What a delightful middle grade adventure! There's a functional family, a strong female protagonist, a realistic conflict, and a bit of magical realism thrown in for fun. Mattie Marvelwood, age 11, and her family all have "talents." Mattie can read minds, her mom can tell the future, her brother disappears, etc. When they join the circus and the ringmaster steals her brother's talent, Mattie realizes that she has to find a way to get it back. Despite the number one family rule that we never tell anyone our talents are real, Mattie knows that she can't do this alone. But when it turns out that Mattie's talent is the one the ringmaster is really after, will her plan still succeed, or will it put everyone, including her new friend Serena, in danger?

The narrator was wonderful - excellent pacing and accurate accents.

Disclaimer: I received a free audio book copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As an adult reading a book that is aimed at middle grader readers I try to go into it with the mindset of that age group but this time I forgot to do that. I loved this book, not even thinking of it from the view of a younger person, as myself. I loved it.

Such a fantastic circus tale. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Eleven year old Mattie can read minds, her mom tells fortunes, her father is an illusionist and her brother can disappear. They perform at fairs and carnivals. They have always hidden the fact that their talents are real. When they join a circus and their talents are threatened, it is up to Mattie to save the day. There is magic, circus, and fun in this great children's book.

The Marvelwood Magicians was fantastic. I loved how mixed the family is, their line of work, and how different their abilities are! Mattie is such a great character; she can read minds! Which can be a good thing and a bad thing, especially for a pre-teen girl. All the characters were very well developed and fun. Love the story and the ending.

An adorable book, perfect for middle grade readers or anyone who just enjoys a good story that includes magic and circuses!

The Marvelwood family has very unique talents and Maggie, the oldest, has come to resent their talents and lifestyle, considering them a family of freaks. Yet, when the family joins a mysterious circus, she finds that perhaps their special gifts and her family are more important to her than she realized. And perhaps by fighting for them, her whole family can learn to trust in others and finally find a home.

Zahler does a great job of capturing that awkward pre-teen feeling of not belonging and being weird. As she builds the story and the circus world, the reader is able to step behind the scenes. And who hasn't wanted to run away to the circus at some time! This story makes it seem like a wonderful family to join.

The narrator is spectacular, creating voices for each character and handling the Scottish accents with charm. This wonderful story is brought to life with her narration of Zahler's words. Highly recommend for an easy read and story for adults and has a great story with a few lessons in it for kids of all ages. It would be a great story as a read along or read out loud with your children.

This was a cute little read, I really liked it, I also think that it would be good for an autumn or Halloween read. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the free arc for my honest review

Mattie Mavelwood's family travels from circus to circus performing. They each have special skills they work into the act. Mattie's father can cast illusions, her mother can tell the future, her brother can disappear and Mattie can read minds. But Mattie just wants to be normal. She wants to live in a house and go to school and make friends. When they join a circus with an acrobat her age, Mattie thinks she might have found a bit of home and a new friend. However, the circus master is stealing people's gifts. When he steals her brother's ability to disappear, Mattie must decide if she should risk everything to get it back, or if they should leave their newly-found community before more of them lose their gifts too.
This is a sweet coming-of-age novel dealing with identity, friendship, judging others and being judged. One of my favorite growing pains was Mattie learning to not feel judged by other kids and to embrace her differences as attributes. The story itself was not action-packed but it was a good blend of character- and plot-driven storylines. As an adult, it is not a book that will stick with me forever but it was enjoyable and one that I will lean heavily on for future recommendations.
The narrator did a great job using accents and vocal variation to distinguish between the different character's voices. The narrator's pace was excellent. Thank you to NetGalley and Live Oak Media for the advanced copy of this little gem!

This one was okay for me. Nothing that made it stand out from other circus stories. In fact, several days after finishing it, nothing stands out for this review.

The narrator of the audiobook did a good job.

