3.5/5

Well, this book was cute. But simultaneously, we can do be better for kids. It was fun and weird, reminding me a lot of Roadl Dahl's books. But the difference is that Roald Dahl felt like he actually had something to say. This felt like nonsense. Reminiscent of the mid-2000s so random, quirky Youtube humor.

For me, it felt like it was set up from the very beginning for a very uphill battle - a 90 degree hill - because I was never given a reason to care about our narrator/main character. Oh no, she's a part of a pick pocket gang just trying to survive and let's watch her try to steal from strangers. Sounds like it should be entertaining, but it wasn't because I was never given a reason to care that this was her situation. Why should I want to continue to follow along with her? Her entire personality was loud, but that only masked how paper thin she actually was.

Let's compare the opening scene here with one very similar, from Disney's Aladdin.

Aladdin is a story about friendship, teaching us that true friendship is about loyalty, selflessness, and seeing beyond our desires. And our titular character's opening song, One Jump Ahead, gives us not only a snapshot of this theme, but also invites us to care about Aladdin. The song starts with Aladdin being caught stealing a loaf of bread and the authorities threatening to take his hands for it. So we get some intense stakes that kids can easily understand. But then Aladdin begins to sing how he "only steals what he can't afford. That's everything," letting us know he does have morals, because he is only stealing something to help sustain him, not something to make him rich. His goodness is reiterated at the end when he gives the bread he worked so hard to get, to a pair of starving kids. Aka, it shows a hero like quality to make our sympathetic and want to root for him. We also learn throughout the song that Aladdin's current existence is toeing this line between life and death, in many senses. It sets the audience up to then understand why Aladdin would gladly accept an opportunity from Jafar to change his situation, even if it seems risky. Because what did he really have to lose? We also are invited to like Aladdin because we see numerous people like him throughout the course of the song. Yet we also see that he is a real person, cause not everyone likes him, and he is okay with that. Meanwhile, in The House at the Edge of Magic, Nine is all alone. We don't see her interact with anyone really until the end of chapter one or chapter two, with the librarian. But even then, it feels forced and more like ticking the box of a kind of annoying trope where a character goes, look I love reading. Like smashing the characteristics of Aladdin and Belle together, but they are playdough and it just makes ugly brown. We don't learn why she is pick pocketing. We don't even know what time period this is. We don't see what kind of person she actually is because we don't really see her interact with people. And then when it comes time for the inciting incident, we weren't shown why she would accept the challenge cause she seems to have less of a choice than Aladdin did. Yeah Aladdin's choices were jail or this deadly mission. But we saw enough of him prior to understand why the deadly mission was the best choice to make. Nine is just trapped in a house by accident and need to help find a way out. I think this could've been fine if we at least were given an earlier impression of her maybe wishing to have a home, setting up this potential conflict where she may want to stay. However, we would also either need something on the outside to make her want to go back on the outside, or some danger on the inside threatening them. We lacked all that.

There was so much potential for this story, yet it felt like they dropped the ball. At least it felt like that to me. Why do we write stories or make movies or shows? Especially for kids. It is should be more than just to entertain them. And the themes and morality doesn't need to be hit you over the head obvious, cause kids are way smarter than most adults think. But at least make me feel like I am walking away feeling like I learned something or gained new insight. And your main characters matter a whole lot too. I am willing to read them watching paint dry if the character is interesting enough. But you can't mask their lack of interest with being loud and quirky. Why do you think kids loved Matilda by Roald Dahl or Percy Jackson by Rick Riorden, or even Harry Potter by JK Rowling? It is because they were dynamic, which in turn made them feel real. And kids pick up on this too. Why do you think shows like Bluey is doing way better than some of the other nonsense out there?

At the end of my long rambling, I would probably hand this book over to a late elementary school kid or early middle school. It might entertain them with its silliness. But it won't leave an impact on me or the kids like those other books I just listed. Sorry, if this got a little mean at parts. I am just very passionate about encouraging more media to have more heart and depth to them, less junk food-esq content.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

This is a really fun quick read. The setting is wonderful and I really enjoyed seeing what quirky part of the house would be explored next. There is an interesting cast of characters and it will be fun to see and learn more about them in the next books in the series. I do think the pacing was a little off, there was a lot going on in this book and they had such a short time to break the curse. It would have been nice to explore things a little more in depth and get a little more time with these characters it made the ending feel particularly rushed. That said it's still a joy to read and left me looking forward to reading more of the series.

