Magic or Madness begins the story of Reason, named so that her mother could deny the existence of magic to her very core. Fifteen years later, Reason's mother has been confined to a mental hospital in Sydney and Reason has found herself living with her grandmother - the source of many horrific stories from her mother.

And she's found out magic is very real.

This book spends a great deal of time setting up characters for the rest of the series. The story is not terribly substantial, but I found myself interested in knowing more about what would happen to Reason and Jay-Tee to reserve the second book in the series. ( )

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Reason Cansino has always been taught to fear her grandmother, Esmeralda. Reason's mother, Sarafina, has taken them all over Australia, mostly to remote Aboriginal settlements. Reason has only been to a real school once, but Sarafina has taught her lots of things, mostly math and some science.

Reason has been happy with her life, but when Sarafina goes crazy--really crazy, as in trying to kill herself instead of her usual craziness consisting of things like making them walk in straight lines for days--all of that comes to an end. Reason is sent to live with Esmeralda in Sydney. She's expecting the dark, scary house of her mother's stories. The one where Sarafina's cat was murdered. The house where dark magic takes place--imaginary magic, of course, as Sarafina has always said that magic isn't real. It's too illogical.

What Reason finds, however, is a spacious, light house, not at all witchy. There are no animal sacrifices in the living room, no bubbling cauldrons in the kitchen. That can't undo the belief that years of Sarafina's stories have created, though. Reason is sure that something is going on underneath the surface, and she's got to run away and get out of Sydney as soon as possible. She's got to rescue Sarafina from the loony bin where she's been locked up.

Sydney's not all bad, though. Reason meets Esmeralda's neighbor, a boy about her age named Tom. She'll be sorry to leave him behind, but it looks like he's working with Esmeralda, and she's got to get away from the witch.

Reason's escape from Sydney doesn't exactly go as planned. Instead of escaping with her mother and all of her supplies, Reason finds herself on a winter street in New York City, barefoot and with nothing, after stepping through Esmeralda's back door.

She doesn't know how she ended up there, but she's grateful to Jay-Tee, the teenage girl who rescued her from the freezing, alien streets. She thinks that Jay-Tee is just a friendly passerby...But could there be more to it than that? What is going on? How did Reason step through a door from Sydney to New York? That's just not possible. What secrets are being hidden from her?

MAGIC OR MADNESS is a wonderful novel from Justine Larbalestier, who's married to one of my favorite authors of all time, Scott Westerfeld. It's a fascinating story, and the way it's told is a little unconventional: some chapters are told in a first person point of view, in Reason's voice, and others are told in a third person limited point of view, from inside either Jay-Tee's or Tom's mind. These three different points of view could be confusing, but Justine Larbalestier pulls it off wonderfully.

The story itself is quite a page-turner. I read this book when it first came out, and reread it after getting my own copy in paperback, and I loved it both times. The characters are all wonderfully realistic and interesting. Each answer Reason finds only leads to more questions, keeping suspense throughout the story. The writing is fantastic, and I'm really looking forward to the third book in the trilogy, MAGIC'S CHILD, coming in 2007! ( )

I think thats this is a great book. if you enjoyed reading Harry Potter and Twilight then you should enjoy this one too. ( )

I enjoyed this book. I also purchased the 2nd book in the series when I purchased the 1st. I plan on starting the 2nd book today. If you are into books like Harry Potter or Twilight, I think you would enjoy this book. If not, this book probably isn't for you. ( )

A meandering ramble that started out as an interesting read but Larbalastier quickly lost her thread and never wove her story together. Disappointing given the creative, though stock, plot of travel through a third dimension. ( )

This is an interesting book. Larbalestier as created a whole new world and sympathetic, compelling characters. Like many books that are the start of a series, much of the book is spent building up this world, especially its take on the rules of magic. Fortunately, I found this building process to be engaging. The plot is relatively spare but works - it is a good place to hang all the other story elements on. There are some darker themes (the madness of the title is real, sadly) that give weight to the story as well.

http://archthinking.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

Magic or madness...which would you choose? This first book in this series sets the stage with strange family relationships, mysteries galore, loyal friendships and enough food references to make you hungry. ( )

From the Sydney, Australia home of a grandmother she believes is a witch, fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino is magically transported to New York City, where she discovers that friends and foes can be hard to distinguish.