If you like circus tales you will like this one, if you don’t then you won’t. Probably won’t become your favorite book, but you’ll enjoy it.

Mattie and her family travel around the country entertaining people with their acts. When their car breaks down, they have the opportunity to join a circus. Mattie is happy to finally make friends with a girl her own age. What no one knows is the family’s act is no act. Each member has a gift. Mattie’s gift is to know what someone else is thinking. She just has to be touching the other person. When the ringmaster never removes his gloves, Mattie is suspicious. When the letter performs begin to lose their talents, Mattie wants to find out what is happening. Will Mattie and her family stay at the circus? Will she be able to discover how the talents are disappearing without losing her own?

This magical realism filled mystery Was a complete pleasure. Sarah Zimmerman’s narration is impeccable. Her voices are distinct, and her pacing spot on. I plan to purchase both the audio and the print versions for my middle school library. This book will appeal to my mystery lovers and fantasy fans alike.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC Audiobook!

The Marvelwoods are a family of five traveling performers: Scottish father who creates illusions, Indian mother who sees the future, eleven-year-old Mattie who knows what people are thinking, nine-year-old brother who turns invisible, and four-year-old sister who levitates. But what people don’t know is that the Marvelwoods’ acts are real; the Marvelwoods have real magic. Mattie, though, doesn’t like knowing what people are thinking nor does she like always moving around and her mother’s strict rules. She wants friends her age and to go to an actual school. So when Marvelwoods join Morough’s Circus of Wonders and Mattie meets Selena, a girl her age, it feels like her wishes are coming true. But there is something creepy with Morough and with people suddenly losing their skills and acts. How should the Marvelwoods react: run for safety or risk exposure to beat the ringmaster at his own game?

This was such a cute story! Mattie is a realistic eleven-year-old whose problems will definitely resonate with young readers. But her dynamic story line is subtle enough so that her growth feels natural and well-paced. Also, the circus backdrop added such a fun element – and the perfect avenue to sprinkle in bits of magic in a realistic setting. Moreover, the narrator, Sarah Zimmermon, did a fantastic job with the father’s, Morough’s and Maya’s accents; I really felt the characters come to life! Finally, I loved the ultimate lesson that family comes first. All the Marvelwoods face lessons that redefine their knowledge of “family comes first” so that eventually they grow closer together as a family in a natural and emotional conclusion.

However, I never fully understood Morough’s devious plans. Yes, his backstory makes sense and the power to always know what people think make sounds attractive, but why Mattie’s talent? He wasn’t planning to abandon the circus so what could he really do by knowing people’s thoughts – especially since he’d have to remove his gloves to use his power and that’s something he only does when forced. I guess the climax felt like it was stressing his need for talents in general rather than revealing the expected evil ways he was going to abuse the talents, which in the end didn’t allow the climax to give its true potential.

Verdict: Cute and imaginative with timely lessons that will resonate with all readers.

Middle grade books! I’ll be honest. I haven’t had a lot of experience with middle grade novels since I was a middle grader, but I’m working to change that. Especially during these weird times, I’m trying to find more ways to incorporate fun, adventurous reading into my routine. I tend to stick to dramatic, depressing reads and or hard sci-fi/horror novels, which are also not the lightest fare. So, I started with this one. It was a good choice.

I’m a sucker for books set in circuses, carnivals, and or traveling shows. This one was a ton of fun! Eleven-year-old Mattie Marvelwood and her family are traveling performers. She can read minds, her father is an illusionist. Her mom tells fortunes, and her brother has a cool vanishing act, but they are all hiding a secret. Their powers are real! When they join Master Morogh’s Circus of Wonders, they find out they aren’t the only ones. Master Morogh is hiding his own secret; he steals the powers of others, and when he steals Maddie’s brother’s powers, they’ll have to decide to cut their losses and run, or stay and fight to recover his powers.

I am loving NetGalley shelf and the audiobook offerings. I read print when I can in the time of Rona, which has been way less time than I’d like, but I am still able to concentrate pretty well on audiobooks, so I have no trouble concentrating on them and devouring them. This was such a fun foray into middle grade, and it definitely made me want more.

The narration is solid, full of adventure. I love the tone and cadence as well as the pacing. It kept me engaged in the story and matched my own energy levels as Mattie and her family/friends battled for her brother’s powers and their future.

It’s out on October 1st, perfect timing for the ambiance of fall and the Halloween season. Is it fall yet? Can it be fall yet? I’m so tired of being a gross sweat bath all day everyday.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! It was fun, light, and very entertaining. I think anyone, of any age, would enjoy it as well. The world was magical and well done. I would revisit it again if I could! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was the best book!! Mattie Marvelwood's family is traveling performers. After a rough beginning, they leave where they have been traveling. Where they end up just happens to have a circus getting ready to begin. The scoop on Mattie's family is that they all have powers that use in their act. Mattie can see what you are thinking, her brother has a vanishing act, her mother is a fortune teller and her father is an illusionist. Once they begin at this new circus, they find out that others might have their same kind of powers. They have always left places when they are found out. Will they leave? Will they use their powers to help others?
This book would be a wonderful read aloud for upper grades in elementary school. I also really enjoyed the narrator. She used her voice in a way that you felt like you were right in the middle of everything.

Thank you to Netgalley for an audio ARC in return for my own opinions.

This book was such a joy to listen to. The narration was remarkable. The narrator was able to distinguish the different characters with unique voices. This book may be aimed at middle schoolers, but I enjoyed it very much. The story was engaging and interesting. It gives you yet another look into what the life might have been like on the road with a carnival or with the circus. That life was not easy, but it was very colorful.

I was so excited to find out this book would (mostly) be taking place at a circus! It perfectly captured the feeling of being young, different, wanting to fit in, and feeling self conscious about yourself, but with the added element of 'magic'. Would definitely read more about Mattie.

I wanted to love this, and I think if it hadn’t been an audiobook I would have! I usually listen to audiobooks at work; so I prefer simpler books to listen to. This one felt a bit harder to follow, unfortunately!

STORY ★★★

The Marvelwood Magicians is a solid mystery for younger readers. Its simplicity will engage struggling readers in my class.

NARRATION ★★★★★

Sarah Zimmerman, the narrator of The Marvelwood Magicians, truly works her magic on narrating the text and bringing each of the characters to life with a variety of accents. Great work!

OVERALL SCORE:★★★★

What a wonderful middle grade book full of excitement and suspense!! This is the story of Mattie and her family, each of whom has a special power, powers that they travel around the country earning a living with. However, they keep their special talents secret to avoid any problems. Mattie is tired of being different, tired of keeping secrets, and most of all she wishes they had one place to call home where they could put down roots.

When their truck breaks down on the outskirts of a little town called Frog Creek, their lives change forever when they are hired by a circus that has just set up in town. Strange things start to happen though, especially when the ringmaster is around, and the circus folk have to band together with Mattie and her family to protect each other.

This story touched on everything: love, family, friendships, bravery, and growing up. The lessons learned in this book are numerous too - being different is ok, home is not always a place but rather the people who are part of your life, too much power can corrupt a person, and how sometimes you don’t appreciate something until you are in danger of losing it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook. The narration was very good, and I would highly recommend this to children and adults alike.

Mattie and her family are traveling performers. They have a big secret that their acts are real. They join a circus and the masters talent is to steal others talents. They have to fight to get them back

The Marvelwood Magicians Is a an adventure story. Perfect for young kids or middle school aged. The main character is 11. Lots of excitement. I really enjoyed it and now my tweens will also.

Thank you Netgalley, Diane Zanler and publisher spotlight audio for this fun audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was really fun to read. It's a fast pace MG and the story is pretty fun. It just didn't really hit any marks for me.