The Revenge of Magic

January 1, 2019
After 12-year-old Fort's father is abducted during an alien attack on Washington, D.C., he jumps at the chance to attend a school of magic that is preparing to go to war with the invaders.Fort is anxious to start his new school, but he finds Oppenheimer School to be nothing like Hogwarts. Instead of a castle with turrets and magical creatures roaming the forest, Fort's new school is on a military base complete with armed soldiers and high-tech security. Although the school teaches both Healing magic and Destruction magic, Fort is determined to master the latter in order to avenge his father. When he arrives, Fort is given an ultimatum: learn three spells in three days or be sent home. While he quickly makes enemies with the aggressive Destruction students, he also makes important friends. Jia Liang is a master of Healing magic. Rachel, a wielder of Destruction magic, helps Fort fight his battles. And Cyrus, newly transferred from London, uses his clairvoyance to keep everyone out of trouble. While this new take on a magical academy is imaginative, the narrative wanders, spending too much time on bickering, dead ends, and flashbacks. Fort's indecision is his greatest stumbling block, making him a lackluster leader. An open ending suggests more to come. The book adheres to the white default; Jia is a Chinese immigrant, and Rachel is African-American.A potent mixture of magic and monsters that never materializes. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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March 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-Monsters rising up from under Washington, DC, herald the return of magic in this series starter. Twelve-year-old Fort Fitzgerald thought having his father embarrass him at the Lincoln Memorial was bad, but watching his dad disappear underground in a monster's claw was infinitely worse. It turns out that magic reappeared approximately 13 years earlier, and only kids born after that time have the ability to wield it. Months later, Fort is invited to apply to a special school for magical training-a school where the adults all seem afraid of the students. Fort dreams of revenge, but his abilities seem to be leading him to healing-or are they? Fellow students Cyrus, Rachel, Jia, and Sebastian, along with former students Sierra and Damien, help and hinder in Fort's quest to figure out why he can suddenly read minds and steal magic from other students. Readers never really get to know any of the characters well (the adults are particularly opaque), but the brisk pace, mild humor, and magical mayhem will definitely find an audience. VERDICT Purchase where action-packed fantasy is popular.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 25, 2019
Six months after losing his father during a monster attack on Washington, D.C., 12-year-old Fort Fitzgerald is recruited into a secret government program and school that teaches children like him to wield the spells contained within a set of recently discovered magical books. Oddly enough, some at the Oppenheimer Academy are eager to see Fort fail. But, desperate to avenge his father, Fort will do whatever it takes to prove he belongs, even if it means mastering the necessary spells in an unprecedented short period. To his dismay, his strength is for healing magic, rather than destruction spells. With the aid of his new friends, including British precognitive Cyrus, healer Jia, and the acerbic Rachel, Fort throws himself into his training, only to discover his new school has numerous dark secrets, and that they may be the last line in Earth’s defense when the books’ original owners threaten to return from their long exile. In this ambitious middle grade series opener, Riley (the Story Thieves series) refreshes the familiar “magic school” trope by mixing in conspiracy theories and Lovecraftian monstrosities, as well as an intriguing spell-casting system. A strong introduction to the memorable characters and imaginative concept, this leaves plenty of potential for future installments. Ages 8–12. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.