| Title | : | A Tale of Magic... (A Tale of Magic, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 481 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 2019 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Middle Grade & Children's (2019) |
Fourteen-year-old Brystal Evergreen has always known she was destined for great things--that is, if she can survive the oppressive Southern Kingdom. Her only escape are books, but since it's illegal for women to read in her country, she has to find creative ways of acquiring them. Working as a maid at her local library gives her the perfect excuse to be near them and allows her to sneak a few titles home when no one is looking. But one day Brystal uncovers a secret section of the library and finds a book about magic that changes her life forever.
Magic is despised and outlawed throughout the world--Brystal is well aware of the severe consequences the book may bring--but her curiosity gets the best of her. By reading some of the text aloud, strange phenomena begin to occur and Brystal discovers she is capable of magic! And the more she practices it, the harder it becomes to hide.
After being caught and convicted, Brystal is saved by a mysterious woman named Madame Weatherberry. The woman takes Brystal to her Academy of Magic and teaches her to become a fairy. While Brystal studies magic and befriends the other students, Madame Weatherberry is suddenly called away on suspicious matters. When she doesn't return, Brystal and her friends work together to find and save their instructor. Along the way, the students discover Madame Weatherberry's true intentions for the academy are not what they seem, and they come face to face with a sinister plot that puts the fate of the world, and the fate of magic itself, in grave danger...
A Tale of Magic... (A Tale of Magic, #1) Reviews
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[3/15/2020] - I JUST FINISHED MY RE-READ AND IT WAS JUST AS GOOD AS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME AHHHHHHHHH
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[10/09/2019] - AHHHHHHHHHHHH! THAT WAS SO SURPRISINGLY GOOD!! WILL I EVER STOP YELLING? PROBABLY NOT
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[10/03/19] - THE TALE BEGINS NOW!!
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HOLY FREAKING SHIRTBALLS!!!!!!! ANOTHER SERIES!!!! THAT COVER!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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i don’t care if this is middle grade and i’m a junior in high school, IM GOING TO READ THIS. and that cover,,, 😍
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Receiving a strong recommendation to try this book, I set about reading it with Neo during the early stages of our COVID-19 isolation (where I spun it to be part of his language arts curriculum as I called it ‘creating reading’). While were were both enthralled with it, I can only read so much at a time, so we were advancing at a pace more suited to the attention span and sit down abilities of an eight-year-old. With Neo’s permission, I took the leap to listen to the audiobook on my own, which has Chris Colfer narrating his own piece. What an adventure it has turned out to be! Brystal Evergreen is a precocious girl who does not like the severity of the laws in the Southern Kingdom. As a young woman, she is not allowed to do anything but learn how to be a good wife to her future husband, which includes no reading whatsoever. Pushing the limits, she acquires a job as an evening maid in the town library, where she can read to her heart’s content when no one is around. She discovers a secret collection of books and begins reading them, though they have all been banned. When she comes upon one all about magic, she is intrigued and begins reading aloud, only to discover that she triggers something upon uttering an incantation for testing faeries. Unsure what to do with this knowledge, Brystal tries it again one night, but is caught and hauled off to jail, where she is sent through the legal system in quick order. When someone shows her a crumb of mercy, she is shipped off to a work camp rather than be executed for her crimes. Misery has a new name and Brystal soon discovers it in the form of her new residence. She is sure to die in this place with nothing and no one around her, save one sweet young girl. One morning, Madame Celeste Weatherberry comes to the work camp with an order from King Champion XIV to have Brystal released into her care. Madame Weatherberry takes Brystal with her and explains that magic is by no means the evil thing that she has been told. Madame Weatherberry has plans to create an academy where young people can hone their skills. As Brystal helps Madame Weatherberry find other new recruits who will bring a number of unique skills to the academy, news of a problem comes from the north, forcing Brystal to hold down the fort. What evil awaits in the Northern Kingdom and how will Brystal and her new friends conquer it with their new-found powers? The reader is pushed into the middle of quite the adventure, with all the creatures that make fantasy worth the read (and this coming from a guy who steers clear of this genre most of the time). A great story for young adult fans who enjoy something with a bit more fantasy to it. Recommended to those readers, as well as the young at heart.
I was surprised when I made the connection that Chris Colfer was an actor whose work I used to enjoy. However, what astonished me even more was the quality of the book which is said to be for young adults, as well as its ‘fantasy’ genre. I could not get enough of the story, whose plots were so well developed with a narrative that made me want to know more. Neo was fully committed as well, asking me when we could “read more magic”, which goes to show that Colfer has a knack for writing. Brystal Evergreen is surely the central character in this piece, but there are many others who bring their own flavouring to the story and keep the reader hooked. Each character has their own backstory, which serves as a piece of the larger puzzle. Just scanning all that I learned here, there is lots to develop in the coming novels of this series. Colfer keeps things in the realm of fantasy, but does not push things into the silly. There will be ogres and trolls, dwarves, and faeries, but it does not get hokey, even to the adult population, which is something that usually keeps me away from these types of stories. Colfer fills his writing with themes the reader can enjoy and morals that prove useful and relatable by the modern teen reader. I look forward to seeing where things will go, especially with some of the revelations in the latter portion of the book. I purposely kept the above summary vague, so as not to spill too much and force the curious reader to dive in. Trust me, it is worth it and hints of the next book make me wish I had the magic to speed up time.
Kudos, Mr Colfer, for an intriguing piece that left me hungering for more. Perhaps I will dabble into some of your earlier work while I wait.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... -
When your paycheck hits...and you have the weakest of weak wills....and there goes my paycheck...just goes right to books...
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Novela infantil/juvenil de magia y aventuras.
Muy entretenida, con buenos personajes y una ambientación coherente, y en la que se resaltan valores como la compasión y la tolerancia. -
OMG! This book was so amazing. I have so many feels. I just want to devour it again and again. And wow, what a mother fucking plot twist! I wasn't expecting that at all. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a book about magic, unbreakable friendship, and boundless compassion.
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"Ignorance is a choice. Hatred is a choice. Violence is a choice. But someone's existence is never a choice, or a fault, and it's certainly not a crime."
Forget Hogwarts, I am going to Madame Berryweather's!
I loved every page of this! (After getting over the disappointment of this not continuing where The Land od Stories ended.) I ended up loving this one even more. It's set completetly in the Land of Stories. Chris Colfer began a wonderful series with this book and he threw so many valueable life lessons in there - gender equality (I was so angry when I read about how Brystal grew up) and the LGBTQ community... I loved this so much, I cannot even put it into words. -
Once I went on on of those vacations where the hotel was paid for, I just had to sit through a time share sales pitch. And the sales person started out by asking me what I wanted out of a vacation and what I was willing to pay and that kind of stuff. After a while I realized that what annoyed me so much about it was that they were trying to get me to do their job for them by telling them what they had to tell me or what cost they had to come in just under. Between that and a window buying experience, I've developed a distaste for salespeople in general. But, I digress.
That's what annoyed me about this book. There was an obvious moral to the story from the get go but the book just kept layering it on with out actually saying it.
And it was layered on thick. The whole book was dripping with how wonderful the protagonists are and how evil the opposition was. And every time they try something new, they're immediately perfect at it the first time they try. They just need to believe in themselves! (sarcasm)
And they never struggle for more than a sentence. But one pep talk later and they can pull whatever incredible magic they need out of the hat. i.e. just to show how wonderful the kids are. And the whole book is like that. Threat/difficult pops up, kids have a pep talk, kids do something random, threat is gone.
I know this is a children's book but that's not an excuse for being bad. -
Absolutamente maravilloso ⭐️⭐️⭐���⭐️⭐️
Como ya había leído anteriormente al autor, sabía que iba a encontrarme con una historia extraordinaria, pero este libro ha superado todas mia expectativas 😍
Ha sido una novela magnífica que resalta valores tan importantes como la solidaridad, la amistad, la empatía o la compasión, entre muchos otros ❤️
Todos los personajes están perfectamente construidos y tienen una profundidad y desarrollo impresionante 🤩
Os lo recomiendo 100% y desde aquí hago un llamamiento para que se traduzcan todos los libros del autor al castellano 🙏
Próximamente reseña en:
https://rincondemarlau.blogspot.com -
A Tale of Magic is the 1st book in a new series written by Chris Colfer. Even though it’s a prequel to his award winning Land of Stories series, readers do not need to be familiar with the characters in the first series.
Chris’s books are written with middle grade readers in mind; however, I think “children” of all ages will enjoy them and immediately feel love for the characters. I adored the protagonist Brystal; she’s spunky and determined to not take the path her parents have deemed necessary for girls. The other characters were tons of fun too. Readers will get to know a group of delightful fairies: Madame Weatherberry, Tangerina, Skylene, Xanthous, Emerelda, Lucy, and Mrs. Vee. You’ll also meet the evil monarchs and the Snow Queen witch. Their main goal is to stop magic from being practiced in the kingdoms.
