I have been sitting trying to write a review for this book for days, and really struggling to put into words just exactly how I feel about Mister Magic. First of all, it’s incredible. If you read Hide by Kiersten White (which is being adapted into a graphic novel), you will have a bit of a taste of how she writes horror – but Mister Magic completely blows that book out of the water.
** easter egg from Hide – pay attention to the names of the people at the gas station in Pocatello in Mister Magic**
I am going to put a spoiler warning right here because I don’t think I can really discuss this book without going into the storyline … so… go read it and come back.
Good?
Okay lets go
So, Kiersten White, like myself, was raised in a particular religion. (you can google it, it’s out there) And this religion recently has been having an influx of members leaving. We all have our personal reasons and stories, but something that I have really noticed about former members is we all experienced a lot of the same traumas, regardless of where we lived or what time of our lives was spent in the church. There are some very similar feelings and stories that we all seem to relate to.
Kiersten, has beautifully taken what I would think of as a deconstruction story, and made it into horror, which honestly, some of the things we went through are already the stuff of nightmares.
This book was incredibly creepy, the imagery was haunting, and yet, I found myself falling to my knees sobbing. “Better to die innocent, though, than to grow up dirty and broken”
I very rarely reread books, as I generally read thrillers. However, after returning this one to the library I will be purchasing my own copy, I feel that there is still so much to discover from this story and I cannot rave enough about it.
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