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pagesplotsandpints 's review for:
Mister Magic
by Kiersten White
Read Completed 8/22/23 | 3 stars
MISTER MAGIC sounded too intriguing to pass up. I haven't always gotten along with Kiersten White's books in the past -- I've read a few and DNFed two others but nothing really stood out like crazy to me. I was super interested in the premise of this book and really wanted to fall in love with it.
The idea of this book was so unique and I absolutely loved the concept. I wasn't sure if it was thriller or horror for a long time and I loved the atmospheric vibe of the book and the intentional murkiness of everything while the story of the characters unfolded. I really loved the concept of a childhood show having this hold on everyone with so little information about it, creating sort of a real life Mandela effect where people remember it differently because every time someone posts about it, it gets wiped from the internet.
I wanted so much from this book and it didn't quite deliver like I was hoping. I don't read reviews before reading a book for fear of spoilers so I didn't realize exactly how symbolic this book was and what it represented (the author's personal experiences growing up Mormon and how the people around her handled religion and raising children). I picked up on it in the sense of it taking place literally in the book but not so much that it was so symbolic of a toxic religious upbringing. Finding that out didn't change my opinion of the book (it was still only ever going to be three stars for me) but it did change the way I saw it. Before understanding all the symbolism, I was a little frustrated with the lack of development in world-building aspects of the show, the magic, etc. After knowing that, it made more sense that it was all more symbolic but I got more upset that it ended up being so abstract and that it didn't really stand on its own without it.
I just really wanted more from everything here. More explanation, more character development... it just left me wanting when it could have really knocked me off my feet. There were a lot of good, creepy moments but they ended up falling flat and the tension died away. We didn't get enough answers and I don't know why some of this happened in the first place. Was it magic or was it the people of Bliss? I just don't get why some of these things didn't come full circle.
MISTER MAGIC sounded too intriguing to pass up. I haven't always gotten along with Kiersten White's books in the past -- I've read a few and DNFed two others but nothing really stood out like crazy to me. I was super interested in the premise of this book and really wanted to fall in love with it.
The idea of this book was so unique and I absolutely loved the concept. I wasn't sure if it was thriller or horror for a long time and I loved the atmospheric vibe of the book and the intentional murkiness of everything while the story of the characters unfolded. I really loved the concept of a childhood show having this hold on everyone with so little information about it, creating sort of a real life Mandela effect where people remember it differently because every time someone posts about it, it gets wiped from the internet.
I wanted so much from this book and it didn't quite deliver like I was hoping. I don't read reviews before reading a book for fear of spoilers so I didn't realize exactly how symbolic this book was and what it represented (the author's personal experiences growing up Mormon and how the people around her handled religion and raising children). I picked up on it in the sense of it taking place literally in the book but not so much that it was so symbolic of a toxic religious upbringing. Finding that out didn't change my opinion of the book (it was still only ever going to be three stars for me) but it did change the way I saw it. Before understanding all the symbolism, I was a little frustrated with the lack of development in world-building aspects of the show, the magic, etc. After knowing that, it made more sense that it was all more symbolic but I got more upset that it ended up being so abstract and that it didn't really stand on its own without it.
I just really wanted more from everything here. More explanation, more character development... it just left me wanting when it could have really knocked me off my feet. There were a lot of good, creepy moments but they ended up falling flat and the tension died away. We didn't get enough answers and I don't know why some of this happened in the first place. Was it magic or was it the people of Bliss? I just don't get why some of these things didn't come full circle.