Book 1 Magic or Madness Trilogy ( )

Bookshelves of Doom

Okay, so I’m not a young adult anymore, but I still loved this story and plan to read the next 2 books. Reason and her mom have been hiding out in the Australian outback from her “wicked witch” grandmother. Then mom goes mad and Reason is living with her grandmother. Who really is a witch and has a door that opens to NYC. And magic is real, and not so nice. I loved Tom best, because how many 15 year old boys worry about the cut of someone’s clothes? I would let my daughter (11) read this. In fact I may buy them all and let her read them. After I’m done.

Okay, here's the thing. I kinda hate this book, and yet it was so easy to read and had just enough good things in it that I managed to read it all in one day. (I suspect that this is kinda what happens to people who read the Twilight books?) Anyway.

Magic or Madness is about Reason Cansino, a teenage girl who doesn't believe in magic but does believe in the power of math and science. But when her mother goes mad and Reason is sent to live with her "evil witch" grandmother, Reason soon finds out that things aren't as simple and non-magical as she likes to think they are.

I had a lot of problems with this book. The basic idea behind it was excellent and something that I could potentially love, but the little details surrounding it just drove me up the wall. Not the writing itself-- that was engaging and actually well done. It's just that I pretty much hated all the characters. There's three narrators: Reason, Jay-Tee (a runaway who lives in NYC), and Tom (who lives next door to Reason's grandmother). Tom's the only one who I got along with. He's stable and caring and though he might be a little naive, we got along fine.

Reason and Jay-Tee, on the other hand, are so sheltered and dumb about other cultures it's ridiculous! With Reason it's somewhat believable, because she's spent the majority of her life living out in the bush with her mother, not making friends or going into any big cities. Her culture shock is probably normal. But Jay-Tee lives in New York City! Hello! Lots of different cultures there, all combined! I would think that she'd be used to people who weren't native to NYC. It drove me up the wall that both of them were just wandering around in a big cloud of culture clash for the entire book. Sheesh! This was my biggest problem with the book, and I pretty much obsessed over it the entire time I was reading it. I just don't think kids are that naive today (unless they're bush-people, maybe), especially if they live in NYC, y'know?

Besides that, I was also annoyed that practically no answers were given regarding magic and Reason's connection to it. Some were, yes, but there's still a lot left unanswered. I suppose the solution will be in the next two books, but I don't know if I care enough to read them and find out.

So, yeah. Didn't really like this book, still finished it. Oh well. ( )

Reason and her mother have spent their lives feral in the Austrian outback, avoiding cities and never staying in one place for very long. When her mother has a violent breakdown, Reason is ferried off the the very Grandmother they'd been fleeing. When Reason sneaks through a door in her Grandmother's house and is transported to a wintery New York, everything her mother taught her seems proved a lie. Magic does exist. It is dangerous. And there are bad people out there who will try to use her.
I enjoyed the strong Australian voices in this story, which alternates between three main characters, reason, Tom, another Sydney teen, and JT, an runaway in New York. The magic system is original and interesting, and I'm interested in following Reason, Tom adn JT as they learn more about it. Esmerelda, the beautiful and young grandmother is creepy enough to add a good sense of tension.

I did feel that this was a set up for a denser book - while the story did stand alone, I think that the second and third books in the trilogy might be more story and less groundwork.

I think that Australian/New York expressions were highlighted a little too much- readers would notice the little differences without characters mentioning them all the time.

I'd give this to people who like fantasy, enjoy hearing Australian voices, or like family gothic stories. ( )

The main character, a young girl, Reason Cansino has a grandmother who is magic and her mother Sarafina has ran away from her as a child and has never stopped running. All her life, Reason Cansino's mother has taught her that her grandmother is evil and that she should only believe in maths, science and logic.
The story begins with the 15yr old being sent to live with her grandmother after her mother has gone mad. She is amazed to find that Esmerelda lives in a beautiful house in a Sydney suburb and is known and liked by her neighbours, especially by Tom, the boy next door.
Reason plots her escape because she cannot believe in all this normality when she "knows" of her grandmother's wickedness. It must be a trick. She escapes but ends up in New York after unlocking and stepping through a backdoor. Suddenly she is in the middle of winter and cannot get back. She is befriended by Jay Tee and learns that there are worse dangers than Esmerelda. A powerful wizard controls Jay Tee and also wants Reason. Tom and Esmerelda come looking to rescue Reason and confront the wizard before he can execute his plan.
It is an inventive and creative story. The choice of whether or not to use magic and its consequences make it interesting reading. There is a touch of danger and evil in the story and it has characters that you care about. ( )

This is a YA book but I was completely enthralled. I like all books that have to do with magic or witches but this book takes the cake. I don't usually do a synopsis but here's a short one: Reason and her mother Sarafina are on the run from Reason's grandmother Esmerelda. However, when Sarafina goes crazy, Reason is placed with her grandmother. Nothing about Esmerelda's home in Syndey, Australia is what she expected and when she walks through the back door and ends up in New York City, she has to face the facts. Magic is real.This book takes place in Australia AND the US and when Reason, who has never been outside of Australia before, ends up in the US, you can just imagine how strange it must be for her. She goes from summer to winter, day time to night time, Tuesday to Monday. The New Yorkers speak English but it's a different English and often she finds herself asking what something means or explaining what she is saying. I found this part of the book extremely interesting. It was neat to think about what a foreigner would think of North America. It reminded me of when my Floridian cousin first saw snow. I am beyond happy to see that this in but book one in the trilogy! I am off to find book 2 as I can't wait to know what happens next. ( )

I found this series fascinating. I love the idea of having to use magic or lose your mind, but you can't use too much without killing yourself. ( )

The names in this book were wonderful! Reason discovers that magic is real and is learning how to deal with it. ( )

I opened this for some light bedtime reading and couldn't go to sleep until I finished. Only through great will and the late hour did I manage not to open the second right away. Interesting premise and fun writing. ( )

I loved it!! Read it in one day, couldn't put it down. Excited to read the next two books in this trilogy! Something different. I love the "magic" side of the book, and trying to figure out what the main characters magic was!! Great quick read. ( )

Reason is no ordinary child. She has been on the move with her mother her whole life until her mother has a nervous(?) breakdown. Now her grandmother, who she always been told to beware of is now her guardian. When Reason goes through a door in her grandmothers house and goes from austalia to Grenwich village in NYC, she starts to learn the truth about herself and her family.
the hyper pace of this first volume in a trilogy is continued in the next two books and the anticipation to follow up each book mirrors the frantic pace of Reason's story. ( )

Fibonaccis are my favourites. They can take you a long way. Forever, in fact. Fibonaccis are numbers, special numbers that keep getting bigger and bigger as you go. The Fibs are kind of like lies—they keep creating more Fibs endlessly or until you get tired of the whole thing.
Reason Cansino has been separated from her mother, and thrown into the clutches of her evil grandmother, Esmerelda. But when Reason opens the back door of her grandmother’s Sydney home and finds herself in New York, Reason is forced to reconsider everything she ever believed in.

Links:
http://www.insideadog.com.au/residenc...
an interview with the author;

Other similar fantasy books:
If you want to read fantasy, but don’t feel like hanging out in Middle Earth, try these great reads set in the real world… with a twist.

http://www.insideadog.com.au/books/bo...

A chapter of the second? book in the trilogy, Magic lessons:
http://www.insideadog.com.au/books/ch... ( )

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.

It's a good read. 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.

For a full review, which may or may not include spoilers, just click here: http://calico-reaction.livejournal.co... ( )

I hate having to say this because the person I borrowed this and Magic Lessons from adores this series, but I really disliked these two books, leaving me with no desire to read the third one. I think it was because I absolutely hated all of the characters except for Tom. Oh, and the stupid Australian slang felt forced, like she had used slang non-Australians would recognise as being Australian, but no one I know would ever use.

Booklist Review: /*Starred Review*/ Gr. 8-11. In this fierce, hypnotic novel, character, story, and the thrumming forces of magic strike a rare, memorable balance. Reason is both the name of its 15-year-old Australian protagonist and a badge of defiance: Reason’s mother champions rationality and deplores witchcraft, especially the “smoke and mirrors” practiced by her own mother, Esmeralda. When Reason’s mom plunges into insanity and Reason must go to stay with Esmeralda, the wary teen, armed with only her survival instincts and a lucky ammonite fossil, attempts to stave off her grandmother’s witchy influences. Then she steps through a door in Esmeralda’s kitchen and emerges in New York City. There, as she grapples with the undeniable evidence that “magic is real,” she is drawn into a terrifying entanglement with a cruel older witch. Reason’s prickly first-person voice alternates with that of Esmeralda’s gentle apprentice, Tom, and Reason’s tough New York friend, the magically gifted Jay-Tee. The teens’ distinct, frequently contradictory narratives intensify readers’ concern for Reason and their desire to understand her circumstances. Readers looking for layered, understated fantasy will follow the looping paths of Larbalestier’s fine writing, as graceful and logical as the coiled chambers of Reason’s ammonite, with gratitude and awe.
-- Jennifer Mattson (BookList, 03-15-2005, p1286)

School Library Journal Review: /* Starred Review */ Gr 7-10???Australian author Larbalestier has wrought beautiful and fearsome magic in this novel, the first in a proposed trilogy. Reason Cansino has spent her life with her unusual mother in the bush, moving frequently, keeping to herself, and learning how to guard against her bizarre grandmother, Esmeralda. When her mother goes insane and 15-year-old Reason is sent to live with Esmeralda, she starts to question all the stories her mother has told her. Is Mere practicing magic, which Reason's mother insisted was not real? Why have nearly all her ancestors died young? When Reason digs up a dead cat in the cellar and finds the key to a locked (magic) door, she escapes her increasingly frightening grandmother only to find herself halfway around the world in New York City, weak, in danger, and befriended by the mysterious Jay-Tee. Authentic teen voices from two continents reveal the fast-paced events and the conflicts faced by youth when powerful (and predatory) adults seek to take advantage of their ignorance. Readers will especially identify with Reason as she struggles to accept her identity and establish autonomy. Larbalestier's sense of place and refreshing exploration of magic as a force for both good and evil make this novel unusual. By turns a fantasy adventure and a thoughtful examination of relationships, this radiant gem stands alone, but expect readers to be impatient for the rest of the trilogy.???Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN --Melissa Moore (Reviewed March 1, 2005) (School Library Journal, vol 51, issue 3, p213) ( )

"My head was filled with a hundred confusing thoughts. The legendary cellar had turned out to be an exceptionally well-lit wine cellar, crowded with endless bottles. Sacrificing animals down there would be pretty difficult. There'd barely been room to move. It didn't smell of blood. Nor of antiseptic for getting rid of the scent of blood. It smelled only of dust. "

Here's another Aussie YA author for you! Magic or Madness is the first book in Larbalestier's trilogy about Reason Cansino and her family secrets. Reason's mother brought her up to believe in logic and science and math. She also brought her up to believe that her grandmother is an evil, animal-sacrificing witch. When Reason's mother must be institutionalized for mental illness, Reason is sent to live with that grandmother, where she begins to uncover unbelievable secrets. Soon reason learns that solutions in life, only choices, and she must choose between magic and madness. Larbalestier has written a griping page-turner filled with strong voices and unexpected twists. Thoughtfully, she has also included a glossary of Australian slang so that we can keep up with her. This book is a great ride!

Request this title from Howard County Library http://tinyurl.com/yrcdta ( )

I opened this for some light bedtime reading and couldn't go to sleep until I finished. Only through great will and the late hour did I manage not to open the second right away. Interesting premise and fun writing. ( )