Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

A middlegrade book with a blend of sci-fi and fantasy! This is the second time I‘ve read this book and it was just as enchanting as the first time around.

This book really made me feel girl power to the max. Written for YA genre but I didn't feel at all like it was dumbed down or that I, as a 46 yr old, couldn't get into the story and enjoy it. Very well written and plot line really was extremely interesting and fun

This middle grade/YA novel deals with Zanna, a girl who loves puzzles, science, and whose curiosity is never satisfied. When she learns she’s been accepted to St. Pommeroy’s School for Gifted Children, of course she jumps for joy, but from the first chapter on, things aren’t like what she expected at all: the school is a nightmare, her schoolmates are horrible, her teachers seem incompetent… or is that only a facet of reality, and truth is in fact much more complex? Don’t trust what you see at first! At St. Pommeroy’s, Zanna discovers that mathematics, physics and chemistry are doors towards understanding the very functions defining the universe, and with this understanding, people like her can learn to manipulate the fabric of the universe itself.

Magic through Science is a concept I love, and I had much fun reading about here (but then, I find simplifying surds relaxing, so…). The school itself follows patterns that aren’t new in many MG novels: Zanna meets the people who’ll become her schoolmates, there are friendships and enmities, but overall I found the school’s atmosphere was a positive one, encouraging cooperation and understanding each other, with the story not veering into the usual Mean Queen Bee and Gang vs. Nice Girl. Although, to be fair, I didn’t always find Zanna herself very nice, especially with the way she immediately started to judge one of the other pupils, when in fact she was best placed to understand his actions, and why he behaved like that. Good thing that this kind of attitude usually paves the way for character growth (both characters), all the more with one of the teachers latching on this and poking at said pupils to force them to look at their true selves instead of pretending to already know who they are and never looking further.

Other characters were enjoyable, too, although I wish they had been more developed and that we had seen more of them. I especially liked the relationship between Zanna and her quirky grandfather, and how Scientists are somewhat hidden from ‘the normal world’, but with presidents, officials etc. still knowing they exist: this way, they’re exceptional, but there’s no need for complete secrecy, keeping both worlds separated, having Zanna forever unable to share her new life with her ‘mundane’ family, and so on.

Overall I found the writing pleasant, and the book a quick, fun read, with the story always moving. The ‘scientific explanations’ peppered here and there may be difficult to follow for a younger audience, however the author usually made his explanations short enough, and with some very basic knowledge in chemistry and physics, they remain understandable. (Do middle grade kids still leanr that? I had physics lessons when I was 11-12, and we started chemistry at 12-13.) Anyway, I believe one can enjoy the plot and characters here even if having to gloss over the more ‘sciencey’ bits, since they effects they have are akin to ‘magic’, so the results can be observed nonetheless, so to speak. For instance, manipulating and changing the proprieties of nitrogen to make balloons fly: the result’s still flying in the end. (Bit of a pet peeve, though, for the use of the word ‘metallurgical’ throughout the book, because as far as I know, this world is related to the the extraction, refining etc. of metals, and has nothing to do with ‘illusions so complex that they’re not only visual, and actually feel real’. Every time the word popped up, it distracted me.)

Another peeve was the villain’s tendency to not reveal anything: ‘I’m doing this for your own good, because if I don’t, terrible things will happen to All The People You Love… but I’m never going to tell you what exactly will happen, trust me even though I’m the villain.’ I mean, I don’t know who would ever believe this would make a teenager keep quiet and passively accept all that’s happening to her. I’m much older than Zanna, and I still wouldn’t take that at face value either. Those reasons are never disclosed even at the end, so I do hope that there’s going to be a second instalment at some point: between that and Zanna’s second year at school, there’s definitely holes to close, and material to exploit.

3.75 stars..

