Strong themes for a young audience

My experience with Middle Grade is pretty limited at this time, but I felt that some words and some situations would be better suited to an older audience. However, overall, the story is relatively short and smart with very few mistakes. The characters are likeable (to a point) and observant. I did like the dream world that was built by LeAnn Mathis. However, I was a little bit confused by the reality, as it was set in the ’60s and I’m not sure if that was the best time to set a magical novel for children (but what do I know?).

Characters

There were two main characters in the book, and we got a chapter from each of their viewpoints. Maddie is our strong female hero, and Franklin is the male hero. We also have an evil dude (Julius), who is some sort of ghostly being.

So, firstly to Maddie. She is the strong and smart girl who comes from a wealthy family. She escapes every night into the dreamland and beyond. There she is a magician, whereas, in reality, she is just your ordinary smart child. She caves to societal constructs and ignores the other hero we have in the story at the start. Maddie does build up her courage as the story goes and we learn that love, not hate is the best outcome.

Next, we have Franklin, who is a smart, but kind of shy boy. He comes from a family where his mother has to work a lot to get him where he is (and he knows that). He sees the world different from Maddie, in that the Dreamland is more an escape from persecution. The more he enjoys this, the more he feels his world is wrong.

Themes

The central focus in the Magician’s Dream is racism. It’s set in a time where Franklin, being black is not as well accepted as it is now (which is why I believe Mathis chose the ’60s). The class divide is evident when we read that Maddie should not be seen talking to (or being friends with) Franklin. Her brother is there to tattletale on her when she steps out of line (as a spy for his parents). Franklin is also unsure whether he should be talking to them, as he knows that someone will likely punish him.

Another smaller theme is that even the smallest of things can have the biggest/gravest consequences. We see this with (spoiler ahead) the needle that Maddie received. This needle joins the Dreamworld with reality, and as such, can wield great power (such as fireballs flying around the hallway). I quite like such gentle themes, as they let me think on what small things in my life may have led to great consequences, such as receiving a Harry Potter book as a child, and here I am reading and reviewing books all these years later.

A third theme is: there is always another way (spoiler ahead). We read this when Franklin has to make a choice between what Maddie says to do, and what Julius says to do. Franklin chooses Julius, but with a twist that Maddie and Julius never expected. This sort-of third option is always available to you if you just stop and think about the situation.

Recommendation

So, overall, I liked the book (but maybe I have a bias to magical books). I liked the idea of a Dreamworld connected with others. I didn’t like the year it was set (because it led to more adult themes), but it didn’t subtract from the story too much. I would recommend it, but you may need to explain certain themes to a child if they ask.

Note about this review

I received a copy of the book from the author for an honest review. I always try my best to balance the reviews and not favour any one person (though I may be a bit subjective when it comes to the genre).

Rental book

As my second Kindle (monthly Prime rental) book, I thought I’d go for a “top” book in my genre. An Amazon imprint publishes it, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s not a long book, but it felt much longer than it should’ve. It’s set back a hundred or two hundred years ago in London where magicians work with man-made goods. I thought the premise was fun, and it was interesting that the main character Ceony, worked with paper. I also quite liked the idea of working with man-made things such as metal (smithing) etc. and being able to enchant them.

Into the heart

I felt that there was too much backstory to the story. We dive into the backstory of Mg. Thane about half-way through the book and then spend the rest of the book there (I can’t explain this without giving away the story). I don’t know about most people, but I just cringed when I read all of this. I wasn’t interested in any of this, but I guess the author thought this backstory would be fun.

The evil character

I still don’t know how I felt about the evil character, Lira, who is what is named an “Excisioner”. I felt she wasn’t exactly thought out or explained in this book (even though she features in a lot of the back story). I don’t know, but none of the characters resonated with me in this story. Ceony, the main character felt rushed and way too easily charmed. Mg. Thane almost seemed too cliche.

