Magonia
By Maria Dahvana Headley
- Release Date: 2015-04-28
- Genre: Fantasy for Young Adults
Description
Maria Dahvana Headley's soaring YA debut is a fiercely intelligent, multilayered fantasy where Neil Gaiman's Stardust meets John Green's The Fault in Our Stars in a story about a girl caught between two worlds . . . two races . . . and two destinies.
Aza Ray Boyle is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.
Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.
Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza's hands lies fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?
Reviews
Love it
5By DanielAmtI usually don't write reviews, but here I am. This book gives me life. My first sci-fi book and it's amazing. I never cared for sci-fi until now!Concept is great, execution lacking
3By nycNOLAI really enjoyed the first third of this book, in particular the blossoming relationship between Aza and Jason. I appreciated Aza's cynicism in the face of her illness, and found both characters to be interesting yet familiar, if not entirely relatable and realistic. However, I found the transition to Magonia and resulting chapters to be lacking the earlier sections' wit and vivacity. I wanted the author to slow the pace of goings on in Magonia, to build the magical world slowly and with a singular direction, like Harry Potter. Instead, these sections seemed rushed -- I hadn't yet decided which characters I liked before they were thrown in near-death situation #4. Overall, I was a little disappointed; I think this novel could have been better if the writer had taken her time growing the story. There are still brilliant moments and the ambulance scene (and what precedes it) are well done.Amazing
5By Barking dog🐶This book is defiantly on my top ten list. It is interesting right from the first page. I recommend this to anyone ages 12 and up. 📚
