Midnight Magic

This isn’t going to make it into the children’s classic list, but it’s a fun read for younger teens and tweens. To Avi’s credit with this novel, he steers clear of the well-overused fantasy fiction plot of the child of promise overcoming a great evil against all odds that is threatening to destroy life as everyone knows it. Instead this is a simplistic yet multi-factional mystery that unveils itself well over the course of the text. The historical aspects seem accurate, and the characters are believable within the social constraints of this time period as well as their motives for their actions. Fabrizio is a wonderful protagonist to follow throughout the story, as his simple-minded but oddly sage-like characteristics capture show more the pace and storyline well. Also, unlike many of the books in this genre, there is no willing suspension of disbelief required, which is a welcome breath of fresh reading. I recommend this to anyone 10 , but the main audience will be boys 10-14.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com show less

Magnus the Magician has sworn not to do magic, after having been brought to trial and threatened with death if he were to do magic again. Now he has been ordered to the castle by the King to prove or disprove if the Princess is being haunted by a ghost. His life is once again at stake.

Accompanied by his young assistant, Fabrizio, the two try to discover if the appearances are real or hoax. If the ghost is real, the young Princess will not be forced to marry the Count Scarazoni, but if it is all not real she will marry the evil Count.

While investigating the matter, charges come up that the Princess' brother has been murdered while on a journey to visit the Pope, and that the perpetrator is Count Scarazoni. Also there is the matter of the show more kitchen worker, Rinaldo, who has interest in the mystery and helps show Fabrizio the secret passages that abound within the castle.

I've read a number of books by Avi and have more on my shelves waiting to be read. He writes in an inviting way and moves the story along at a good and even pace. Written for the juvenile audience, he is enjoyable for the adult looking for a quick read that isn't childish. show less

An excellent read. I enjoyed the characters, the way the plot unfolded, and the conclusion. The setting is the Middle Ages, during that time when magic and science were intertwined. Fabrizio, the main character is outstanding, engaging and lively. The relationship between him and Magnus the Magician is wonderful, touching and unexpected.

Middle Readers points: a satisfying happy ending, no sex, minimal violence, and lots of cleverness.

When Fabrizio casts Tarot cards for his master, and turns up the “death” card, he fears that he has called Mangus’ death to him. Mangus is soon called to the king’s castle, where he is told he must free the princess from a ghost that has been haunting her since her brother’s disappearance.

Fabrizio is determined to help his master with the ghost, but soon finds himself in a lot more adventures than he bargained for.

So, apparently I read this book 5, 6, maybe 7 years ago. And managed to forget that I had read it. Until chapter 7, when all of a sudden it hit me, BAM! Yeah. I don’t know if that means that I’ve read too many books or whether it means I didn’t enjoy it the first time around. Anyway, that realization was show more thoroughly disappointing because I had so been looking forward to reading it and then all of a sudden I remembered how it ended. It’s completely different from going into a reread consciously, where you already know that you know how it ends.

Other than the fact that I was thoroughly disappointed that I knew how it was going to end, I did enjoy the reread of Midnight Magic. It was charming, and didn’t feel as heavy as a lot of books about magic feel these days. Light-hearted fun.

I do like the way that Avi narrates the book. He has a certain tone that is amusing and doesn’t seem to try so hard. The way he described Mangus’ house in one sentence, for example, totally made me visualize it completely:

Mangus’s house – three levels high – was squeezed between two other old buildings, like an exclamation point.

My only other real disappointment about this book was that the characters were just mediocre. They weren’t relatable at all. Fabrizio, the main character, had a habit of quoting things most of the time (in a way that somewhat reminded me of that Stargate SG-1 scene where Col Jack O’Neill and that other guy are throwing phrases at each other – you know, “birds of a feather…”). (Okay, tangent!) He didn’t seem to have much of a personality. And the princess seemed to have too many personalities to know which one is the real one. The others didn’t stand out to me at all.

The Bottom Line: I would’ve enjoyed this better if I either hadn’t read this before, or didn’t remember reading it before until I was completely done it. But it was enjoyable enough for a bit of a distraction for a couple of evenings. show less

Midnight Magic is an “on the edge of your seat” novel about medieval friendships, magic, and betrayals. Magic is banned in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. Mangus the Magician and many others have been forced to repent magic and promise never to practice it again in order to avoid execution. Fabrizio, Mangus the Magician’s servant, still practices magic in secret, but not true magic, just tricks and illusions as Mangus used to do. One night while Fabrizio is casting his master’s fortune in secret someone knocks on door and summons Mangus the Magician to the castle. Disaster has struck the kingdom, the prince has gone missing and may be dead, and the princess is being haunted by his “ghost”. Desperate, the King, has called upon show more Mangus the Magician, the only one who can free his daughter from a terrifying ghost. Fail and he shall face execution, succeed and he may live life as a free man. Join Fabrizio as he searches for answers that could save his master’s life.
Prepare to be amazed as Avi takes you back in time to the age of magic and surprises you with every new twist, turn, and of course cliff-hanger. Avi’s writing style grasped my attention and had me guessing the solution to this magical mystery until the very end. The main character Fabrizio was hard to relate to due to the vast differences between medieval and modern times, but I connected with Princess Teresina almost instantly. Very rarely did my attention stray from the book as it often does when reading Avi’s other works. Although the plot could have been a little more exciting in the middle, the ending could not have been better. Overall I give Avi 3 out of 5 stars for Midnight Magic. show less

I have heard about Avi for a long time; he has written a ton of young adult novels and after reading the synopsis for this novel I decided it was probably an Avi novel that I would enjoy. I was mostly curious about what all of the buzz about Avi was about. This book was an okay children's book; nothing spectacular but amusing and interesting.

Fabrizio is the apprentice to the former court Magician; his master stopped practicing magic when he was accused by the King of dark magic. The former Magician has lived in seclusion since the King's accusation and has focused on sharpening his reasoning skills instead of his illusion skills. Then the King is forced to call on the Magician for assistance when the King's daughter is haunted by a show more terrifying ghost. Fabrizio comes along to help the Magician solve this mystery. As time goes on Fabrizio begins to wonder if the hauntings are real or if a more elaborate scheme is playing out.

This was a solid mystery story set in medieval times. It was not really a fantasy, as the magic involved is more your traditional slight-of-hand type. All of the characters were okay, but none of them really stood out. They were all your typical types of characters for a story such as this one. The mystery surrounding the hauntings was interesting, but easily solved very early on in the book which was a bit disappointing.

The only thing that really stood out in this book for me was all the clever bits of wisdom that Fabrizio spouts throughout. They were clever and cute; sometimes the banter of clever sayings between Fabrizio and his master were fun to read too.

In general this book was okay, somewhat engaging, yet forgettable. I thought it was more of a children's book than a young adult novel. It didn't make me want to go out and read a ton more of Avi's books. show less

This book has an exciting plot with many, many twists and turns. Why is there a ghost in the castle? Who's behind a sinister plot to take down the monarchy? Avi as once again succeeded in captivating the reader with an unpredictable plot and literary embelishments that make it all the more interesting for the reader. Fabrizio is an out of the ordinary hero... giving the reader a break from the high morale, perfect and steryotypical hero. Avi really captures the monarchy of Italy in this tale of a ghost, a sorcerer, and his apprentice. One of the best books I've ever read, though this book was a really light read.