Okay, I know this book won’t hit for everyone BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT COULDN’T STOP READING IT CANNOT GIVE IT FEWER THAN FIVE STARS

Kiersten White has written a trippy, unsettling horror novel that is compulsively fascinating and addictively readable.

The premise is that there was this kids’ TV show back in the ‘90s called Mister Magic that everyone remembers, but no one remembers it the same way. There seems to be no record of it anywhere, no footage, no photos, no documentation of any kind, nothing. But those who recall it agree that there were six kids who played together, imagining worlds that came to life on screen—until one day, when it went off the air abruptly under mysterious and disturbing circumstances. Now, the supposed final cast is reuniting for a podcast, and the world is ravenous for answers about the phenomenon that was Mister Magic.

I don’t want to give much more detail about the plot, except for one thing that appears to be the make-or-break piece of information for many readers’ experience with this book: (view spoiler) Personally, knowing or not knowing this would not have made a difference for me, but some wish they had known beforehand. For me, it’s more akin to a spoiler. At any rate, the author’s note at the end addresses her personal inspiration for this book, so if you find yourself not “getting” what’s going on, I suggest skipping ahead to the note at the end before giving up on the book completely.

Some might question the horrorness of this novel. I get that. While I never found myself particularly scared as I read, this story is 100% unsettling and its real-world analog can be freaky AF.

The structure of this story is incredibly clever, and the way the truth about what’s going on is subtly revealed is mind-blowing.

One device the author uses to great effect is including snippets of “realia” to provide alternate viewpoints on the Mister Magic mystery. There are forum threads, a Wikipedia article, an AO3 record, emails, security logs, and etc. Each chapter ends with one of these, and their inclusion works to further the story and intrigue.

In addition to reading the ARC of the ebook, I listened to the audiobook. Rebecca Lowman gives an outstanding performance, which may have strongly contributed to my positive experience with this book. Particularly impressive is Lowman’s portrayal of the podcast interviewer. Due to format, I did find it easier to understand the interstitial artifacts at the end of each chapter if I read those visually, rather than listening alone.

I’m definitely going to have to revisit Kiersten White’s earlier novel, Hide, but I may just jump straight to the graphic novel adaptation that comes out in September!

Review posted to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5335530991

Oh the allegories abound. This was a weird and twisted story but so good. It would have been a five star if it wasn’t for that end. I think anyone who has religious trauma will relate to this book.

I love this author's work and this book is no exception. The message is thought-provoking and honestly made me cry, as I, like many others, was made to feel I needed to be less than I was. Just enough whimsy and eeriness to make your heart beat a bit faster while also think a little more deeply about who your own Mister Magic is/was and maybe want to reclaim a little more of your self that you might've been made to blunt the edges of to be palatable for others. 10/10 would recommend to all.

The concept and execution for this book is incredible. 90's kids will love the feeling of nostalgia the Mister Magic show invokes and remembering what it felt like to have to wait for your favorite show to be broadcast. I loved the first two-thirds of this story-the small amounts of info we got as readers was enough to keep the mystery interesting and I couldn't figure out what was happening, in a good way! However, I found myself confused during the last third and couldn't keep track of what was happening. Reading the author's note at the end helped put things in perspective but I wish it was more clear as I was reading the book. Even though I didn't love this one as much as I thought I would, it was an interesting take on horror.

This was very intriguing and kept me wanting to know more throughout the story. I loved the set up and how in between the chapters we got mixed media that provided some insight to this mysterious children's tv show, but still left you questioning what was going on. This is definitely a mystery, but there were some creepy moments that involved Mister Magic. I ultimately figured out where the story was going, but I enjoyed the journey getting there. The only thing I didn't like about the story was towards the end it got confusing and I couldn't grasp what was going on with certain characters. It felt like there was a lot going on without any real explanation which others might enjoy, but for this book in particular I wanted to know more. This was my first book by this author and I'm excited to pick up more of their work.

Great concept, but I think it would be better as a short story. The chapters seem to drag, and the descriptions and characters fall flat.

3.5 ⭐️

There was once a kids tv show called Mister Magic. A lot of people fondly remember watching it as a child and felt like the six kids were their actual friends. However, there is no evidence of it ever existing. A podcast featuring the cast is about to air and it’s rumored that if it draws enough interest it could lead into a revival of the show. Four of the former child stars remember that being on the show was the best time of their lives and nothing has compared since. One remembers nothing about it but knows something bad must have happened because 30 years ago her father brought her to a farm to live in hiding and they never left. The disaster that led to the end of the show involved the disappearance of the sixth child.

Slowly, it’s revealed what the show was about, the roles each child had and that their memories might not be exactly accurate about the past.

This book was somewhat similar in some ways to the first season of Channel Zero called Candle Cove. (Which is based on a Creepypasta story of the same name.)
The Mandela Effect is also explored through Reddit and other message boards where people recall their memories of the show and how nostalgia might play into that.

After reading the authors note about what inspired this story, a lot of it makes more sense and becomes much more thought provoking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy of this book.

3.5 stars. The premise of this one is so good. There's a mysterious television show called Mister Magic that everyone collectively remembers watching when they were a kid, but there's no record of its existence. Now, thirty years later, the child stars of the show are set to reunite for a podcast to delve into what happened that caused the show to abruptly go off the air. This is complicated by the fact that one of the stars, Val, has been in hiding for the past thirty years and has no memories of the show until her castmates track her down.

This started off strong and I really enjoyed most of the book. It was creepy and weird and full of satisfying little twists. I also really liked all of the main characters and how their lives had been impacted by their time on Mister Magic. Even before you get to the author's note at the end, it's quite clear that this is a thinly veiled critique of organized religion and is based on White's own experiences growing up Mormon. Unfortunately, the ending does sort of muddle things to such an extent that I wasn't really sure how I was supposed to feel about it all.

Overall, this was an ambitious and original story with an excellent cover design. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have to admit, I found this book to be quite strange but in a good way
"Mister Magic"
The only concrete thing about the show is that six children stand in a circle in a featureless black room, saying magic words, throwing a cape into the air, and waiting for Mister Magic's appearance. The suspense is why everyone cannot take their eyes off the screen.
What does Mister Magic really look like? Everyone agrees that they have never seen his face.
Even the theme song of the show is creepy.
An accident occurs with the shutdown of the show. Five children survived, moving on with their lives with different memories they harbored.

I had a hard time connecting the dots, and understanding what was going on in this book. The bizarre ending didn't help me form a concrete opinion about things.
Thankfully, I read on to the author's note and that was explanatory enough to understand what the hell was happening in this book!

thanks to NetGalley and Random House
Publishing Group/Ballantine/Del Rey for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Kiersten White’s last novel, Hide, is a great story with poor execution. White’s follow-up, Mister Magic, is another novel that has a great premise but even poorer execution. The story starts with a tragedy that stopped a popular children’s show, Mister Magic. Thirty years later, the final kids on the show reunite as adults to be interviewed for a podcast. There is a great deal of mystery behind the end of the show, and Val, who was kidnapped by her father, holds the key. 

Like Hide, Mister Magic is written with paper thin characters which mostly rely on cliches. Most of the focus is on Val, the one who was leader on the show, and the one who has forgotten absolutely everything about her life on Mister Magic. It is hard to believe that Val has so much trauma amnesia surrounding an event that she did not see. By the time the traumatic event happened that ended the show, she was already gone. So why does she have so many memories that are blocked out? It does not make sense, and it is frustrating for Val to be the main narrator when most of the first half of the novel is her saying she does not remember any of it. Val is one of the most bland and uninteresting main characters I have read in a long time. She is so boring that I do not care what happens to her or anyone else in this book. The truth is that all of these characters are so vanilla, so boring, that the only thing that could possibly save them is a great story. 

But the story turns out to be very safe. There is no threat of danger, no real fear except for them confronting their past. I did not get a sense at any point that these people were in any sort of severe peril. Even when they venture into the small town of Bliss, they are not welcomed, but this is done in a pleasant way. I do not feel like anyone in charge of the bad things that are happening is willing to take any steps to put these character in physical harm. 

I get the point of Mister Magic. I get that this is about changing kids that the cultish society finds undesirable by using conversion therapy. I get that Mister Magic is about getting kids to behave the way that the adults want them to behave. I just do not like the story or the execution or the boring characters that are brought back to face this childhood trauma. Kiersten White has pulled me in twice with great story ideas and frustrated me twice with how horrible the book turns out to be. I cannot be fooled again.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mister Magic is the story of child actors who were apart in a tv show that kids remember but the details are foggy and no one can find any documentation that exists. A tragic accident ends the show and the Val, one of the main characters, is taken by her father and hidden for 30 years. Upon Val's father's death, her past comes back and she doesn't remember the events that led to her disappearing. Reuniting with the rest of the cast, Val starts to explore what really happened, but things get murkier. The story itself is an interesting one, it blurs the lines of reality and imagination. And our memories may not be as reliable as they seem. The story was confusing at parts and I don't know if the reader's questions were answered but I think that may be the point.

I know it's only August but this is my favorite book of the year so far and is not likely to be topped. Terrifying, gorgeous, and deeply personal, this book houses everything I loved about Stephen King's IT, as well as everything I wished Stephen King's IT could have been. (It's also perfect for fans of Candle Cove and other "lost media" creepypasta, but only if you're willing to sob about it.) I finished the audiobook about ten minutes ago and have already recommended it to six people. I do not usually gush like this on NetGalley. I do not have another way to behave right now. I am floored, staggered, beside myself, and still crying a little bit. What a magnificent book!

This is one of those books I read and can't stop feeling like I'm missing something obvious to everyone else. It wasn't until I read the acknowledgments that the lightbulb went off and I understood it. And by lightbulb, I mean White spelled it out for me and gave me a map. I appreciate the unique concept, but unfortunately, the allegory was lost on me.

3.5 Thanks so much to the publisher and netgalley for this book.

First, I love the cover. It's gorgeous. The title of the book is great. The premise had SO MUCH going for it, too. And I do think it delivered on some aspects. Overall, though, the story itself felt kind of disjointed. I was confused about what was going on more often than not - and not in a way where I didn't understand the subtext and what White's overall theme was. I mean in a literal way, because I just could not form imagery in my mind for a lot that was happening due to how it was written/presented. This had all the makings of a 5-star, but because of that, it's more like a 3.5 for me. I appreciated the very blunt author's note at the end as well, because it DID save me a quick Google search! I had a feeling, haha.

Overall, this book was good and very readable but there were some elements to it that I can't quite reconcile with. I enjoyed the cultish avenue this story took but at times it felt very disjointed. It felt like characters were just doing things without a solid reason or motivation. Val would say she didn't remember her time on the show but the subject would get changed and she wouldn't push it. What stops me from rating this higher is the disappointment of unrealized potential. The premise is really good but the execution faltered for me.

I really love Kiersten White's books and always buy them right away. Her writing keeps improving, which is awesome. When I got an early copy of "Mister Magic," I was super excited. I read the whole thing almost in one go because it was so good.

I don't want to spoil too much in my review. I think it's best to know as little as possible about the book before reading it. Basically, the story is about a group of grown-ups who used to be on a famous TV show when they were kids. But strangely, there's no proof that the show ever existed – no videos, scripts, or even anything online. People only talk about it on message boards and remember it.

The best part of the book is the mystery. It kept me guessing until the end. I really didn't know what was happening, and that worked well for the story. I felt like I was right there with the main character, Val, as she tried to figure out what was real and what wasn't. Val had this uneasy feeling because everyone around her seemed to know more than they were saying. Even though I didn't fully understand why Val stuck around even when she had few answers, I still wanted to find out what was going on.

