Reviews

Magônia by Maria Dahvana Headley

lisagriffioen's review against another edition

2.0

Not well excecuted. Kept reading because I was hoping it would get better, but it only got worse... Liked the first 100 pages before the fantasy part kicked in, after that I was having a hard time to buy all of it...

Also after A court of silver flames, probably every book would’ve been disappointing :p

riverlethe's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

sklus's review against another edition

2.0

How do I describe Magonia to you, my intrepid reader? Think of the most bland YA novel possibly can. Of course, it stars a girl who isn't like other girls and finds out she's different and special. And a love triangle, preferably between a life long friend and a new, mysterious boy. Both are hot, and although Main Girl states repeatedly that she's not attractive, both of these attractive boys are in love with her.

Am I be Twilight? Or maybe the Hunger Games? Ha, that's funny. Of course, I'm describing Magonia. If you're in the market for a cookie cutter YA novel than maybe this book is the book for you and you should stop reading this review. The rest will be all spoilers and complaints. No fun from here on.

Spoiler

So our Bella/Katniss/Main Girl's name is Aza, and she's not like other girls because she is dying and really cool about it. She even has a cute nickname for death calling it "Reverse Santa Clause" (whatever the heck that means). She's also a #intellectual. While "other people watch tv, Aza read about cryptography and sailor's knots" (87). TV bad, book good, am I right fellow intellectuals? Her best friend/potential boyfriend, Jason, is also an intellectual. He seems to be coded as autistic (if it was directly stated I missed it), which I think is actually a benefit to the book if they gave accurate representation of people with autism.

As a sidebar from a math major, what is the author's issue with the number 16? Apparently, it's "nothing. It's this nothing notion. It's not even a prime number" (88). Firstly, 16 is not a nothing notion, that would be zero, the number earlier mentioned in a rant about the history of math. Secondly, why does it matter it's not a prime number? Sure, primes numbers are special but it's a perfect square. And I would argue perfect squares are more special than prime numbers.

Anyway, Aza suffers from an incredibly rare disease, so rare that she's the only person in the world that has this disease. Obviously it's named after her, but she calls it Clive because she's so not bothered by her disease. One of the few compliments I have about the book is the family dynamic in it. Unlike Aza, her parents and sister seems to care about her impending death. They react to it in a way that feels natural and is actually heartwarming. I'll admit I shed a few tears when Aza "dies" and her mother comforts her.

But Aza didn't die, instead she shed her human skin and became a bird-skyperson. Aza isn't like other human girls, she an incredibly powerful bird person. Her real mother is also a bird person, the captain of a skyship filled with other bird people, including a hot bird boy who treats her terribly when she first arrives. Obviously, he's part of the love angle. And now that Aza is a bird person, she is hot and powerful and the only person who can save the entire country of Magonia, a sky country filled with sky bird people. Did you expect this whole book to be about bird people? Because I certainly did not. I spent half of the book trying to get over the ridiculous premise and the other half trying to get over the lack of awareness over how cliché everything was despite featuring possibly the most bizarre plot I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I noted about halfway through the book that the book felt like a "cookie-cutter fantasy with a weird premise to make it seem different" and I stand by that comment.

And there's much more I could have complained about, but I'll stop there. It's not like Magonia is completely irredeemable. For as strange as it is, the premise was interesting. The idea of a whole society living in the clouds on old ships was what drew me to the book. At points, they even discussed humans destruction of nature, which were some of the most interesting moments in the book. At the end, the pacing, rampant clichés, and boring formatting just made this book not the book for me.

eesh25's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 Stars

Magonia has a strange setting. It follows a girl who seems to be drowning in air because it has more oxygen and pollutants than she can handle. She's never had much of a life expectancy. And then the worst comes true. Except, not really. While her family and her best friend, Jason, think she's dead, she's actually been taken to Magonia, a land in the sky. She travelling on a ship, she can finally breath, and she finds out she's more powerful than she ever imagined.

And when I said strange, I meant many things. For one, the fact that the protagonist dies within the first quarter of the novel (I totally cried), then there's the world-in-the-sky thing and the flying-ship thing. Finally, there are bird people. It's all quite fascinating.

I loved being introduced to the world of Magonia and how it's based on speculation and conspiracy theories of historical events, like how people put their own twist on Jack the Ripper (I'm reading a Jack the Ripper book night now). I love when authors do that. It makes it seem as if the world they've created really exists. Or could exist. So much fun to read.

The characters in the novel were great. I love Aza and her quirky and sarcastic personality, and I loved Jason with his obsessive nature, his determination, and his loyalty toward his best friend.

