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haileyhardcover 's review for:
Mister Magic: A Novel
by Kiersten White
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sometimes books have absolutely stunning covers to try to distract from the fact that what’s inside is weird at best and so completely boring at worst. Exhibit A: Mister Magic
I was so excited for some 90’s nostalgia and some good creepy vibes… Mister Magic didn’t deliver on either front. It was absolutely nothing like I thought it would be based on the description and it just wasn’t good. It felt like no planning went into this at all. Like White just poured whatever popped into her brain into the page and called it good. I have no idea how else this could have turned into some weird offshoot Mormon kids tv show cult with sci-fi elements but here we are! The only parts I actually enjoyed were the Reddit threads about the show and trying to figure out how/why all trace of it had disappeared. If there had been more leaning into that element, this could’ve been great!
The two stars are mainly for the gorgeous cover that I’m sad about not being able to display on my shelf because I don’t keep books I don’t like 🤷🏻♀️
I was so excited for some 90’s nostalgia and some good creepy vibes… Mister Magic didn’t deliver on either front. It was absolutely nothing like I thought it would be based on the description and it just wasn’t good. It felt like no planning went into this at all. Like White just poured whatever popped into her brain into the page and called it good. I have no idea how else this could have turned into some weird offshoot Mormon kids tv show cult with sci-fi elements but here we are! The only parts I actually enjoyed were the Reddit threads about the show and trying to figure out how/why all trace of it had disappeared. If there had been more leaning into that element, this could’ve been great!
The two stars are mainly for the gorgeous cover that I’m sad about not being able to display on my shelf because I don’t keep books I don’t like 🤷🏻♀️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol