Ready for your next magical adventure? Author S.A. Schneider has crafted a world of magic that is ideal for middle grade readers – Embracing the Magic: A Town Magician Middle Grade Fantasy. Picture a dark and dangerous wizard, a magician who is a fake, and a young boy who desires to have magic himself. Sound like a book you’ll want to pick up? Well, let’s see where this story goes!
The cover of Embracing the Magic by S.A. Schneider is a color packed image that gives readers a glimpse of the drama that will be found within it’s pages. A forest scene unfolds on the cover with thick green trees setting the background for a battle scene front and center. Rocks and boulders set to serve as a make-shift arena for the two characters poised in fighting positions. A wizard dressed in blue robes, red cloak, and black boots is reaching out with one hand as magic sparkles from it. In his left hand is a staff with a large red gem.
Across from this mysterious wizard is a young boy. Dressed in simpler clothes, his back is to the readers. A simple tunic in brown and red, with pale brown pants, and dark brown boots. Magic sparkles around his hands as he faces off against the older wizard. Behind this daring young boy is a line of rocks. Behind the rocks, hunkering down is an older-looking young man. He’s dressed in a red tunic with brown pants and boots, with a lighter brown shirt on. Going from the look of shock on his face, either the wizard has surprised them…or could it be that the younger boy has surprised him? Guess we’ll have to dive into this book to find out!
Embracing the Magic opens with a snippet of a scene that will be further expounded upon later in the story. Villagers from another town are warning that this wizard, who has demanded a duel, is nothing to be ignored. He’s already conquered other towns, deposing their wizards, and these villagers have no desire to see another fall.
Author Schneider transitions Embracing the Magic to chapter one where readers are introduced to the villain of this particular story. Morzul is a wizard on a quest for power. He craves to acquire as many amulets as he possibly can. Why? He wishes to be viewed as the most powerful wizard of them all. He’s tired of living in another’s shadow. Morzul’s ambition is to take him to the very top. We’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out.
Told from the third-person POV, Embracing the Magic plays out the story of young Samual on his quest to discover whether he has magic or not. Embracing the Magic also details intermittently Mozul’s quest for power. While Mozul is the primary villain of this story, he won’t be the primary focus. Instead, that honor will go to young Samual.
Embracing the Magic is a middle-grade coming-of-age fantasy novel. The first in the Town Magician series, this story gives readers a glimpse into a magical world. Samual desires to have magic. He holds a healthy amount of resentment towards his town magician, Rory. Where does this resentment stem from? Well, apparently, Rory is not what he appears. Rory has a not-so-secret “secret” that he’s hiding in plain sight.
As much as Samual tries to call him out on his lies, no one listens to him. The question of why arises quite often. Are the villagers willfully ignoring what they see? Or do they simply not see it at all and are thereby truly oblivious? It’s an interesting question that begs to be answered as readers delve deeper into Embracing the Magic.
The drama of the story dances around, but it really locks into place when Mozul makes an appearance in Samual’s village. This is where things start to get interesting, because we know the truth about Rory, and the question becomes…will he fall to this evil wizard? Of course, author Schneider keeps things interesting here in Embracing the Magic. While Rory may not be the most adept wizard…he’s no dummy.
Author Schneider moves the story forward with our two unlikely heroes. Both questing for magic, the ability to protect and…validation. Embracing the Magic will tease readers as to whether or not Samual or Rory truly has magic. Author Schneider educates readers on the different levels of magic, and that not everyone is blessed with it. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to not have magic…unless you hold the position of Town Magician.
There are twists and surprises to be discovered in Embracing the Magic. Author Schneider teases readers with little hints of mystery that will pull us to dig deeper and even to pursue the series to find out what happens next. There are some bullying elements in Embracing the Magic, but it’s never a major focal point of the story.
If anything about this book we were disappointed in it would be the lack of detail. This is a middle grade fantasy novel, but we know very little about the characters themselves. How old are they? What is their general appearance? We get small details but not enough to really flesh out what they look like. However, this might be intentional on author Schneider’s part to encourage readers to create their own idea of what the character looks like.
Overall, Embracing the Magic is an engaging middle grade fantasy novel that is sure to grab the attention of young readers. Readers will enjoy the drama, the magical elements, and the surprise twists that author Schneider weaves into his story. By the time readers reach the end of the story, their curiosity will be piqued to see where Samual’s story goes from here.
Embracing the Magic is a story perfectly suited for middle grader readers, and readers of all ages who enjoy light fantasy novels. While the story has a slow start and lacks certain details author Schneider still delivers an overall enjoyable novel. Those looking for a new fantasy series to dive into can’t go wrong with Embracing the Magic the first in the Town Magician series.
Pros:
- Engaging storyline
- Interesting characters
- Age-appropriate content
- Unexpected friendships
Cons:
- Lacks details, especially in relation to characters (age, appearance, backstory)
- Slow start
Scribble's Worth 