The Mystwick School of Musicraft

Sometimes you find a gem with the monthly free titles from Audible. The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury is one of these gems. I went in expecting a musical Harry Potter and got so much more. The story is absolutely charming, told with a lot of heart and has a strong message about believing in yourself. Here's the official blurb:

Amelia Jones has always dreamed of attending the Mystwick School of Musicraft, where the world’s most promising musicians learn to create musical magic. Unfortunately, Amelia botches her audition and her dream comes crashing down—until the school agrees to give her a second chance. Amelia vows to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true.

Initially it was hard not make Harry Potter show more comparisons. Thankfully Mystwick is vastly different from Hogwarts so my brain was able to stop comparing them fairly early on and I was able to absorb myself into this magical, musical world. Amelia is highly likeable and relatable. Her aspiration to attend Mystwick as a way to connect with her late mother definitely tugs at the heartstrings. She also has some growing to do, as both a musician and a person, and I think people of all ages will be able to identify with Amelia's feelings of inadequacy and self doubt as she learns to believe in herself. There is a fun cast of supporting characters, especially Jai Kapoor, with plenty of entertaining magical hi-jinks and mischief for the kids to get into.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Suzy Jackson and with musical performances by the NJSO Youth Orchestra. The music blends seamlessly in with the story making for a unique and magical listening experience. There were times I rewound the audio just so I could listen to the musical portion a second time. I highly recommend it!

Here's hoping that there will eventually be a sequel. show less

Really enjoyable middle grade fantasy story. I am a sucker for fantasy stories that use music as the means of doing magic, and this is definitely that! The story was really good, the characters felt realistic, and I loved the worldbuilding. I think there might be more in this series at some point, and if so I will definitely be reading them.

Note: I listened to the first 30% of this on the audiobook, and enjoyed it. I especially liked the way music was woven into the narration. However, I wanted to read it faster than the pacing of the narration, and there was no way I could increase the listening speed. (Two reasons: one, I have issues listening at faster than 1x speed anyway. Two, changing the listening speed would change the pitch of show more the music, and that would drive me crazy.) So I switched to the ebook, and finished it that way. For those who like the pacing of this audiobook, or for those who are okay with increasing their listening speed, I think the audiobook version of this would be ideal. But the ebook version is still equally good. show less

Es un buen libro para chavales, casi como Harry Potter con instrumentos musicales en vez de varitas. Un poco predecible, quizás, pero muy agradable. Se lo recomendaría a niños de la edad apropiada. Si eres un adulto, puede que te aburra un poco. Aunque si te gustan la música y Harry Potter, probablemente lo leerás hasta el final, aunque sólo sea por eso.

Are there overtones of Harry Potter in this? Yes, definitely. However, like many good new books, this starts somewhere familiar and then becomes its own delightful thing: a journey of magic and self discovery. The book is aimed at middle readers but manages to avoid being too predictable or simple.

This story takes place in a world where music creates magic. The entire world has music magic but only the best musicians can do higher level magic. Amelia Jones has always wanted to go to the Mystwick School of Magic. Her late mother went to school there. Amelia does horribly at her audition. Surprisingly, she receives an invitation to attend. When she arrives at the school she realizes something is wrong. There was another Amelia Jones, who was an amazing musician and who died just as acceptances are sent out. That Amelia Jones' letter magically traveled to this Amelia Jones. The Deans of the school decide she can be admitted on a trial basis. Amelia does her best to reach the skill level of the other students and keep out of trouble. show more However; someone is sabotaging her work and waking her repeatedly throughout the night. Who is it - students who discovered her secret, the other Amelia's friends, or the ghost of Amelia Jones?
I listened to this on audiobook because it was free through Audible. The story was cute, the mystery was good - and scary- , but the best part was the music. The music is performed by members of the NJSO Youth Orchestras and includes well known and original compositions. show less

This was cute! It borrowed tropes from worse books and wrote them better, and I liked the world-building. Predictable, but I was wrong enough times to be curious about what happened next. This is solidly middle-grade, so maybe that's why I didn't warm up to it: middle-grade isn't my genre. The ending had me roll my eyes a little. I still checked to see if it's part of a series and it is. I'm curious about what the next one holds.

This is a delightful story, absolutely a gem for young adults (of which I am not anymore;) Loved the story, the musical/magical theme and the narration. It makes me realize how much music IS magic. I am not musical talented but I sure wish I was after listening to this book. Highly recommended for a fun fantastical romp. Well done by all involved.