From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 09:34:10 -0500

I'm just reading a great new first novel by an Australian author, Justine Larbalestier. "Magic or Madness" is a terrific time/space fantasy about a 15-year-old girl, Reason, who is just discovering that she has inherited a strong ability to do magic. Her mother, Serafina, has always tried to shield her from the knowledge (and from her powerful grandmother Esmeralda) by hiding in remote areas in the bush, and trying to lead a normal life. Serafina has also taught Reason that her grandmother is a witch and is not to be trusted. But after Serafina is committed to a mental institution, Reason is sent to Sydney to live with her grandmother who, because of everything her mother has told her, is quite a sinister character in Reason's estimation. When Reason tries to escape by unlocking a heavy kitchen door, she finds herself in New York City in the middle of winter, where Jay-Tee, another teenage girl with magical powers, rescues her. Jay-Tee not only introduces Reason to the wonders of Lower Manhattan, but to the world of magic where everyone seems to know her grandmother. Whom should Reason trust? Larbalestier does a remarkable job at building dramatic tension, and at keeping the reader guessing as to whether Serafina is truly mad, and whether Esmeralda is good or evil.
  Any of you who are fans of Margaret Mahy or Diana Wynne Jones might want to check this book out. It's a great read.
 
 
  Kathleen T. Horning, Director Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706
  horning at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608&3721 Fax: 608&2I33 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 12 May 2005 09:34:10 AM CDT