Kiersten White: "Mister Magic"

Title: Mister Magic [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Kiersten White [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2023
Age: 14+ (I shelved it as Adult because of the characters' age in the present, but it can be read by mature teens. There are far more graphic YA books out there)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Original and enthralling, with an easy-to-love cast. Makes an impassioned argument for children's rights to creativity and freedom (and everyone's right to be themselves). 
Cons: You have to suspend disbelief about the main character's passively buying into her father's narrative (or lack thereof). Also, the ending might hurt you a little...
WARNING! Child abuse, mind control/indoctrination, sexism, homophobia, gaslighting, parent death (off page). A minor instance of body horror.
Will appeal to: Those who love a dark - yet emotive and hopeful - childhood-friends reunion on the backdrop of a supernatural mystery.

Blurb: Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who - or what - the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has. Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. They’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? (Amazon excerpt)

Review: I was aware of the hidden layer of meaning behind this story before I read it (by the way, White opens out about it in the Acknowledgment section), but I don't think it made a difference for me. In my opinion, you can go in blind or not, get the allegory while reading or have it explained by the author afterwards, but it shouldn't detract from/add to your enjoyment either way (unless you come from a similar environment as White's). Then again, I know of at least one reader that had a different experience (read Tammy's review here).

EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT

I think I've discovered a new bias of mine lately: give me a story in the supernatural or magical realism genres with a cast that met as children and reunite as adult, and I will enjoy it despite its flaws, if there are any - as long as those characters allow me to love them enough. So, I won't say that Mister Magic is a perfect book (which, duh, hardly any book is perfect, but you get my meaning), while I will admit that the aforementioned characters could have been fleshed out more or given better dialogue in some instances...but they were able to win my affection (especially Val), plus the story was intriguing and had its heart in the right place, so to speak - hence the five star rating.

At the core of Mister Magic are a diverse group of friends in their late 30s/early 40s who were together on the titular show 30 years earlier, and have little to no memories of it - but what memories they have are fond...until they get the chance to scratch past that surface, and realise that something insidious and unsettling was at play (just in case you're thinking sexual abuse, no, nothing of the sort). It doesn't help that the show only survives in the (fuzzy) memories of those who participated in it and those who used to watch it, because there's no clip or info to be found ANYWHERE (and yeah, there's a valid explanation for that, I swear). Getting to know the why and the how and the WHAT - in the wake of the show's reboot - was fun...yet heartbreaking...yet exhilarating; but it didn't steal the scene from the characters (more as an ensemble than as individuals, I will admit, except for Val), especially in the later chapters, and especially when we finally get a glimpse of their younger selves on the very show's set, and discover what happened to the missing sixth cast member... [...]

MIND MATTERS

If you're under the impression that, with this book, White's taking a dig at television/media and their ability to control the narrative or force people into a certain mold, you couldn't be further from the truth (also...is it still true, especially of television?). She makes it very clear in her afterword what her target is - but the best thing about Mister Magic is that, whatever the reason for the author to write it, it has a lot to say about the dangers of conservatism and bigotry and the kind of trauma they cause, even when those who experienced them are far removed from their grasp. Likewise, it has a lot to say about what happens when a suggestible mind (say, that of a child) is groomed to measure their worth by the approval (or lack thereof) of a controlling person, often in ways too insidious to defy - until that approval becomes a safety blanket. Mister Magic is also an ode to the power of chaos and imagination, and to the bonds we forge with others over shared trauma. The ending will probably leave you with questions (or, with questions that you may or may not have the perfect answers to), but it's fitting and emotional, sad and hopeful at the same time, and a reminder that there are many ways to be a hero - some of them quiet and unrewarded, but nonetheless able to put the world on the right track or (hopefully) to save it altogether.

For more Adult books click here.

For more Supernatural books click here.