Firstly, thank you to Stories Untold Press for the free copy in exchange for a review.

"We no longer wander and I thank you, Ivy Lovely. Welcome home. Welcome home, at last."

I really wanted to like this book. I've been on a huge middle grade reading kick lately, and I thought this one would be perfect. Unfortunately, it just didn't capture my attention like I hoped.

The world building is incredibly heavy, which I didn't mind, but definitely felt strange for a middle grade book. If I was a kid, I would've found it confusing. There were a lot of descriptions that felt unnecessary. I found myself skimming paragraphs to avoid all the details, especially once Ivy went on her school shopping spree (at the very similar, but definitely not, Diagon alley). It didn't quite feel like the writing style of a typical middle grade book and confused me, as an adult. I imagine children could get lost quite easily too.

The name choices in this book are odd, or at least they distracted me, and not for the reasons they should. The first character who the book follows shares the same initials as the author. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be cutesy, magical, or simply a self-insert, but it was strange. It took me out of the prologue. Ivy herself goes to a magical school that shares the same name as her, called the Halls of Ivy (It's as if Harry Potter attended Potter Academy instead of Hogwarts). One character's initials are even LOL. I don't understand why the naming choices are like this, maybe some people find it amusing, I found it a bit irritating.

Most of the above is forgivable, and dependent on the reader. Maybe you like long descriptions, and maybe you like fun naming choices.

But what nobody likes is feeling like you're reading a copy of another book.

This book tries so hard to be Harry Potter. I don't mean it's trying to be the next big kids book- I mean it is trying to BE Harry Potter specifically. An orphan child who's treated poorly suddenly discovers they have magic and they are whisked off to a magical boarding school. The teachers feel the same as Harry Potter, Ivy buying her school supplies feels the same as Harry Potter, and I'm sure the list would go on. I DNF'd at chapter eight when I realized neither the writing nor the story was changing into something I'd like.

I'm not tired of the magical school trope. But this is basically Harry Potter, with small adjustments to try and make it different. Unfortunately, I can't rightfully recommend a book that is so heavily inspired by another series. There are other fresh and new takes on the magical school trope that invoke a lot of creativity, so I can't recommend this book over them.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

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adventurous emotional fast-paced