Book Description Review “The concept of musicraft—producing magic by playing music—feels fresh and is undeniably appealing, and who is going to say no to a trip to another magical boarding school? The storytelling flows, pulling readers along, and some particularly grand, magical sequences (including a legitimately epic ending) make this stand-alone fantasy a memorable adventure…full of heart, clever plotting, and strong world building that young readers, musicians and otherwise, will enjoy escaping to.”—Booklist “A toe-tapping fantasy novel mixes music and mystery.”—Kirkus “For fans of Harry Potter who don’t want to stray too far from Hogwarts but are in need of new adventures.” —School Library Journal “At the core, this is a feel-good story about believing in one’s ability, musical or otherwise.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Read more About the Author Jessica Khoury is the author of multiple books for teens. The Mystwick School for Musicraft is her middle-grade debut. In addition to writing, she is an artistic mapmaker and spends far too much time scribbling tiny mountains and trees for fictional worlds. Her spare hours are spent video gaming, painting, or cooking badly. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and sassy husky Katara. www.jessicakhoury.com Twitter: @jkbibliophile Instagram: @authorjess Read more Customers Review: So I’ll admit I’m biased toward ‘music styled’ books, and not in a good way. I find that authors tend to over-explain basic concepts in a way that sounds like ‘isn’t it awesome I know this? I clearly love music’ — at least, that’s the kind of subtle arrogance I pick up on. Then again, I’m probably more sensitive because I have two bachelor’s degrees in Music.With that said, this was a charming little book. The author was clear without showing off about her musical knowledge, and she did a great job making Amelia Jones a person. Her voice is clear, and I never questioned if she was in character to herself. To be honest, I started and ended this book in less than 24 hours, which is unusual for my lifestyle. Sure, there were some YA elements I didn’t care for, but I’m also in my mid-twenties and understand that I’m not the target audience. But if I were in 5/6/7/8th grade? This would probably be one of my favorite books.
I pre-ordered this book, hoping to love it, and finished it feeling rather let down. I was acutely aware that I was not the target audience, but thinking back to my fantasy-loving, 11-year-old self, I don’t know that she would have liked it either. I found the prose uninspiring and cliché, the main character obtuse and unlikable, and the tropes both heavy-handed and obvious. The parallels to Harry Potter (hidden school for the special and talented; amazing, strangely-colored magical vessel to transport us to that school; four houses determined by superficial characteristics; protagonist with missing parents and strange talents; cheerful, emotional male sidekick) were not well-hidden. Furthermore, I found myself wondering how familiar the author actually is with “classical” music and its world, or if she instead enlisted the help of a few more-musical friends. The entire world felt clumsily grafted together from randomly-selected elements of reality and fantasy.That said, I thought the book played well within the boundaries of the rules it had set forth. I found parts of it humorous. I especially appreciated how clear it was that not only the main character but everyone enrolled at the titular academy needed to work very, very hard: music in this universe is not a mystical endowment from the Muse but a skill to be learned and honed (unless you’re talking about certain specialties, but that’s another complaint). I absolutely loved the character of the headmistress, and certain other characters I found uninteresting, but believable.I’m not sure I can recommend this book for a serious young musician, but a more casual one might love it – or you might love it! You don’t have to pay attention to my opinion at all, if you like, and you certainly don’t have to like the same things in a story that I do. That’s the beauty of books. If you decide to buy it, I hope it gives you hours of happiness!
I’ve been looking for a new series to listen to on my absurd commute. This is excellent – funny, interesting and not too socially awkward or embarrassing (my achilles heel in books). Highly recommended.
Mystwick is a world you can’t help but daydream about. You think of what kind of person you would be, what kind of adventures you would have. Its a world that’s makes you think you could be magical too.I love this story and listening it on audible with all the real music and instruments gave it a kind of unique realness that I haven’t got from other stories but i believe however you enter the world of Mystwick will leave you with a feeling adventurous.Also love the interpretations of old maestros and famous musicians in history, I’ve learned a hell of a lot from listening to this book and now have a classical music playlist.All in all it’s a wonderful story for young and old alike. If you are a fan of music and have a love of adventure and heroes then this book is for you.I bought a harmonica because of this book, i’m learning the blues!
GET THIS AUDIOBOOK! The story is incredibly well-written, which I don’t find often for middle school fiction, the characters are charming and flawed, and the narrator does a great job of giving them all an original voice. And, best of all, there is music accompanying the book whenever instruments are played. It is so engaging and so original. I got it for free on Audible thinking it would be a cute read, but it is at the top of my list for YA literature. It reminds me a little of the Harry Potter world but more whimsical. Will be pre-ordering this book. I have been telling my teachers all about it. Especially the band teacher. His students would love it! |
33 reviews