Larbalestier, Justine: Magic or Madness
Magic or Madness
Writer: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 271
I don't browse the YA section. Don't really know why, but lately, I've found myself drawn to really interesting books online and later discover said books are YA. And despite my interest in Harry Potter, I tell myself I should be beyond these kinds of books, that I don't need to read them. Yet, they eat my brain. They sit there and tempt and taunt me until I find myself in the YA fiction section of the bookstore. Their pretty covers invite me to touch them, to flip through the pages. And of course, I buy them.
There's actually a teeny-tiny stack of YA books that I have/want to read. You'll start seeing them sprinkled through my reading, so consider this a fair warning.
In this case, it was the premise that drew me in, and after reading Larbalestier's The Battle of Sexes in Science Fiction, I really wanted to see what she was doing with her own work, particularly since her trilogy seemed as far from science fiction criticism as you can get.
I found this title at a Barnes & Noble in Naples, FL. They had the second, Magic Lessons, as well, but I just picked this one up, not sure if I'd like it or not, even though I already adored the premise (magic is real, and you either use it and die young or don't use it and go mad) and its central protagonist, Reason, a fifteen year old girl from Australia whose father was Aborigine.
I really, really should've picked up the second book.
Because I've got a few YA titles to go, it'll be interesting to see if the trends I see here are also exercised elsewhere. I barely remember the books I read when I was YA (I remember them, but I don't remember the devices so much), but one thing I kept noticing was how information is withheld from the reader. In this case, it was well-done. Reason didn't want to know, and because she didn't want to know, the reader didn't find out. Instead, the reader learns a lot from her point of view, and my adult mind began to fill in the blanks: I figured out who HE really was rather quickly, and that Esmeralda was more than Reason was told.
I bring this up because I'm reminded of the number one criticism for those of us trying to break in the business: don't play coy with your readers. Don't withhold information. Now, I'm not using this RULE to criticize Larbalestier's work by any means; rather, I'm thinking that if this skillful withholding is a general trend in YA fiction (and why not? Kids want to know, right? So they'll keep flipping the pages), and if so, then it's not surprising that writers try to do the same in their own work.
Something else I'm curious about, whether it's a trend in YA: the importance of family and identity. Both are strong themes in this book, and it seems to me, the more I think about it, these themes would be common in YA. Which got me thinking: is there much of this explored in adult fiction? Particularly in the SF/F genre? And if not, why not? I think about my own work, the way I've constructed my character relationships, and while I've never been told my fiction is YA, I can't help but wonder if my themes are darn close.
I digress. But I'm bringing this up now to ponder later. Also, I'm amused that some of the most profound critical writers of the SF/F genre (Larbalestier, Le Guin) mainly write for a young adult audience. Again, something I'm bringing up to ponder later. It's a lot of food for thought.
Now that THAT's out of my system, why didn't I pick up the second book again? Clearly, Magic or Madness is the start of an arc, the beginning of the trilogy. It ends resolved, but with a billion questions in the air, all promised to be answered in the later books. I enjoyed Reason, her culture and her lingo, and her shock at being stuck in the middle of New York City. Tom I liked for his innocence, and his fetish for making clothes (but making them with magic? AWESOME), and Jay-Tee took a while to grow on me. I wasn't fond of her POV, especially how stupid she made Reason look, but in some cases, her POV was necessary (like when Reason was suffering from "door-lag") and she certainly had the greatest conflict of the three. I think there's lots of room for her character to grow, and I'm looking forward to seeing where she goes.
The magic was also well-described, vividly so. I loved how Reason could taste, smell, and feel it. Fantastic descriptions, and far more interesting than the bland uses we usually see in fantasy. And while I felt like it took a little while for the book to find its feet, it ended far too fast, which is yet another reason I'm kicking myself for not picking up the sequel when I had the chance.
It's a good read. Like I said, I wish I'd picked up the second. Something I'd definitely recommend to readers of all ages, particularly those looking for a different use of magic and a developed magic system. Nothing is black and white in this world, particularly the characters, and that's what makes the book so rich. Definitely looking forward to the second.
Next up: In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan