Marco Swift, a young teenager's life turns upside down when his dad passes away. And the story kicks off with him and his family leaving to live with their father's side of the family but when they get there Marco realizes that everything is not as it seems.

Marco's grief and anger over losing his dad and his desperation to be strong and help his mom and little sister made him a relatable character. However, the idea of a child feeling the need to "fix" (mentally or otherwise) their parents did not sit well with me. Especially since it is a middle grade book I don't think we should be putting that idea in a kids head. Honestly, it kinda took me out of the story.

Marco's journey into the Mirror of Souls is action-packed yet also surprisingly insightful. The author expertly weaved a sweet story of grief and family into a fun adventure filled with humour and touching moments. I loved Marco's relationship with his sister, his quirky extended family, the intriguing Illustra, and the world-building of Mortem (especially Marco's armor and gemstones and the mystery of his father's sword, Straya). The author did a great job portraying and touching on mental health issues in an appropriate way for middle grade kids.

Je n'ai malheureusement pas eu le temps de lire ce livre mais l'intrigue me plait tout particulièrement.

Digital copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

5.29 on CAWPILE

I enjoyed this well enough. the characters felt a little one-dimensional, and the plot was highly predictable, but I still think overall it was a decent book, and I think kids, the intended audience, will enjoy it well enough. One criticism I do have though is the handling of mental illness in the book, specifically bipolar disorder. If you are going to use this disorder in your book, please, for the love of god, do not use it as a way for the real world to explain supernatural influence where as soon as that influence is gone, they are suddenly "back to normal".

Content Warnings - <spoiler> Discussion of death of a parent, bipolar disorder, fighting/bullying, talk of gambling, grief </spoiler>

At its heart, Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls is a story about hope and love. It is what drives the plot and main character Marco through his quest to help save his mother, who has been struggling with crippling mental illness since his father died. While it is primarily a novel written for and directed towards school-aged children it has some themes and topics that readers of any age could appreciate and learn from.

Marco isn’t your typical kid. He comes into this novel struggling to process his grief over the loss of his father along with some other major life changes. D. E. Cunningham does a wonderful job exploring how some children react to incredibly difficult and trying unforeseen circumstances and further provides a space for children to learn about these heavy topics in a creative, fantastic and magical setting. While there are some heavy and emotional scenes, there are also joyful moments resonating with love. I would, however, tread lightly with this novel as there are some difficult and sensitive subject matter (death, illness, grief). Personally, I cried a little and can see how it would be upsetting to someone who is currently struggling with any of the above-mentioned themes.

After being forced to move to Italy with his mother and sister after his father’s sudden passing Marco almost immediately feels that he doesn’t fit in. Shortly after his arrival, on a stormy night, Marco begins his once in a lifetime journey to be a hero, save his mom and keep his family together. This leads him to a beautiful, dilapidated castle that transports him to a distant and magical realm in danger of collapsing. There is an evil presence trying to steal the magic that protects the city for themselves. Marco is the only one who can save not only his mother but this new magical realm he’s been brought to.

Overall, I really liked this novel. It was easy to read and had vivid and engaging imagery. I think school-aged children would enjoy it and learn from it as well. Children who have faced similar situations might take comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone and can find words to be able to communicate their feelings about such inexplicable loss. I did have a difficult time relating to certain characters because of limited background information provided and I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. I don’t think school-aged children would mind but it’s something I noticed. I also noticed a few typos and hopefully those will be remedied.

A quirky action-packed middle grade.

The story follows Marco, who is drawn into a world of magic battles as he attempts to save his mother who is struggling with her mental health, as he deals with guilt following his father's death.

There were plenty of creative ideas packed into this book but I found it quite hard to get into and quite difficult to follow at times. I wasn't keen on the magic - the jewel-powered suits that Marco got the hang of extremely quickly, and the ambiguous link between the fighting in the magical world and how that might save his mother.

While I really like seeing mental health as a subject touched upon in Middle Grade books, especially where young protagonists deal with facing the mental health struggles of parents or loved ones, I didn't really like the fact that magic was the solution here. Another reviewer has likened the action to Computer Game-like action, especially with the use of the gems and their different powers, and I'd agree, it didn't work for me, personally, on the page, but the target audience might take to it better.

A coming of age story. Wholesome, hopeful, fanciful, and filled with goodness. An ode to family, nature, and self-love. As Marco Swift approaches his teen years, he is faced with trauma of parental loss and moving from the US to Italy. In the course of his healing journey, he jumps back and forth from reality to fantasy to experience bravery because that's what he thinks he needs the most - lack of fear. He brilliantly defends himself against bullies, protects his sister, takes on healing his mom, and fights for his dad’s honor. But as he leans further into the hard emotions of processing loss, he finds the bravest thing of all - peace. And that “forgiveness is not for the sake of others, but for ourselves”.

I'm shameless in that I picked this book for it's beautiful cover. I don't regret it. Pick up this book for a fun adventure story.

Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls is a fantasy adventure that deals with heavy themes in a way kids can understand and process them.
After the death of his father, Marco and his sister are taken my their mother to live with his father's relatives in Sicily. Hidden in a castle above his father's ancestral home, he finds a magical mirror to the world of souls. There he is given powers he can use to find out the truth about his father's death and save his mother from the same fate.
Through out the story he fights evil while coping with his father's death and his feeling about it while learning the power of truth and love.
Overall it was a really enjoyable book. Lots of action and just enough mystery keeps you reading. It can be read as a metaphor for the grieving process and I think would be helpful to kids dealing with that.
My criticism of it would be there are several grammar errors and the characters aren't as three dimensional as I'd like. As an adult I'm not the target audience though and think kids won't mind.

This book I expected to be quite sad with the death of the main characters father and his mother's illness, but it was surprisingly cheerful. Basically the story of a young boy who tries his hardest to make things better for his mother and gets into exciting adventures on the way. A book about being brave when you feel anything but. We enjoyed it.

An adventure most middle graders will like. Mental health is addressed well. Slow going at times.

Marco's life is upended after the death of his father. He does what he can to help take care of his sister, due to Marco's mother not able to cope with her husband's death.

Family strength is always a great addition to any book.

3.75 ⭐️ it was a really good and heartwarming middle grade examining grief at the loss of a loved one and processing those emotions. I loved all of that and the magical world was fun and gave me kind of Deltora Quest meets Magic Knight Rayearth vibes. My major issue with this story is I didn’t love the display of mental illness being an issue for a child to try to save the mental health of their parent, but other than that it was great. Will definitely read the sequel(s).

Though the description may lead you to believe that this is a really sad book, it's actually an action packed fantastical adventure.

Marco Swift is a middle grades novel that follows Marco has his family makes a new life after his dad’s death, which includes Marco falling into a world of dragons, queens, and mysterious gem-driven powers. The video game like action — super speed, powerful jumps, enemies to defeat, mysterious quests — will entice young middle grade readers to dive right into the story.

My only concern is that I am not sure about the use of bipolar disorder as a plot point. It was actually what first intrigued me, but then it ends up being something that was caused by an evil curse and cured by the hero’s light and soul return. I would have liked it better if the ending made it clear that his mom still has bipolar and that bipolar is not connected to all of that — and that she can be a great mom WITH her bipolar and loving support system. I absolutely do not think the author meant for it to play into stereotypes about mental health, but I think it does. That’s what kept me from giving it 4 stars.

I do think the author has a lot of potential as a middle grades fantasy author, and I would check out future books.

What worked:
The author manages to create subtle doubt as the plot develops. Readers use clues to determine which characters are good and which ones are bad, and this book doesn’t make things obvious. Marco’s mom needs medical help, and he’s feeling tremendous guilt for her condition and his father’s death. He jumps at the chance to heal her when he passes through a mirror to meet the Illustra, Queen of Souls, and she asks him to retrieve a powerful sword called Straya. Dark is traditionally evil in novels, and Illustra is surrounded by shadows and ill-tempered creatures. However, she says Marco’s father helped defend the realm of Mortem before his death, and she has the golden armor he left for his son. Is this queen good or evil?
The plot has familiar elements that make it easy to follow. Marco’s sole focus is on protecting his mother and little sister, so it’s easy to manipulate his feelings. He discovers new abilities with the crystals, but his overconfidence puts him in situations he’s unprepared for. He’s given a quest to retrieve three pieces of a key that will lead him to his father’s hidden sword. The queen says Straya’s power will enable her to restore glory to Mortem and save Marco’s mother. Clues hint that there’s more to Marco’s character than it appears, and other characters allude to underlying events that will be revealed later.
While there are familiar elements to the plot, the cast of characters keeps the story uncertain. The queen tells three other kids to train Marco in using his crystals, but one of them openly detests him. The other two are helpful, but their motivations and alliances aren’t clear. A tiny dragon called Elune, with the appearance of a small cat, helps Marco along the way, but it enjoys teasing him about being a weak human and doesn’t always jump in to help. El says it has trouble remembering previous people and events, so there are questions about what it’s done in the past. The characters create an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust, as they express little empathy for Marco. The truth about everyone’s identity will eventually be uncovered.
What didn’t work as well:
Marco’s power in the mirror world comes from different-colored crystals on his armor. Twisting each of four colors presents a different ability such as strength, speed, or wielding a sword. The combat scenes feel like video games, as Marco quickly adjusts the different crystals to overcome the dangers. The crystals lose power fairly quickly, so there’s always a question of when they’ll run out and leave him in peril. While manipulating crystals in a fast-paced battle is strange, it results in more tension as the outcomes of the conflicts are less predictable.
The final verdict:
There is more bravery in us than we imagine. The author creates a puzzling world of uncertainty that pits good versus evil. Hidden identities cast light on the problems, and also the solutions. The book is recommended for lovers of fantasy worlds, mystery, and family. Give it a shot!