep on reading books and having adventures! feel entirely misplaced after the stunning ordeal that is the novel's central conflict. McKay wanted to wrestle with pain and betrayal but couldn't let go of two-dimensional ideas about The Love Of Reading, which made the ending feel . . . bizarre.
I agree with other reviewers that this wasn't McKay's strongest book, particularly as it steals some things from her other works. Louis has a lot of the Binny series' James in him, and this book also copies the Binny series' family-moves-into-weird-old-house-they-have-to-clean-to-cope-with-major-life-changes inciting incident, and you've got the foreign friend who integrates into the family (remember the Casson's Tom?) and the absent parent making lots of vague promises (why was Polly gone so long and why was it never dealt with properly?) and even the name Max (weren't you once a dog?) If she'd committed harder to the eerie and questionable side of the magic, this could have been five stars, and I'd read another story about the siblings in a heartbeat.
Also, it was such a breath of fresh air to read about a father who was kind.
Unfortunately, Abi is presented as the main character, but ends up being less interesting or surprising than her two brothers. She actually felt like a bit of a stereotype to me--the girl who really likes reading and understands that books are maaaaagic. Meanwhile Max is grappling with remorse after alienating a close friend, and Louis is learning that just because you love something--or someone--that doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Abi often disappears.
When I picked this up, I wondered "A Hilary McKay book with magic?" And the magic is the best and worst part. I expected a simple "isn't it incredible how books can transport you?" and got, bundled with it, a story about letting a secret grow and grow out of misguided love, the ways in which children feel responsible to protect whatever comforts them, even when that comfort comes at a terrible and violent price. How hard it is to admit that something you love and defend has been hurting you, has made you afraid, and how even the fear itself feels like a betrayal.
That side of the magic was masterfully done, even breathtaking. My heart hurt for Louis's loss even as I wanted him to be free. Which makes the novel's continual cheery insistence that learning to read is also its own kind of real magic! Yay! We'll all just keep on reading books and having adventures! feel entirely misplaced after the stunning ordeal that is the novel's central conflict. McKay wanted to wrestle with pain and betrayal but couldn't let go of two-dimensional ideas about The Love Of Reading, which made the ending feel . . . bizarre.
Spoiler
After their terror over Louis all through the story, after he's nearly killed and eaten, would his two older siblings truly be like "but it's great you're learning to read because all the beautiful things happening to us have been magic out of books!" Like.....is NOBODY going to rethink whether or not it's a good idea to crack open a novel in this house after being basically attacked by a mountain lion? I get it! People who write books like books, and people who read books like books, but I don't like books more than I like not being hunted down and killed in my own home!I agree with other reviewers that this wasn't McKay's strongest book, particularly as it steals some things from her other works. Louis has a lot of the Binny series' James in him, and this book also copies the Binny series' family-moves-into-weird-old-house-they-have-to-clean-to-cope-with-major-life-changes inciting incident, and you've got the foreign friend who integrates into the family (remember the Casson's Tom?) and the absent parent making lots of vague promises (why was Polly gone so long and why was it never dealt with properly?) and even the name Max (weren't you once a dog?) If she'd committed harder to the eerie and questionable side of the magic, this could have been five stars, and I'd read another story about the siblings in a heartbeat.
Also, it was such a breath of fresh air to read about a father who was kind.