What a delight! THE MARVELLERS took me to an exciting and enchanting world with surprises around each and every corner. I so enjoyed the world building and the New Orleans references. Excellent start to what I hope is a series.

Exceptional!! I fell in love with the world of this story instantly. Paragons, marvels, star posts, bottle trees, pixies and star folk there was so much to discover! I enjoyed Ella, Jason and Brigit's friendship; looking out for and encouraging one another as they navigate their first year at Arcanum Training Institute. I thought the peek into the villain's story was a great addition to the layers of the story. A wonderful tale about finding your true self, discovering friendships and bringing communities together. A must have in every middle grade classroom!

I really want to love this one. I LOVED Belles and the whole fantastical world. The idea of a middle grade fantasy book with a black girl lead and multiple diversity adults and side characters thrilled me. But the diversity felt more like a caricature than a fully formed multi-dimensional character. And if you’re just adding them to be “diverse”, don’t. It serves no one and harms the narrative and work of ABAR.