As early as first chapter, it was obvious that 14-year old, Zanna Mayfield is gifted though it's a little later that we learn where exactly she excels. SCIENCE. The acceptance letter she received from the mysterious exclusive St. Pommeroy's School for Gifted Children is a proof to that. The story goes on with Zanna discovering that she's a SCIENTIST, one who can see and bend the basic functions of the universe to her own purposes. And that someone is set to keep her out of the academy. And in order for her to finish her first year in St. Pommeroy's and to stay alive, she must master her 'power'.
NOTE: All I've mentioned so far is stated on GR's Synopsis so they're not
considered Spoilers. However, there might be some spoilers if you keep
reading

The basic idea of the story sounds familiar, right? Big YES. But I enjoyed this book more than I expected and for a book that screamed Science so loud, that's saying something because I'm not really into Science. Why do you think I didn't finish my engineering course before? LOls. Anyway, despite the clicheness of the main plot, the magic used is kinda refreshing. It really is pure Science and that I found it fascinating to read all those Scientific terms. And surprisingly, I found those said terms easy to understand and really interesting.

I almost give up reading when I read of Zanna's first day on school which was basically the beginning of the story. It just seemed so force to me because all the cliches in a teenage highschool scenes are there. Bullying and all that. But then as quick as it started, it ended and suddenly it became clear why it was like that. It was an illusion. this is Big spoiler but I chose to state this so you don't give up on reading as well. Those eye-roll inducing scenes are really enough for a reader to lose interest. I'm telling you, don't. Thee story is filled with mystery that will keep you guessing till the end.

The characters are surprisingly likeable. They have such amazing personalities, especially Zanna. I think she has the potential to be this badass teenager who fights against evil using her badass power. I just hope that if there's a second book, I see more development in the characters. And their relationships in need of development as well.

Now to the reason why it didn't get higher than 3.5 stars. I couldn't help thinking of other books and movies while reading. The acceptance letter, the school for gifted children and there was even a trunk or a tool box, flying bus and a school standing on a floating island. Most factors remind me of Harry Potter so much and I read the whole series every year so it's hard to focus on Zanna while HP is on my mind. :)

Overall, I enjoyed this book as I mentioned already and I highly recommend this to everyone. This is worth of your time and money. :) :)

The Zanna Function was AMAZING!!! It was so amazing, I had trouble finding what to pick up next after it, and then spent at least a week actively missing reading it. All I can truly hope for is that it won't be a standalone, because it's too good to just end right there!

5 Reasons To Read The Zanna Function
Zanna Mayfield is a smart 14 year old. She loves doing puzzles and loves science. Too bad the other kids at school don't really love her. But maybe that's not such a big problem after all, because Zanna has just received a formal letter, inviting her to join St Pommeroy's, a school for scientifically gifted children. She is very excited, but she doesn't know the half of what she'll find there.

Because the school for gifted children is basically the Hogwarts of scientists. Who use their 'science' as you'd use magical powers. However, things are not that simple – there is someone pursuing Zanna, trying to keep her away from the school, trying to... Kidnap her. There's something dark and dangerous out there, and she's just a kid, even if she's gifted. And she's all alone against it, because since when do the authorities ever help a magical kid defend against a powerful dark being..?

In the words of Scifi & Scary, this is like Harry Potter – but with a girl and science instead of magic. What else could you possibly want??

Reason 1.

Well Duh, The Magical Science
Come on, you totally want to see how science becomes magic. That line about HP so totally got you right there. It's what happened to me. However, keep in mind that this book is no rip off! It's full of its own lore. You have to go in without expectations. But hey, even if you go in wielding those, I think you'll still come out fine. There were a few things about how this 'sciencey magic system' failed to suspend disbelief for me, but they're details – this whole concept is so unique, I've never seen it before! Plus, hell, SCIENCE! Science becomes magic! It's all just way too cool for school. But it IS a school. *badum tss*

Reason 2.

Kickass. Girl. Does. Science. WINS AT IT. Plus... Kickass Female Villain!!
Not only does Zanna proves to be as smart as she was thought to be. She also proves herself to be mentally strong and able. Cold thinking, but also honest. Willing to make sacrifices to get where she needs to get. She might even be too adult and strong – but if you're a teen reading this, this is the hero you need to see. You need to see a girl just like you achieving all of this. And Zanna is amazing for the job.

And then we must talk about the villain. She's very well-fleshed out – not just brutal, or evil just to be evil – it's all very well thought out. And let's move back a few steps here – the villain is not a guy either! This whole book is basically centered around kickass women!! It's so incredibly empowering, and you know what? These women, they ain't doing cooking, they ain't doing art. THEY'RE DOING SCIENCE. When I was a little girl and thought I'm too stupid for science, cause they kept telling me that – this would have helped me out so much! In the end, I did take the science exams and came out top of my class – but it would have been so much nicer not to have to fight my own inner 'you're just a girl' demons before I did that.

Reason 3.

The Book Never Really Stops Rolling
When I started The Zanna Function, I expected yet another calm-ish magical school book. NOPE! No. Peace. Of. Mind. The three or four days I spent reading The Zanna Function were all me being jumpy about what happens next, cause this book is just filled with tension. It's not that things keep happening and rolling over each other, it's more that there's just all this anticipation and danger! It's really quite intense.

Reason 4.

No Hot Guy Tropes, Boys Are Realistic!
The reason why I avoid most YA is the boy tropes. I just... Can't stand those perfect – or worse – brooding YA heroes. While this book falls somewhere between MG and YA (I'd have trouble deciding, actually), it does not have any 'perfect guy' tropes. There are a few boys in the story, but they're never presented as mysterious or cool, in fact – their bad qualities are stressed and exposed. But don't think you will not find lovable boys in this book – there are two possible book boyfriends, depending on your taste – whether you like the vanilla top of class who is actually really kind, or a misunderstood rebel who has quite a lot of flaws but is also pretty hot stuff, or rather, will grow out into one. One thing to be noted, the book does not really talk about relationships yet – it's more an anticipation of their possibility, or just close friendships. That's why I say this is bordering on the MG and YA threshold. And it's why I really loved the dynamics!

Reason 5.

Focus On The Self
The Zanna Function isn't just a book about being good at science. Or conquering enemies. No, The Zanna Function has its deep moments too. Besides studying Physics, Maths and Chemistry, the children must understand the self as well – as you cannot uncover the mysteries of the universe, without first uncovering the secret to the self. There's a lot of talk about the self here, and the importance of not hiding from one's self, understanding oneself. I believe these are very important topics for a teen to read about – and not just for a teen, but rather for all of us.

Overall...

GOD, JUST READ IT ALREADY. Please? You will love it? Granted, this book might have some flaws, like [spoiler], okay, if the school has been around since the Greeks, why the heck is it called St. Pommeroy's? Does not sound like a classical Greek name? And then also, the way the 'science magic' is handled can be pretty... odd and unbelievable at times, like, where do those functions even float around and how can they see them?[/spoiler] – but all of these are really minor details in the general scheme of things. All I know is that I really hope that this will be part of a series and I will get to read Book 2, and possibly Book 3, and possibly even Book 7! Please, bring it on, Daniel Wheatley!!!

I thank Jolly Fish Press for giving me a copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.

The Zanna Function is an interesting melding of science and fantasy set in a magical school. Zanna Mayfield, who lives with her grandfather, Pops, is caught off guard by an invitation to attend St. Pommeroy's School for Gifted Children. Without wanting to spoil some of the fun for the reader, after a rough start, Zanna begins her study of mathematics, chemistry, physics and self functions. These areas of study represent the modern version of the four historic subjects at St. Pommeroy, inscribed in stone at the entrance: Mathema, Al-kimia, Physis, and Episteme. The subjects are studied according to the idea of functions- both functionality and mathematic functions describing that functionality. Over the course of the first year, students hone their interests and decide upon a field of study. (Sort of like deciding to read physics at university, except these are high school kids.)

From Od Magic to Harry Potter to Miss Peregrine, there are certainly plenty of magical schools in fantasy out there, especially for middle-grade readers. Wheatley has managed to create a unique world and the depth of my love for a book with many female characters studying and excelling in STEM field cannot be overestimated!

insert gif: https://media1.tenor.com/images/8ce38c85af9ff9b0fbef3f23aae616d7/tenor.gif?itemid=4600507

Although I often felt like the main characters of the story seemed younger than high school age children, the book still works well as a whole. I'm still not sure whether this was intended as a standalone (there is a good ending point here, that leaves room for sequels) or the start of a series. As a standalone, this is a book likely to entertain middle-grade students, especially girls who are looking for a sort of female version of Harry Potter who gets to be just as bright as Hermione.

Harry Potter meets Mistborn in this middle grade novel, where the existence of true magic is possible thanks to SCIENCE! I absolutely adored this book!

Since middle grade is a little shunned of a genre in my opinion, I requested this book because of all the great memories I had of reading middle grade novels when I was younger, and I was not disappointed! The main element of this novel, which is the manipulation of science and the gifted people around the world who are capable of doing that, makes the plot of this book both intriguing and as close to reality as possible, with the impossible factor intricately woven in the story. If you think middle grade is not as complicated as young adult and adult fiction, this book will prove you wrong. It requires the reader’s undivided attention, so as to follow all the twists and turns and the hows and the whys of this story. The existence of romantic relationships amongst 14-year-olds was a bit of a surprise at first, but it is not at all a main point of focus in the plot.

As far as the characters are concerned, I liked the variety of personalities introduced in this novel, but I think that they did not reach their full potential within this book. I would have appreciated the relationships being more flushed out, regarding both the familial bonds as well as the friendships developing between the main character and her new friends. Moreover I have to admit that the protagonist, Zanna, whose perspective we follow in this book, was probably one of my least favourite charactes, because I couldn’t quite fathom her way of thinking of herself and the people around her. Although she was portrayed as shy, introverted and unaware of her abilities, more often than not she seemed judgemental, quite rude and ill-tempered. That being said, I did appreciate the fact that she took the time to criticize herself and her actions, thus bringing her to a point of character growth, which is one of the main messages a book should promote, as far as I am concerned. Besides, whether I personally like the main character is usually not a strong factor in my enjoyment level of reading, since I rather like seeing the thought process of a person so different to what I would do, think, or feel.

The Zanna Function is a novel that keeps you guessing and generates more questions than answers, which is how experiencing the world and finding yourself is all about. I have a few reservations regarding its structure, since I found the rather long chapters a bit tiresome at times, and to be honest I kept comparing it to other middle grade fantasies I have read, which have unavoidably quite a few similarities. There were also moments that my attention would drift and I would miss a part of the story without which understanding the rest was simply impossible, just because scientific facts and elements are such an ingrained yet challenging part of the story. Nevertheless, its educational value is striking and held my interest until the very end. I have to say that I would recommend this book not only to children but to adults as well!

Thank you to Netgalley and North Star Editions for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

When fourteen-year-old Zanna Mayfield gets an acceptance letter from St. Pommeroy’s School for Gifted Children, she jumps at the chance to put her considerable intellect to good use. But nothing can prepare her for the first day, when she discovers that she is a Scientist —one able to see and bend the basic functions of the universe like velocity, gravity, and chemical reactions to her own purposes. As Zanna struggles to make friends and learn how to use her abilities at her new school, her troubles multiply when a mysterious stranger begins stalking her, dead set on keeping Zanna out of St. Pommeroy’s. If Zanna has any hope of finishing her first year, she’ll need to master every function she can get her mind around—including the one that defines Zanna herself.



| Amazon | Waterstones |
The Zanna Function
Daniel Wheatley

Every so often I read a book that I well and truly love. For me this is what The Zanna Function brought me. Middle Grade isn't often my first choice but this plot intrigued me (although it did turn out different that expected!) and I decided to give it a shot. I was pleasently surprised and I found a book that I will happily push onto all the children in my family.

The main stand out for me was that our main character and three of her closest friends at school are all girls. And they are all amazing at maths and science, and even though they're shown to have strengths and weaknesses in certain areas they help each other out with the weaknesses rather than turn it into a competition. With the ever lowering rates of women going into STEM subjects, this book is so vital to show young kids that being a scientist kind of makes you have superpowers and that it's an aspirational study and career choice.

The females in this book are also immensely strong. They know their own minds, what they want and how they're going to achieve it. Zanna is constantly on the ball making up plans and doing things that she's scared of to complete them. Zanna is a wonderful role model in the book and I really routed for her throughout (even when some of her decisions weren't as clever!). The book also shows you can mistakes, but you learn from them and can better yourself.

