Mister Magic

" Mister Magic is the story of a cast reunion for a children's show.  Val has no actual memory of being on the show.  When some of her old cast mates show up at her father's funeral, she feels comfortable with them in a way she can't explain.  She is soon on a road trip with them, looking for answers. The show, Mr Magic, has a cult following.  Adults write articles and podcasts about their memories of the show and the songs that taught them important life lessons.  No one can find a copy of an episode anywhere, which raises the mystique behind the old show. Mr Magic is about a group of friends for whom life has been disappointing since leaving the show.  There is tension and anger directed at Val because she left the circle first and caused the show to fall apart. In her acknowledgements, Kiersten White admits that she was raised a Mormon, although she is no longer.  It is tempting to read it again, with this knowledge. This is a book I could easily picture becoming a movie. I recommend it to anyone who questions the rules and parents who wonder how to raise children to be good people. Content warnings-  a moderate amount of swearing, brainwashing, kinda spooky "

"Creepy book about old kids TV"

"“The rules defining this biting, lonely reality mold you, shape you, then break you. Tell you that you deserve to be broken, you're better off broken, you should be grateful to be broken. God or society or some twisted combination of the two is watching. Someone is always watching.”<br/><br/>⭐️⭐️⭐️.5<br/><br/>This is an extremely powerful book; especially once you read the acknowledgments and realize what deeper messages White is trying to represent. I absolutely adore Kiersten White’s writing style and I thought the idea for this one was incredibly different and interesting. My favorite part by far was her metaphorical messages about religion, how society views growing up, child exploitation through television, and the desire of society to keep us all in line. <br/><br/>“She was packaged and presented to the whole world before she was old enough to understand what that meant. They all were.”<br/><br/>“We were performing childhood, not experiencing it. And the show was teaching other kids to perform it, too.”<br/><br/>However, this was a little too surrealistic for my tastes. It was hard to feel a connection to the story or its characters when constantly questioning what was real, what was happening, and if things were taking a supernatural turn. Also, I was incredibly frustrated by having to spend more than half the book with absolutely no idea what was going on and with no answers to even basic questions. Overall, I applaud the author for tackling such important issues and for being so vulnerable about her own past. I can absolutely see why this will mean a lot to certain individuals. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t for me, but as a Kiersten White fan, I will still absolutely pick up more of her work in the future."

"Trippy, confusing. A tiny bit repetitive but the writing is so pretty I can get past that. It's hard to define its genre. Pretty suspense fantasy horror? It was what reading is supposed to be, entertainment but more.hits you right in the generational trauma."

"I was very excited to read Mister Magic and I love the cover. The book started with a good concept and introduction of characters was appealing. Val is a woman that has been seemingly been in hiding for 30 years. At her fathers funeral, a group of three men arrive that says they know her, but she has no memory of who they are and what her past is. Without hesitation she leaves with them for what they say will be a 30 year reunion. <br/>Throughout the story, odd things happen in a house in the middle of nowhere. There is no explanation as the why it’s happening. The story seems to take turns without explanation. In the final quarter of the book, the mystery to the show Mister Magic is revealed and it’s confusing to figure out what the explanation of who Mister Magic. <br/>I do like the authors writing style and the initial premise of the story, but it does become haphazardly confusing and I realize that the book begins to feel very cult like"

"i know this is better than hide but i’m still not quite sure what happened here"