Gosh, I absolutely adored this story! The cover totally sucked me in and it was so whimsical and lovely! This story is about an orphan girl who has to help save the creatures/people inside a magical house that they are stuck inside of due to a curse. Mine is the orphan, is she such a great character! She’s independent and a little badass. There’s some seriously awesome side characters too: Dr. Spoon, Flabberghast the wizard and Eric who is a troll. This book was cozy, fun, and humorous, perfect for any middle grader!

This is such a cozy read! Something you can sit with a cup of tea, in a comfy chair with a blanket and escape into a fun world and enjoy an adventure. I would mention that the book does seem a little bit rushed, but that wasn't too big of an issue.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes is a third person-POV Middle Grade fantasy. Nine is a thief who lives among other thieves under the thumb of Pockets, who demands gifts from everyone he provides shelter to. In an effort to find a gift, Nine tries to steal a purse and ends up stealing an ornament that is actually a cursed house. To get a gem of immeasurable wealth that might buy her more protection or a future, Nine agrees to help the inhabitants of the cursed home and herself.

There is a lot of humor in here, which is exactly what I’m looking for in most Middle Grade fantasies. They should handle difficult topics, and this book tackles being an orphan and relying on an abusive mentor, but having a sense of humor that appeals to kids is always a very big plus. One of the main characters is a wizard and hopscotch champion called ‘Flabberghast’ and there’s a sentient spoon called Mr. Spoon who is looking for a dish in a play on Hey Diddle Diddle. There’s situational humor, including bathroom humor, that will be to each individual reader’s taste (I’m not personally a fan of bathroom humor and never have been, but I know some kids in the MG age range are into it), but it is generally on the more humorous side.

Of the three main characters (Nine, Flabberghast, and a troll named Eric), Nine was my favorite. Sometimes side characters really call to me and make me excited for more, but Nine was not only the main character but the real star of the show. She’s smart and mature and doing her very best in a difficult situation. It wasn’t explained to her that by agreeing to help Flabberghast, Mr. Spoon, and Eric that she would also be cursed unless the curse is broken and that did make me like the others a little bit less. Some of this is most likely the standard of children being in charge in Middle Grade and guiding the plot, but I fully believe that a child in her position would end up taking the leadership role when her back is against the wall.

A mid-nineteenth century year is given which makes me think this might be historical fantasy but I’m not entirely positive. It certainly does feel historical and firmly set in the Victorian era with a hint of magic here and there. The part of the worldbuilding that I really liked was the house shrinking down to the size of an ornament. I’m into the idea of houses that can be made very small and carried around as needed, though I would prefer not to be in one that is cursed to shrink until everyone in it disappears.

I would recommend this to fans of MG fantasy that has strong historical coding and young readers who want a fast-paced humorous fantasy

A cute and magically wonderful children's novel about a magical house and a thief named Nine. Honestly, this is better than half the adult book ARCs I have read so far this year. My son is twelve and also thought he would like this book but hasn't started it yet.

Fun short tale about an orphan, a magic house under the effects of a curse, and found family. The story seems unlikely to be a series, although I suppose it could become one, and the tale at times verges on wacky even despite a much harder, far more emotional back story that drives the MC. The primary problem in the plot is solving and ending the curse, which ends up bring surprisingly easy. This felt a bit confusing as for much of the novel it seems like the primary problem is Nine's trauma-associated lack of trust in other people and resulting unwillingness to accept or give kindness. This aspect of the plot isn't really resolved in a meaningful way, although a future resolution is implied, which made the book feel a bit unfinished to me. Still, overall enjoyable.

This book was humerous and lighthearted and would be suitable for 8-10 year old readers. The characters were engaging and entertaining and overall this would be an enjoyable, easy read. I give this book 4 stars.

The House at the Edge of Magic is a magical book with whimsical characters. I love Nine, our strong female character who is determined to find a better life.

I think this would be a good read for upper elementary aged students.

Nine’s life with Pockets was giving me Oliver & Fagin vibes, but that quickly changes when she discovers a magic house with a colorful group of residents. I found the curse breaking to be interesting and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. I do wish Nine was nicer to Eric though, him sneaking her boiled sweets in an attempt to make her less sad/angry was very endearing. I’m hoping that Sparkes plans on telling readers who the skeleton in the closet is and why Flabberghast seems determined to not talk about it.

Overall a fun Middle Grade book about an orphan pickpocket finding a magical house under a curse.

Such a fun read! Middle grade books are so much fun, especially featuring orphans and a magical house. Highly recommended!

I absolutely love this book! From the moment I met Nine, I was hooked! All the characters throughout this book are so much fun and full of personality. The whole time I was reading this, I was imagining reading it aloud to my students. I know they would devour it just like I did!