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alesia_charles 's review for:
The Magic Thief
by Sarah Prineas
What an utterly charming little book! Prineas's prose sparkles, the characters are vivid and distinctive, and the plot zooms along.
Yes, it may seem like a bit much that Conn is so unspeakably smart and talented (despite his privilege-free life up to the start of the book), but I don't demand that *all* heroes have to struggle mightily to learn magic (not to mention reading). Conn's endearing, cocky self-confidence and believable childishness more than make up for that potential flaw.
It's also clearly aimed at younger readers, but does not talk down to them in the slightest. This is an important trait for any book. It also makes the story a bit more complicated than jacket copy can really explain - the short summary does it less justice than most do. ("Richly detailed" is also a bit of an overstatement, though perhaps it is in comparison to other YA/Juvenile fantasy novels. A lot of it is stock pseudo-Victorian atmosphere, with creative fantasy touches and significant discussion of magical theory.)
Anyway, I loved it and will have to look up the other two books.
Yes, it may seem like a bit much that Conn is so unspeakably smart and talented (despite his privilege-free life up to the start of the book), but I don't demand that *all* heroes have to struggle mightily to learn magic (not to mention reading). Conn's endearing, cocky self-confidence and believable childishness more than make up for that potential flaw.
It's also clearly aimed at younger readers, but does not talk down to them in the slightest. This is an important trait for any book. It also makes the story a bit more complicated than jacket copy can really explain - the short summary does it less justice than most do. ("Richly detailed" is also a bit of an overstatement, though perhaps it is in comparison to other YA/Juvenile fantasy novels. A lot of it is stock pseudo-Victorian atmosphere, with creative fantasy touches and significant discussion of magical theory.)
Anyway, I loved it and will have to look up the other two books.