Chris skillfully weaves in the need for acceptance and equality into his story. I recognized immediately some of the situations we face in today’s world, such as discrimination, division, patriarchy, oppression, and much more. Together the fairies attempt to rid the kingdoms of the evil mentioned above.
This fifty-something reader found herself laughing out loud at the situations the fairies and witches found themselves in during the story. All ages will love it! Thank you Chris, and Little, Brown, and Company for the ARC of this magical book. -
4/5
“Debemos compadecernos de la gente que decide odiar, Brystal. Sus vidas nunca serán tan significativas como aquellas que están llenas de amor. “
Un cuento de magia ha sido una historia preciosa llena de magia y aventuras. Tengo muchas ganas de saber que va a pasar con Brystal y sus amigos, el segundo libro promete mucho.
-Reseña completa:
http://addicionaloslibros.blogspot.co... -
Mucho más mágico y enternecedor de lo que esperaba. Los anteriores libros de Chris Colfer fueron muy originales, pero desde luego que se ha notado una enorme evolución: una historia mucho más redonda, bien construida y con personajes maravillosos. Llena de valores y muy importante, a la vez que entretenida y llena de aventuras.
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The problem I have with most middle-grade books is most of the time the synopsis sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it but it's not long before i'm thinking "I'm too old for this shit"!!! With that said, that is never the case with
Chris Colfer his stories draw me in and captivate me and I curse every single time I need to put them down.
A Tale of Magic was such an exciting story with great characters and fun and touching moments a truly delightful read can't wait for the next!
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I feel so dumb for not seeing this coming earlier. I only realized when Xanthous was mentioned because you know, it's not exactly a common name. I'm also dying right now because I have to wait a month to get the next book. :(
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After enjoying The Land of Stories books immensely through my teen years, I was looking forward to returning to Chris Colfer's magical universe but my expectations were quickly dashed by the snails-pace plot and lack of creativity within this book.
The synopsis of A Tale of Magic covers the first 350 pages out of this nearly 500 page book, and not much else of any consequence happens within those pages. It takes ages to get to the promised plot of the magic school and uncovering the mysteries of Madame Weatherberry.
The book also suffers from a severe case of telling, not showing. That coupled with the frequent instances of Brystal talking aloud to herself to explain her thoughts comes off as lazy and monotonous. Adding to that, it seems as though we get the backstories of each of our characters explained to us half a dozen times over as if we haven't already read the events happening in real time. The book's length could have been cut it half had it not been for the constant summarizing and repetition.
The liberal messages come off as preachy and distracting, as if this fantastical world was made to be nothing more than a giant metaphor for the women's suffrage movement and fighting homophobia simultaneously. That one's still confusing, trying to decipher when magic is a metaphor for which social justice issue.
Our antagonists are cartoonishly villainous with no depth to their characters whatsoever and only exist to emphasize how right and good our protagonist is.
The ending is anti-climactic and far too convenient, not to mention insanely rushed considering how little time was dedicated to actually resolving the main conflict which was only introduced to us a chapter before it is taken care of. -
Se nota la maduración de Chris Colfer como autor con esta nueva entrega ambientada en el mismo universo de La tierra de las historias pero aun así independiente a dicha saga (al menos por ahora).
Una forma bastante amena de introducir temas como el racismo y la discriminación social con elementos de fantasía, magia, brujas y hadas en un contexto apto para lectores jóvenes y mayores.
Giros inesperados, humor, aventuras y capítulos que se leen solos. No puedo esperar a leer la segunda parte. -
Review by Torah 10 years old -
This is a book by Chris Colfer a star of Glee
It is the first in the tale of magic series.
This book was well written and interesting and had me wanting to turn the pages to find out what was happening.
The only thing I didnt like was it is a very big book 481 pages !!
If you like books with fantasy in it you will love any of his books.
Adults can even read these books.
The ending was fantastic. -
This book was super - interesting and full of magic and friendship. It is a very describing author who wrote this wonderful book. I would reccommand this for 10+.
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„Iɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ.
Hᴀᴛʀᴇᴅ ɪs ᴀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ.
Vɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ.
Bᴜᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ’s ᴇxɪsᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪs
ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ﹐ ᴏʀ ᴀ ғᴀᴜʟᴛ﹐
ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ‘s ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴʟʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ.
Yᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴡɪsᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴅᴜᴄᴀᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ.“
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Winx/Fate meets Harry Potter und lädt euch mit „Tale of Magic“ in eine magische und gleichermaßen gefährliche Welt ein. Wo lesen verboten ist und magische Wesen verhasst sind bis eine junge Fee sich 5 magisch begabten annimmt und sie ausbildet an einer geheimen Akademie damit sie das Königreich retten können wenn die Zeit gekommen ist.
Ich hab mich direkt in die von Chris Colfer erschaffene Welt verliebt mit all den magischen Wesen wie Einhörner, feen, Kobold, Zwerge und Hexen.
Zudem wird das Thema anders sein, diversity super schön behandelt. Als Beispiel ein magisch begabter junge wurde von seinen Eltern immer geschlagen weil er mit Puppen spielen wollte und da zeigt der Autor das es völlig okay ist so zu sein wie man eben sein
Mag.
Ich fand besonders die Fantasy Aspekte unheimlichen toll, denn die Akademie hat zum Beispiel Zimmer die sich an ihre Bewohner anpassen und die jungen magischen entwickeln sich so toll auch wenn sie sich erstmal aneinander gewöhnen müssen. ☺️
Und natürlich kommen Bücher hier auch nicht zu kurz denn sie sind verboten und dennoch werden welche gelesen werden. In dieser Reihe geht es auch wieder um Freundschaft , man selbst sein, andere akzeptieren und gemeinsam stark sein , alles ganz wichtige Botschaften wie ich finde!
Alles in allem kann ich euch den Auftakt dieser Reihe sehr empfehlen! Auch das Hörbuch ist toll denn es wird wieder von Rufus Beck gelesen.
Bin sooooo gespannt auf den zweiten Band denn die geheime Akademie kriegt da vermutlich ganz viel Zuwachs.
Bewertung: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5|5 -
me muero por que se publique ya la continuación de Un cuento de magia: ha sido una historia llena de fantasía, aventuras, y valores absolutamente necesarios en nuestra sociedad, que, además, de achucha el corazón y logra emocionarte.
Reseña completa:
http://fiebrelectora.blogspot.com/202... -
من خیلی وقته تمومش کردم ولی اینجا اپدیت نکردم...
اندازه طلسم ارزو نبود ولی خیلی زیبا بود
با توجه به پایانش
به شدت احساس میکنم این گذشته دنیای قصه های همیشگیه -
Loved this book!
Many years ago a friend introduced me to The Land of Stories, and I was immediately hooked!
When the same friend told me about this book a few months ago, I immediately put it on my to-read list. However, I was unable to get the book until a couple days ago.
But when I got this from the library, I was worried I wouldn't find the sequel to The Land of Stories as interesting, since it had been years since I had read The Land of Stories.
Thank goodness I was wrong! I deeply enjoyed this book.
The book encouraged equality in a deep and moving story. Mad plot twists, great character growth, and a very creative world was created by the author.
And I loved the ending, it was so satisfying.
Excited to read the next book, A Tale of Witchcraft.
Thank you, friend. You know who you are. :) -
I was up until 2 A.M. finishing reading this. I love this author and his stories. Most of all I love how he weaves ethics and morality into them unobtrusively. By not coming out and saying it, he makes a point and maybe more people will get the message that way.
Not that this is a dry or religious book. It is a fantasy/fairy tale about--fairies. And witches, and kings, and politicians. There are unicorns and gryphons, magic carriages, castles, dwarves, ogres, elves, goblins and trolls. Beautiful jacket and illustrations, and even the hardback is beautiful.
If you've never read any of Chris Colfer books, what are you waiting for? -
4,5.
En resumen, Un cuento de magia ha sido una lectura que ha tenido todo lo que necesito en un middle grade, desde un gran mundo mágico, pasando por una trama adictiva y fácil de leer, hasta personajes de los que nos quedamos con ganas de saber más, por lo que tengo claro que seguiré leyendo esta serie.
Reseña completa -
A Tale of Magic was an interesting story, and it was fun to read, but so much of the book felt like thinly veiled efforts to convey a stance on social issues. But instead of letting the symbolism speak for itself, or letting the reader make inferences from the story, Colfer essentially beats the reader over the head with his message, which just made much of the book feel tiring at times.
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Okay... I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was amazing!!! A great book to give us some more information about before the whole Alex, Connor thing. Would definitely recommend reading this after Land of Stories!
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This book felt so much different from the Land of Stories series for me. The story took a while to develop and then came to a very quick and clean conclusion. A little too clean for all the long build up. It also felt very preachy and clearly has an underlying meaning that many young readers will not pick up on. I was disappointed for as much as I LOVED the first series, this one felt forced to me. I will continue the series and see if it improves.
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Chris Colfer has done it again!! I loved this book so much!! Can’t wait to read the next book! I love the world of Land of Stories so much! Highly recommend!
