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A review by boundforinfinity
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
White's "Mister Magic" asks the question whether childhood's rose tinted glasses are really worth the revisit. With monsters and pocket dimensions and a strange series adjacent to the Internet creepypasta Candle Cove, later adapted into a TV series and the Web series local 58.
Mister Magic introduces us to what we assume to be our final girl, Val, who having accepted her amnesia from childhood grieves her late father. She is whisked away before the funeral after learning shocking news: her mother is alive. Throughout the book, Val's hunt for the truth takes for front.
The other character's however, whilst given the stereotypical roles of a TV show character generator, seem to all remember. Would Val like what they know?
The apex of all of this is: Val, Isaac, Marcus, Javi and Jenny were child stars.
The allusion to creepy behaviours of the Magic man, and the parentification of Val come to light throughout the story, suggesting a more thorough review of what it means to be a child star in this day and age.
I appreciated Kiersten White's ability to tell a mystery in a way that had me guessing. I only wish the only characters I felt any attachment to weren't just Val and Jenny. I wanted more from the others that suggested they fell into (or out of) their on screen counterparts. Isaac was the next closest, only picking up further characterisation in the second half of the novel.
Mister Magic introduces us to what we assume to be our final girl, Val, who having accepted her amnesia from childhood grieves her late father. She is whisked away before the funeral after learning shocking news: her mother is alive. Throughout the book, Val's hunt for the truth takes for front.
The other character's however, whilst given the stereotypical roles of a TV show character generator, seem to all remember. Would Val like what they know?
The apex of all of this is: Val, Isaac, Marcus, Javi and Jenny were child stars.
The allusion to creepy behaviours of the Magic man, and the parentification of Val come to light throughout the story, suggesting a more thorough review of what it means to be a child star in this day and age.
I appreciated Kiersten White's ability to tell a mystery in a way that had me guessing. I only wish the only characters I felt any attachment to weren't just Val and Jenny. I wanted more from the others that suggested they fell into (or out of) their on screen counterparts. Isaac was the next closest, only picking up further characterisation in the second half of the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping