DaVaun Sanders

"Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew" is Davaun Sanders' debut novel. I'm always looking for age-appropriate, diverse novels for my students and this novel certainly did not disappoint! The characters were interesting, believable, and based on their words and actions, created with strong values. The plot follows the magical adventures of Keynan Masters and his friends as they navigate the strange characters and happenings at their new school, the Peerless Academy of Movement, Art, show more Genealogy, Instrumentation and Composition. They discover secret tunnels, portals and attempt to solve the mysterious disappearances of fellow students. Keynan also has an ulterior motive for attending Peerless Academy. He is attempting to research a way to end the dangerous storms that threaten his family and neighborhood on Bizzy Block. Will he succeed, or is the task too great for him to tackle? Without giving any of the plot away, the ending is truly magical! I'm looking forward to reading additional YA novels by Mr. Sanders show less

children's middlegrade fiction - Black middlegrader leaves his parents and his beloved "Bizzy Block" southern neighborhood to attend an elite school where he hopes to learn how to stop the mysterious "storms" that keep causing people and homes to disappear and discovers that his talent for rhymes lends well to performing magic.

You can't write a book about a school for wizards (well, "sorcerers" in this case) without being compared to Harry Potter, but all that aside -- DaVaun's book has show more clearly been a labor of love, providing clever Black protagonists (and notably, including some nonbinary characters in the supporting cast) so that a more diverse population of kids can feel seen. It took a while for me to get into this book because I was confused about the setting -- are the storms like super-charged hurricanes or tornadoes? Is this an environmentally-distraught, climate-challenged future? What does the landscape usually look like between neighborhoods? But as more details came to light and the situation became a lot clearer, I was able to enjoy the time spent with this mischievous magic crew. I liked this story a lot but also acknowledge there is room for growth in the character and setting deveopment. I still have more questions than answers, especially after that cliffhanger twist of an ending, but I also look forward to learning more about these kids and their backstories and the crazy magic-filled world they live in. show less

As with any multi-author anthology, some of these stories and poems worked better for me than others. I enjoyed the collection in general, and loved the sense of place felt in many of the pieces. These all fit nicely into the "speculative fiction" genre, with only one piece veering towards horror—though it was the piece that opened the magazine, so I was a little concerned when I started reading just how dark the collection was going to get. (Answer: not very.)

Favorites include: RATHER BE show more THE DEVIL by Jordan Alexander, INTO THE BRIARPATCH by Ella N’Diaye, and Notes From A Death Star Rec Room by upfromsumdirt. show less

KEYNAN MASTERS very slowly develops his version of Mastery of Magic as his Team, the Peerless Pack - Leah, Amari, and eventually, Dez - attempt to save the Peerless Academy.

The plot arches quickly along as Keynan is unexpectedly admitted to Peerless, rejects it to the disappointment of his family and the entire Bizzy Block neighborhood, and winds up bicycling through one of the endless STORMS that dominate the tale to enter Peerless.

Even his vaunted fire poetry rhyming skills do not help show more him when the "corrupt magic"
which has entered Peerless escalates, thanks to his choices. Help oddly comes from the also magic challenged staff to sort of smooth things out so that Peerless can last another year despite no resolution to the threats of storms, at home or at Peerless.

You team characters smoothly and honestly interact.

Confusion arises with way, way too much unexplained and chaotic magic piling on:
Magic, Corrupt Magic, Breaks, Radiant, Illusion Wars, Rachet, Glories, and now, Rip.
Too many interrupt and cloud the plot...

Heck Masters and Soup are favorite characters.

"Great poems get past the surface, past what your eyes show you." show less