Lindsey's Library

Critique

This book is a wonderful twist on ‘magical worlds’. Instead of following the typical conventions of the magical fantasy genre, Wrede recreates our own history, complete with the same people, like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The only difference is that the world operates openly in magic. There are magic schools everywhere throughout the world, and several branches of magic that emerged from various cultures.

Set in what would have been the settler time of American history, Wrede tells the story through the eyes of Eff, who narrates in an honest and personal style that makes it a very enjoyable read. Also, Wrede keeps more with the genre of literature during that time period with a tone that harkens to Mark Twain or Willa Cather. My personal favorite part, however, is the fact that unlike most stories about magic, this isn’t about one child hero who needs to save the world from the greatest evil that history has ever known or ever will know. It’s a story about a girl’s personal journey with her own power and her process of growing up, and the evils that she faces are not necessarily related to terrible magical creatures that threaten to end life as everyone knows it. Although there’s a little of that as well.

This is the first book in what seems to be a very promising series.