Here is the summary of the book:
Maria Dahvana Headley's soaring YA debut is a fiercely intelligent, multilayered fantasy where Neil Gaiman's Stardustmeets John Green's The Fault in Our Stars in a story about a girl caught between two worlds . . . two races . . . and two destinies.
Aza Ray Boyle is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.
Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.
Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza's hands lies fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?
REVIEW ==
Magonia .... Magonia ..... At a loss really just how to begin enunciating how grateful i am for this literary gem. Adorned in its gorgeous cover. Its started slow. It was really really slow but when we catch up to this illusionary world the payoff is simply so interesting and so immersive that just might end up forgiving its shortcomings.
Literature is filled with works of authors making their characters fly, floating islands in the sky, or it 'Fie, Fi Fo, Fum' .... the famous fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Kingdom of Giants above the sky .... But Maria Dahvana Headley does something new. Mixing Peter Pan like elements with a whole kingdom above the clouds, sky ships, its shape shifting denizens and of course magic.
This is the story of Aza Ray and Jason. Friends since they were young. Oddities of their generation. And they just love to quote pi (Ļ) But the cinch in all, Aza Ray ha been terminally ill with something no Doctor knows to either diagnose or cure. She has been drowning on air as long as she has been alive. But it all begins to change when she starts hearing her name coming out of the sky. Accident & coding on the ambulance bed, later she wakes up in a new world.
There really is a world above the clouds. Magonia is very much real and turns out it is true home. Turns out something happened above for her to be placed with her Earth family ..... For the most part I really liked Aza Ray. She is resourceful, powerful, spunky and all round gumptious. She also sometimes felt lacking in resolution and decisiveness but that can be understandable as she gets to be in Magonia what she wanted down below. And those round her have their own agendas to fulfill, some dangerous beyond compare.
Jason on the other hand was definitely a sweetheart. He had loved his best friend Aza Ray for all their lives and when she dies or disappears above the clouds he somehow knows that its not over. He somehow knows that his Aza Ray Boyle is still alive and he is prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to find her ..... And did I mention he is a wiz at finding things out? Well he is definitely that. Doesn't know when to quit, I liked that about him.
Couple this wonderfully compact plot with the author's lyrical prose and Magonia is the finished treasure. Of course I can understand the comparison with The Fault in the Stars but it doesn't feel like that at all. Also it dragged a lot and the pacing was all over the place as well. I took really really long breaks between reading this book .... but really I wouldn't have it any other way at all. I may have given it a 3/5 but this is definitely a book you should make time for.
Literature is filled with works of authors making their characters fly, floating islands in the sky, or it 'Fie, Fi Fo, Fum' .... the famous fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Kingdom of Giants above the sky .... But Maria Dahvana Headley does something new. Mixing Peter Pan like elements with a whole kingdom above the clouds, sky ships, its shape shifting denizens and of course magic.
This is the story of Aza Ray and Jason. Friends since they were young. Oddities of their generation. And they just love to quote pi (Ļ) But the cinch in all, Aza Ray ha been terminally ill with something no Doctor knows to either diagnose or cure. She has been drowning on air as long as she has been alive. But it all begins to change when she starts hearing her name coming out of the sky. Accident & coding on the ambulance bed, later she wakes up in a new world.
There really is a world above the clouds. Magonia is very much real and turns out it is true home. Turns out something happened above for her to be placed with her Earth family ..... For the most part I really liked Aza Ray. She is resourceful, powerful, spunky and all round gumptious. She also sometimes felt lacking in resolution and decisiveness but that can be understandable as she gets to be in Magonia what she wanted down below. And those round her have their own agendas to fulfill, some dangerous beyond compare.
Jason on the other hand was definitely a sweetheart. He had loved his best friend Aza Ray for all their lives and when she dies or disappears above the clouds he somehow knows that its not over. He somehow knows that his Aza Ray Boyle is still alive and he is prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to find her ..... And did I mention he is a wiz at finding things out? Well he is definitely that. Doesn't know when to quit, I liked that about him.
Couple this wonderfully compact plot with the author's lyrical prose and Magonia is the finished treasure. Of course I can understand the comparison with The Fault in the Stars but it doesn't feel like that at all. Also it dragged a lot and the pacing was all over the place as well. I took really really long breaks between reading this book .... but really I wouldn't have it any other way at all. I may have given it a 3/5 but this is definitely a book you should make time for.
"A captivating ensemble and an equally interesting voyage above the clouds"
Genre : Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: 28th April, 2015
My Copy: bought (paperback)
Rate: 3/5 (Liked It)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: 28th April, 2015
My Copy: bought (paperback)
Rate: 3/5 (Liked It)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
People compared this to The Fault in Our Stars? How bizarre. The books are nothing alike. I didn't really enjoy this book but I was intrigued enough to want to read the sequel. Which I will be doing soon! Hopefully Aerie is better.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review, Aparajita! =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
This one looks really interesting, and for some reason I haven’t gotten to it yet, even though it’s on my kindle. Need to do so soon! Glad you liked it. Great review :D
ReplyDeleteWell I guess I should read the Fault in Our Stars first :P
ReplyDeleteGreat review Aparajita. I've been seeing this book a lot on social media because of the beautiful cover but wasn't convinced whether I should check it out.
I actually really loved this book a lot, but I'm reading the sequel now and it seems messier than the first. I'm not sure if that's a reflection of the current turmoil happening in both worlds, but it's really bothersome at certain times. I'm glad to hear you liked this one though, I loved Magonia!
ReplyDelete