The pacing of the book was a little bit all over the place, it kept slowing, and then racing ahead. This wasn't too bad as I did read it over two nights before bed so it didn't slow the read down. But I did feel like just putting the book down at some points because it felt like it was dragging slightly. This is probably to do with my other complaint. There's a lot of terminology and actual mathematical terms in this book. As someone who's done A Level maths I sometimes struggled. BUT I think this is because I did A Level maths... I spent a bit too much time overthinking these terms as I was already familiar with them. So hopefully for a younger reader this wouldn't be an issue!

I loved that scientific functions were used as the magic system in this book. It felt unique, yet familiar because of the logical approach. There's clear limits with what the scientists can do with this kind of power, and we're taught a lot about it along with Zanna in school. I was slightly shocked that Pops wasn't as shocked about the whole thing throughout the book, but I guess this is for kids and we want to show a positive openminded guardian for Zanna.

Overall I just really loved the book, it was whimsical and magical whilst also being stuffed full of logic and puzzles. I enjoyed the overarching story as well as the different character stories we get throughout.

POSITIVES
+ Intriguing magic system

+ Strong female characters

+ Female scientists and mathematicians

NEGATIVES
– Overly complex sometimes

– Uneven pace

I received The Zanna Function by Daniel Wheatley from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review

It's a brilliant MG book. Not quite my taste, but I am 32 years old, but a lot of my students will love it and I'm currently ordered a few copies to pass out.

The Zanna Function is the story of a scientifically inclined fourteen year old girl who gets accepted into St. Pommeroy’s School for Gifted Children, a school that was quite reminiscent of Hogwarts albeit, with Scientists instead of magic-wielders. This is quite possibly the reason I loved the book. More than all the adventures in Harry Potter, I loved the day-to-day descriptions of Hogwarts and it was kind of refreshing to read about St. Pommeroy’s – a whole new world to discover.

As for the characters, Zanna was a pretty decent character but what I actually loved was the relationship she has with her grandfather Pops. Not a lot of books represent strong familial relations, but Zanna confides in Pops about everything and trusts him immensely and I found that adorable.

This book is incredible. I don't know if the author herself has some sort of magical writing powers because WOW is it written BEYOND well. This is an author who put a whole lot of love into her writing, and it shows.
This book just works. It truly does. The setting and the plot just weaves itself together so well. You can feel as if you are connected to the characters.
All in all - definitely worth the read! I will be picking up a copy for my bookshelf when it becomes available!

Zanna is accepted into the St. Pommeroy’s School for Gifted Children, where she learns that she is a Scientist, who can bend the rules of physics. A mysterious woman attempts to prevent her from attending the school, and Zanna must draw upon her new abilities, resources, and friends to fight her. The secret she discovers about the woman must be setting Zanna’s story up for a series.

This story sets up the conflict immediately with the mystery woman thwarting Zanna’s attendance at the school through scientific “magic,” carefully detailed by Wheatley. The capabilities taught in the school intrigue Zanna, and the reader needn’t be a scientist to follow along.

I was fortunate to receive a digital ARC through NetGally of this delightful story.

I will also share this review on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and B&N upon launch.

I will start this review off by saying this is not the kind of book I normally gravitate towards. It's got magic and a whole different world. In the book, this world is unknown to all us magic-less people (the Control Group) except for the President (uh oh!). What drew me to it was the main character being a "gifted" child. I was considered one of those and so were some of my friends and it's always fascinated me to learn about what happens when "gifted" kids finally meet a challenge; what happens when they finally fail. Zanna Mayfield doesn't necessarily fail but she does come up against a whole lot of intense challenges.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
When fourteen-year-old Zanna Mayfield gets an acceptance letter from St. Pommeroy’s School for Gifted Children, she jumps at the chance to put her considerable intellect to good use. But nothing can prepare her for the first day, when she discovers that she is a Scientist —one able to see and bend the basic functions of the universe like velocity, gravity, and chemical reactions to her own purposes. 

As Zanna struggles to make friends and learn how to use her abilities at her new school, her troubles multiply when a mysterious stranger begins stalking her, dead set on keeping Zanna out of St. Pommeroy’s. If Zanna has any hope of finishing her first year, she’ll need to master every function she can get her mind around—including the one that defines Zanna herself.

The book starts off showing how much Zanna likes puzzles. She is obsessed with them. They challenge her in a way that school doesn't. But that's about to change for Zanna: she got into St. Pommeroy's School for Gifted Children. But once she finally gets there (after being lead to the wrong school at first), she realizes the school and who she is is much more complicated than she expected. She is a Scientist, which is pretty much the equivalent of a witch or wizard except instead of spells and wands, Scientists can see and manipulate elements, gravity, chemicals, and the basics part of our universe. There are multiple scenes where Zanna pulls carbon out of the air and uses it to help her get out of trouble. It is fascinating. But, as with any good fantasy book, I think, the story really revolves around Zanna and her relationships with other characters.

Zanna meets three girls her first couple days of school and they pretty much stick together throughout the story. Nora, Libby, and Beatrice are Zanna's best friends. If this was a Buzzfeed quiz, Nora would be the smart, Type-A one, Libby would the aggressive, tomboy one, and Beatrice would be the quiet, motherly, worrier one. They each hold a special place in Zanna's life and help her on her journey to discovering who she is and who is trying to hurt her. There is also Cedwick, who starts off as the snooty, legacy boy Zanna hates, but he soon turns into something more. (I ship them.)

There is also Zanna's relationship with her grandfather, Pops. Zanna lives with her grandfather because her dad is a pilot and travels all the time, and her mother died while giving birth to her. They have the sweetest, most heartwarming relationship. He is fully supportive of Zanna, even when she comes home talking about flying buses, talking lampposts, and playing with elements. He believes her every step of the way. He is never the clueless guardian. Also, when Zanna is hurt or in danger, he is one of the first people to be by her side to take care of her. Their relationship might be my favorite in the story. I could not get enough of Pops. The dialogue between the Zanna and him is wonderful.

There is also the relationship between Zanna and her magic. This is the first time Zanna has had to really try at school and there are definitely skills she finds harder to learn than others. The way the magic in the story works is that the Scientist has to picture the function in their head and focus it on it so thoroughly that they are able to bend the element to their will. The way I was picturing it was kind of like this gif:


To work with carbon, Zanna has to focus on the structure of it (C) and everything that affects it (gravity, pressure, etc.) so she can properly manipulate it. If she doesn't, bad things can happen. That being said, there are some parts of this book that are difficult to fully understand. Maybe it's because I haven't taken a science or math class in 5 years or because I am more of an English/History person than a Science/Math person, but there were definitely parts where I was a little confused. It doesn't take away from the story, but it did take me out it at times.

As we follow Zanna's journey, we see her skills as a Scientist grow. She repeatedly has to use them to get herself out of dangerous and precarious situations. It is pretty freaking awesome!

There is another relationship in the book, but talking about it would be a ginormous spoiler. I am usually not against spoilers, but this one shocked the hell out of me and I don't want to take that experience away from anyone. Let's just say, this person is the antagonist and Zanna has to fight them multiple times throughout the story.

The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but it wasn't one I was angry at. It was a natural place to stop the story but I still wanted more (greedy!). I hope this is going to be a series because I would love to see how Zanna and her friends continue to grow up and how their magic develops.

As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Out of 5 stars, I am giving The Zanna Function by Daniel Wheatley 4 out of 5 stars, The characters (especially Zanna) are well-developed and the storyline is a cool twist on the fantasy/magic stories we've seen in the past. The only problem I had was that parts of the story could be confusing to people not knowledgeable in science and math. If you know a girl who is into STEM, especially if she is young, get her this book! Either way, I would highly recommend The Zanna Function. It was a delight to read about Zanna coming into her own.

The Zanna Function comes out March 20, 2018.

