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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew by DaVaun Sanders
3.0
"Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew" was a fun middle grade novel that I enjoyed reading, though it wasn't my favorite. I found the world that Sanders created intriguing; it has a bit of a dystopian feel, which is refreshing for a children's fantasy read.
Keynan Masters is a boy who loves to rhyme more than anything in the world. He attends school on this online platform and helps out around his neighborhood. But his home, the Bizzy Block, is being threatened by dangerous storms. Keynan comes to believe that the only way to stop the storms is to go to the Peerless Academy for students who are gifted in the arts. Upon his arrival at the school, him and his friends start to notice mysterious happenings and begin to discover that the storms aren't actually storms. . .
I personally didn't love Keynan, which I feel was my biggest roadblock with this one. He is very selfish, not super loyal, and is quite petty most of the time. He is a young boy who is learning how to be more inclusive of his friends and to think before he leaps, so I'll cut him a little bit of slack. I think it's fun that Keynan loves poetry and spends much of his time perfecting his rhymes (even if they can be a bit cringey at times).
The setting was also neat. It's a boarding school for children who want to study the liberal arts such as dance, drawing, or writing. Oddly enough though, the dystopian-esque setting of this novel doesn't allow for spontaneous creativity/improv or the mixing of art forms, which is quite bizarre (but is eventually explained by the lore). This leads the students to attending classes where they have to memorize boring poems, repeatedly draw stick figures, and practice rigid dance moves.
The book was a tad bit predictable at times, but I did not see the ending coming at all. I never would have expected this book to end on a cliffhanger, and the way it ended completely shocked me. I'm not super invested in the story so the ending didn't destroy me, but I would still read the next addition to the series.
Overall, "Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew" was a quick, enjoyable read. It's been a while since I've read a middle grade fantasy, so it was a good palate refresher for me, especially since the tale lacked romance. I think this book has a similar aesthetic to the books in the Rick Riordan presents collection, so if you are a fan of those books, "Keynan Masters" is definitely worth checking out!
Keynan Masters is a boy who loves to rhyme more than anything in the world. He attends school on this online platform and helps out around his neighborhood. But his home, the Bizzy Block, is being threatened by dangerous storms. Keynan comes to believe that the only way to stop the storms is to go to the Peerless Academy for students who are gifted in the arts. Upon his arrival at the school, him and his friends start to notice mysterious happenings and begin to discover that the storms aren't actually storms. . .
I personally didn't love Keynan, which I feel was my biggest roadblock with this one. He is very selfish, not super loyal, and is quite petty most of the time. He is a young boy who is learning how to be more inclusive of his friends and to think before he leaps, so I'll cut him a little bit of slack. I think it's fun that Keynan loves poetry and spends much of his time perfecting his rhymes (even if they can be a bit cringey at times).
The setting was also neat. It's a boarding school for children who want to study the liberal arts such as dance, drawing, or writing. Oddly enough though, the dystopian-esque setting of this novel doesn't allow for spontaneous creativity/improv or the mixing of art forms, which is quite bizarre (but is eventually explained by the lore). This leads the students to attending classes where they have to memorize boring poems, repeatedly draw stick figures, and practice rigid dance moves.
The book was a tad bit predictable at times, but I did not see the ending coming at all. I never would have expected this book to end on a cliffhanger, and the way it ended completely shocked me. I'm not super invested in the story so the ending didn't destroy me, but I would still read the next addition to the series.
Overall, "Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew" was a quick, enjoyable read. It's been a while since I've read a middle grade fantasy, so it was a good palate refresher for me, especially since the tale lacked romance. I think this book has a similar aesthetic to the books in the Rick Riordan presents collection, so if you are a fan of those books, "Keynan Masters" is definitely worth checking out!