But what really hit me was Kiersten White's note at the end of the book. It felt very personal, and I could tell that this book meant a lot to her. After reading her note and thinking about the book, I felt a deeper connection. On the surface, the book is a fun scary story where things don't make sense, but underneath, it's about how religious experiences in the past can affect our lives as adults. Some people have said the characters seem kind of immature for their age, and I get that. Sometimes I had to remind myself that these are grown-ups in their late 30s. But knowing their tough childhoods makes it easier to understand why they haven't really grown emotionally. They didn't have the chance to figure themselves out until they were put back into this strange situation.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It definitely had a similar feel to her last thriller, 'Hide', but I liked this one better. This was more eerie without being outright scary. It was very imaginative and I enjoyed how White portrayed adult characters that had lived through some sort of trauma as children. She touched on some dark themes and I did like that she addressed them in the author's note. Open endings are not usually my type of thing, but I do believe that this was the perfect ending for this book. I won't get into spoilers, but the ending was necessary for the growth of not just the main character, but of all the children involved in Mister Magic. While this is labeled and marketed as a horror, I would probably label it fantasy horror, or something similar because it does require quite the stretch of the imagination. While Mister Magic doesn't come close to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, I did think it was a rather terrifying and mysterious villain.

I first came across this book in a marketing email from Goodreads with a message from the author. White's description of the children's show premise and how this book came to her instantly made me want to read it. And I am so glad that I did. This book is mysterious and creepy in all the best ways, while also illustrating some really important points about self worth. In fact, I wish I had read this book years ago; it may have gotten me out of a miserable job much sooner. Highly recommended.

Nostalgia but make it creepy! Better than hide, characters were well developed on top of the creep, which made it feel all the kids real!

Let's journey back to our childhood memories. Do you recall that one show that captured your heart and brought you comfort? For me, it was Barney, the friendly purple dinosaur, who had me glued to the screen. From VHS tapes to public broadcasting, the show was a cultural juggernaut in children's programming. Even after three decades, the fond memories of Barney still linger. In Kiersten White's latest novel Mister Magic, the notion of a beloved children's show takes a chilling turn, creating a thought-provoking allegory that is certain to captivate readers.

Decades after a tragic incident halted production of the popular children's show Mister Magic, the surviving members of the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have strived to move forward. Try as they might, they can't put those memories behind them. They join the devoted fans who hold onto the show's teachings. They long for the happiness, camaraderie, and comforting protection of the mysterious Mister Magic. With no surviving footage, production details, or information about the host's true identity, their memories are their only tether to the past.

Val doesn't even have the memories anymore. She's lived on a ranch with her father for several years and has no recollection of her time spent as part of the final cast of Mister Magic. In a twist of fate, she is reunited with the remaining five surviving cast members. As the only keepers of the circle's secrets, the truth behind the mysterious figure in the boundless black cape, and the events leading to the fatal final day, the Circle of Friends embarks on a journey to reclaim their shared history. Yet, with each revelation, they question whether they are drawn by choice or a more nefarious force. What is the true purpose of their reunion?

I was a latecomer to the buzz surrounding Kiersten White, finally delving into her novel Hide just a few weeks ago. While I was drawn to the setting and concept of that book, I felt that its narrative threads didn't fully weave together. Still, I eagerly embraced the opportunity to explore more of the author's work when her publisher offered me a copy of Mister Magic. White immediately presents an intriguing puzzle about the show's reality, leaving even its participants uncertain of its intricacies. By rendering the protagonist equally unaware of the mystery, we experience the joy of uncovering each revelation alongside her. White skillfully steers the narrative into increasingly shadowy depths, prompting us to question the veracity of the unfolding events. As the true secrets emerge, we realize that this isn't merely an exhilarating read, but also a thought-provoking reflection on childhood, authority, and indoctrination. A brief author's note at the book's conclusion unveils White's personal inspiration, further enriching the already intricate tale. I found myself utterly captivated by this novel and eagerly anticipate whatever creative marvel White conjures next.