Thank you, NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so much fun, and so important too. I honestly wish I had this growing up as a girl wanting to pursue a STEM career. The Zanna Function is like Harry Potter meets science, and I can’t think of a better combination. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I picked this up, but I was delightfully surprised with what I read, from the important themes of familial love and strong friendships right to the importance of philosophy and understanding ones self, and the role that has in science (something I find is wholly glazed over in most works regarding STEM). These themes mixed with the intriguing plot (although predictable in points) made for a fun and interesting read. The antagonist was definitely a stand out for me, and the author did a fantastic job of turning science into something more magical. I only wish Zanna’s friends were a little more developed, but other than that I absolutely adored this book. I really hope it will be the first in a series!

*thank you to Netgalley and Flux/Jolly Fish Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

DNF @ 21%

I wanted to like this. It seemed like a scifi version of Harry Potter, but I dont know if it was just me, or the book, but I just couldnt get into this. I am definitely the odd one out here as others seem to love it. I do want to re-read this, give it another chance, as it does have potential but for now im leaving it.

I really enjoyed this one.
More than I was expecting to as well.
Which is good, because I wasn’t expecting to like it at all if I’m being honest.

I love magic a fantasy with a passion.
The same amount of passion with which I hate math and science.
So a book using math and science as the basis of its magic system really didn’t seem like something that I would be able to get on board with.

But how wrong I was!

This was a fantastic, exciting, enchanting read, and the math and science didn’t put me off at all!
Yes there were a few paragraphs that I had to skim read a little unless I wanted my brain to melt, but these were very few and far between.
For the most part all the science added so much to the story and gave it a really interesting and different spin than most other fantasy novels.
It was new and exciting and I loved it!

The characters were all wonderful, and the theme of friendship and family that ran throughout the story was really heartwarming.
The main plot of the story definitely kept me guessing, with twists and turns aplenty, right until the very end!

I’m so excited to see what else is in store in this new series and can’t wait to carry on with the story and meet up with Zanna and her friends again.

Definitely give this one a read. You won’t regret it!

I liked the main character, Zanna, from the first moment. She’s a smart and unique girl, who was searching for her “right” place in the world to stay; it gave me strong Harry Potter vibes, with her starting to attend the new school and learning everything about how to use her own abilities.

I loved the world built by the author. It was so fascinating and refreshing from the usual fantasy or magic world. Sometimes I admit I struggle understanding how things work and are built in fictional worlds; in this case, however, everything was clear and new and exciting at the same time. I also think the characters were very well portrayed, Zanna in primis, as we learn a lot about her and her way of thinking while we read the novel. The other characters are all endearing and funny.

I enjoyed every moment I spent reading Zanna’s story. It warmed my heart multiple times and it also made me stay in suspense and eager to know what it would happen next. The only thing I didn’t really like is the way everything resolved in a short time. I think there was much more space to deepen characters and relationships and some things were left there hanging. As far as I know, this is a stand-alone, but I really think this would have worked better as a duology or as a series. There is much more to tell about this world and about Zanna’s future and I really hope that maybe, in the future, a sequel is announced. All in all, I think the ending was pretty good, I just hoped to see more development.

I am a huge fan of world-within-the-world (or -behind-the-world) books, in which self-described "average" or "outsider" characters who have always felt lost suddenly find out that the world is much bigger/different/stranger than everyone realized and that their outsider status in the *real* world was due to their exceptional positioning in the bigger/different/stranger world. When I started reading this, I sort of thought I'd be in for the usual ride on that train - then things rapidly got even bigger/more different/vastly stranger, and that's when I was completely hooked...

