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A review by latad_books
Illuminations by T. Kingfisher
4.0
Rosa Mandolini is part of the famed Mandolini painters, who are known as the greatest painters of magical illuminations in their city. Magical illuminations can do all sorts of things, from keeping mice away from a pantry, to warding off sickness, to purifying water. The family business, Studio Mandolini, is struggling financially, as they're not able to keep up with their peers Studio Magnifico. The youngest member of Studio Magnifico is Rosa's best friend Serena, or she was, until she insulted Rosa and her family.
Rosa does not have her family's skill at illumination; she persistently paints radishes with fangs on them, but they so far have no discernable use, though her family can sense some sort of magic in the paintings.
One day, when a bored Rosa finds and with some difficulty, opens a carefully locked box with a crow illumination painted on it. The painted crow comes to life and squawks that she should never have touched the box as Rosa has unknowing loosed a monster on the city.
Proving Payne the crow right, terrible things start happening, first just at the Mandolini studios: illuminations are defaced and stop working. When the problem grows wider, affecting neighbours and then Serena's home, Rosa knows something has to be done. She and Serena work out their issues, and with Payne advising them, the two end up coming up with a solution to save both illuminations houses.
T.Kingfisher does it again! This was utterly delightful. Rosa is magnificent: she's tough, determined, and kind of the most "normal" in a family of eccentrics. Payne is slow to trust, funny, and too easily distracted by shiny things. I am so glad that Rosa and Serena were able to work through their differences, because a big part of the book was about people working together to solve a big problem. It's a warmhearted story, like Kingfisher's other books with a kid protagonist.
Rosa does not have her family's skill at illumination; she persistently paints radishes with fangs on them, but they so far have no discernable use, though her family can sense some sort of magic in the paintings.
One day, when a bored Rosa finds and with some difficulty, opens a carefully locked box with a crow illumination painted on it. The painted crow comes to life and squawks that she should never have touched the box as Rosa has unknowing loosed a monster on the city.
Proving Payne the crow right, terrible things start happening, first just at the Mandolini studios: illuminations are defaced and stop working. When the problem grows wider, affecting neighbours and then Serena's home, Rosa knows something has to be done. She and Serena work out their issues, and with Payne advising them, the two end up coming up with a solution to save both illuminations houses.
T.Kingfisher does it again! This was utterly delightful. Rosa is magnificent: she's tough, determined, and kind of the most "normal" in a family of eccentrics. Payne is slow to trust, funny, and too easily distracted by shiny things. I am so glad that Rosa and Serena were able to work through their differences, because a big part of the book was about people working together to solve a big problem. It's a warmhearted story, like Kingfisher's other books with a kid protagonist.