Summary

I thought it was quite a cool concept, but not executed as well as it could’ve been. I would recommend you get this out at your library, or if you can rent it free as I did, that’d be a good opportunity to read it also. All in all, I liked the magical concept, but not the actual execution of the story.

Return to the magical world

So, it’s a new month, and that means that I can rent a new book for the month (as an Amazon Prime member). Note, I don’t have the unlimited books for Amazon Prime. I looked at the selections and in Germany, you do get a crap selection (I don’t read German books). If someone at Amazon can prove me otherwise, be my guest.

Characters

We follow Ceony Twill again through this magical historical world. Now, she still loves her teacher, for whatever reason after being in his heart. I don’t really like this romance and would rather see it die. It seems to be Miss Twills only reason to do things and (well I’m not a 19-year-old girl) I don’t think 19-year-olds would put their entire life and career on the line for a man much older than her (maybe a 16-year-old would do that because of their first love etc. ).

We also join a character Delilah, who is apparently one of her best friends becomes kind of a major character in this book. She’s a glass magicia, and I guess that’s why she’s in this book at all. Delilah explains to Ceony how Glass magic works, and that’s about all she does.

Theme

I guess this book returns to the theme that love conquers all. This is shown with Ceony’s insistence that she needs to protect her teacher because she loves him so much (even if he pretends he doesn’t like her).

The book also follows along the lines of good vs. evil. Good is the side of the magicians who don’t use the blood magic and evil is the team that uses it.

Recommendation

My recommendation is the same as the last that you should rent this book (for free). I do like the concept in the story, but the characters and the actual story needed a bit of work. My thoughts are also that it was too short. All in all, I will probably read the last book in the series with my next month rental.

Introduction

I read this book in a couple of days due to me being sick and the book being short. Again, I rented this as part of my monthly Prime subscription (I have no affiliation to Amazon). I knew what to expect from reading the last two books, but I always have some need to finish a series – even if I’m aware it won’t be my favourite (sorry Holmberg).

Characters

So we have the same two main characters, plus for some reason, her sister is introduced in this book. Ceony’s sister, Zina, seemed only to serve one purpose, and that was to plant an idea of a rumour inside Ceony’s head. We also have an enemy of Magician Thane, Magician Bailey. Apparently, he’s held a grudge against Thane for years and has never let go, even though he’s successful. Finally, we have the main ‘enemy’, the Excisioner, who escaped for a transfer somehow and managed to avoid authorities.

I believe that the characters in this book are one-dimensional. I can see places where Holmberg has tried to improve the characters and make them more balanced. But overall, the love story between Ceony and Emery Thane is very one-dimensional. Also, the characters that are introduced, like Zina, are added so thinly that the character could very well be removed from the story and nothing would change.

Themes

I like to try work out one or two topics with every review now. I think it keeps my head in place and lets me think more deeply and reflect on the stories. The first theme in the book is “forbidden love”. Well, maybe love more generally, but the relationship between Ceony and Magician Thane is frowned upon until they are no longer student and teacher. Student-teacher relationships are probably something a lot of girls and guys dream of when they’re younger. I don’t like the fact that Holmberg is practically saying that such a relationship is ok. It’s usually not.

Another theme I’d like to touch on is the topic of “what is evil?”. Now, Holmberg touches on this by having the typical “Excisioner is wrong”, all other magic is right.  She also touches on the fact that not all Excisioners are bad – such as when Ceony meets the “good” Excisioner that saved her life in the last book. Ceony still has reservations which she says out loud and the “good” Excisioner explains why he’s good.

Recommendation

So, I gave this book two stars because there is no half-star rating and I decided that it wasn’t an improvement from the earlier books. I would recommend you only read this book if you get it for free or you have a Prime/book subscription which would let you read it for free. The characters haven’t changed at all over the series and haven’t really “grown up” or learnt anything. The magical elements of the book are a nice change from other magician books, but not enough to redeem it.

Pretty excited about this, even though the article uses the lazy and inaccurate "Harry Potter for adults" description.  And the trilogy will be finished in August so there will be no danger of the TV series outpacing the books.