The Zanna Function is a fascinating sideways trip into a world of science that is more magical than most worlds of magic. There are truly unique elements (pun intended) at play here, and their intermingling with scientific principles and phenomena make for a very original and highly entertaining read. Zanna herself is a fascinating character. This is, in many ways, a personal growth tale as much as anything (as most YA stories tend to be), and while Zanna may doubt how much growing she's done throughout the course of this book (which, although not labeled as such, quite clearly felt like a Book One to me), I as a reader feel that it was both significant and a signal of even greater things to come. But the book didn't read like a lesson in growing up. It read like a tale of the frustration every one of us has felt when we've stumbled up against something bigger than ourselves that doesn't make sense or fit into our worldview, and that requires us to contemplate not only our own position in the world but also our own position within ourselves. Sorry if that sounds oblique, but it is a heartfelt obliquity, and one that I've been thinking about quite a bit both throughout my read and afterwards. There is, as again I find so often in YA novels, MUCH more going on here behind the scenes than a casual read might suggest, and that's where I think this novel really stands out for me. I found myself thoroughly engaged throughout the story, flipping pages as I wondered what on earth would happen next. I expect that in a well-written adventurous tale about worlds within worlds. What I don't expect, and what I was delighted to find, was myself equally engaged in thinking through many of the Self lessons that Zanna and her friends encountered, both at St. Pommeroy's and in the course of their travails with The Variable.

"A pile of rubble is stronger than a house, only because it cannot collapse again. One cannot be destroyed if she never rebuilds."

Read that one again - it's worth it. Then stop and think about what that says, and the depth and breadth of what it means. Then remind yourself you're reading YA fiction, not self-help or non-fiction or philosophy. Rather, you're reading a back-and-forth between Zanna and a teacher, handled bedside, after a rather seismic event in the course of the novel - and realize that it felt entirely organic to the story and the characters and not at all like self-help or non-fiction or philosophy injected into the midst of a magico-scientific (I don't know how else to describe it) story. The writing was strong and clear and the images burst of the pages. You can find that in stories like this one easily enough, if you look. But what you don't often find is that kind of self-reflection - and especially not positioned in such a way that it leaves the reader, not just the characters, contemplating its ramifications long after the "words" are uttered...

Then there's The Variable herself - and if there's a more fascinating villain this side of Voldemort, I am not sure if I can describe him/her/it. There is delicious evil here - and in the manner of all truly delicious evil, it's not ubiquitous, but rather couched in concern and humanity and a sense that maybe, just maybe, it's all a big misunderstanding and she's not *really* evil after all... Then things take several sharp left-right-back left again turns, and villain once again seems to be the operative term. But then again... Sound confusing? It is, in the best possible, mind-bending way. And it's all wrapped up in Zanna herSelf (capitalization intended), and that's where the delightful mysterious bizarreness really takes it's best turn - and where I seriously hope a sequel (or two) will come in!

This was a magnificent find and a great read. My review will be featured on my blog (www.Jill-Elizabeth.com) in February 2018. I schedule approximately a month out and don't have an exact date at the time of this review).

The Zanna Function is a middle grade fantasy read with a very interesting idea for magic. While I do have some bits and pieces to pick with this book, I overall enjoyed it very much and will eagerly await to see how this will continue. Because this cannot be a standalone!

Overal the Zanna Function was written well. I did find some of the descriptions a tad on the boring bit. They made me zone out a bit which is a shame because some of those descriptions did tap into the magic bit. This is a magic school but please don’t let that bit stop you from picking this up. The magic is basically science and I liked how that was approached.

Story wise I thought this was an interesting, action and adventure plot. There were certainly moments where I was sure Zanna was right in her assumptions and other times where I doubted her. This mostly in case as to who the protagonist really was. I did find that the jumps we made throughout the school year were too big. I just would have loved more of a slower line in that. It was hard to feel that the end of the book was also the end of the school year. It felt like we were fast forwarded.

I did find that I found it hard to really feel as if our protagonist was really a threat. Their intentions did not seem to be very clear or jointed. I think that did take some of the impact out of the story at the end. However I see a lot of potential here. For a great world building. Great characters and an interesting magic system.

Speaking of characters, Zanna was a delight of a main character. She is actually really smart. It isn’t just said that she is but you can actually see in her actions and thought patterns that she is. This counts for her class mates as well. But the author also doesn’t forget that they are also still just 14. I liked how she seemed to instantly gravitate towards the girls. There was no real animosity there which was a great fresh of breath air to other school books. She does struggle with a boy but that didn’t really turn a romantic way.

I have to say that I loved Zanna’s relationship with her grandfather. She lives with him because of her father’s job that takes him away often. He is so supportive of her and there are just bits and things that show how well they know each other.