The romance between Aza and Jason was super cute. Right off the bat we're shown how much they love and care about each other. They have a very strong bond and I was rooting for them the entire time. Even though the author decide to test my patience by introducing another guy and creating a love-triangle-ish situation, because YA authors just can't help themselves.

I actually had a few problems with the author. There was, of course, the (mandatory) love-triangle. But there were things happening that made me not like Aza as much. You see, the author needed the plot to move a certain way. For that to happen, Aza needed to act a certain way and let certain things happen. Which required Aza to let herself be very easily manipulated, and for a very long time. It was beyond irritating to see a smart character like Aza be fooled like that. Why couldn't the author have found a different way for the plot to move along?

The other problem I had, the singing. In this book, Magonians have power in their voice. It's like Harry Potter but instead of waving their wands, they sing. It was a wonderful idea to give power to singing. But it was hard to take it seriously.

We didn't know what or how they were singing. We weren't really give any cues as to what the musical notes were like. We they birdy or opera? For all we know, they could've been beat-boxing (okay, that was a joke). And Aza learnt so quickly. She actually just knew how to do it. It was like being hit over the head with both the Special Snowflake trait, and the Chosen One trait, at the same time. Quite annoying.

Overall though, I liked the book. But when you think about it, it relies pretty heavily on the novelty of how intriguing the world is. Something that's proven by the fact that the second book  hardly has any reviews with over three stars. It basically uses the same screw-with-you-characters-to-drive-the-plot technique this one uses. But since the world is no longer new, it's harder to forgive. I'm not reading the second book for that reason. I might at some point, but it's highly unlikely.

This book, I do recommend. It's interesting, has a good story, is well-written, and has great characters (not just talking Aza and Jason), even if the second book does ruin a lot of them.

hanzy's review against another edition

3.0

A refreshing change from the books I usually prefer reading. The story hooked me in midway and I just couldn't wait to get to the end. The descriptive details felt a little overly complicated as I wasn't really able to conjure certain images in my head, or maybe that's just how the writer wanted it to be.
A student of mine asked me to review it for her, and as the genre of the book suggests, it's suitable for young adults or mid/high schoolers.

mimimilaa's review against another edition

2.0

*2.5 stars
This book was just extremely weird and not what I was expecting. I felt like there was too much going on, and the story was just very rushed. There was essentially no world-building, which I understand may be because it's not a standalone, but there just wasn't enough to make me want to pick up the next book. The writing wasn't very atmospheric like I wanted it to be.

letsbebookfriends's review against another edition

4.0

*4.5 stars*
This book was simply wonderful. I didn't want it to end. I loved it loved it loved it. Some many parts took me by surprise. It was action-packed, whimsical, and funny. I was hoping that this was a stand-alone, but I'm pretty sure it will be a series. I look forward to reading more in the books to come.

snikkidee's review against another edition

2.0

Is this a unique book? Yes. Have I read anything like it before? no. Did I like it? Not really. I enjoyed the intrigue in the first part of the book. I like the history parts about Magonia (which come from actual history). I enjoyed everything up until she actually got on the ship and then, it all fell apart. Nothing felt fleshed out from that point on. It felt like a bunch of ideas just strung together but never really explained all that well.

stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition

2.0

Here’s something you should know about me; I pick up different genres for different reasons. I read contemporary for the characters, and I read fantasy for the plot.
Think about it, usually a book focuses on either of those elements. You honestly don’t need both to satisfy me. When you pick up a contemporary and read about amazing people you can connect with it, just reading about their everyday lives is enough because wouldn’t a story be ruined if these characters were pushed into the background for the sake of a plot?
When you read a fantasy book, you’re imagining a completely different world. Not much time for complex characters, right? But that’s okay, because I first and foremost read fantasy for the thrilling plot and world-building.

My problem with Magonia is that when you create these lovable characters for the first third of a book, and then suddenly throw the reader into a huge fantasy world, there’s no balance. It’s like abandoning all that you’ve built.
It’s not even a blend in a charming way, it’s a mess. I can do weird, I embrace it most of the time. But here it feels so random and out of place.
The characters and story had so much potential but I lost interest after the first third. Not even the nice writing, with its stream-of-consciousness structure could keep my attention.

I would’ve adored this if it were a contemporary, and perhaps enjoyed it if it were a full-on fantasy. But there’s a limit to what I can take in weirdness and this crossed that line.

This book started out amazing, with unique and honest characters whom I looked forward to reading about, but when the book suddenly changed setting and focus, I wasn't prepared for a whole fantasy world to get thrown at me. I can see why so many of my friends have loved this, but I think this book tried to be too many things at once and ended up more messy than magical.

If you want a unique book… Go ahead. If you would rather read an all-around fantasy or contemporary book instead of a disappointing mix of both of them, I suggest you look elsewhere.

artzea's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75