The weirdest, darkest book I’ve read in a while. I was somewhat confused throughout this book yet I was also entertained and captivated by all the suspense (and elder millennial mentions). The author definitely had a unique and spooky concept here. The less you know about this rollercoaster of a book going into it, the more fun it’ll be. Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Well…I am not 100% sure what I just read but I liked it. Am I supposed to be this confused? Lol it’s ok though because it was still impactful and I loved that it was just one big religious trauma dump. Anytime we’re hating on organized religion I’m here for it. Her authors note at the end was perfect. One review said they loved the creepy pasta vibes and I loved that it was called “spooky spaghetti” in the book lol. So many good quotes about being a mother and suppressing who you really are. There were a lot of layers here. It got a little wack-a-doodle at the end but I’m not mad at it. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited for this after reading Hide by the same author. I unfortunately felt the same way - I liked it but something fell short for me. I loved the premise of the book - the show Mister Magic that everyone seems to remember but there’s no proof of it ever existing. I loved how creepy the memory of it all was, how it almost gave me poltergeist vibes but at times had a hard time following what was going on. I still liked it over all but it lacked the overall WOW factor for me.

MISTER MAGIC is unsettling. It’s eerie and creepy as hell. It’s also way too existential for my liking. It started off, right out of the gate, with some really unbelievable things happening but I was willing to go with it. Unfortunately, the story never really panned out for me.

MISTER MAGIC has a Stephen King-esque quality to it. I enjoyed the social media posts surrounding childhood shows that we all enjoyed and the Mandala Effect discussion. But the rest of it was not great for me and I hate being hit over the head with this kind of heavy-handed social commentary in what I wanted to be a creepy horror book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for the ARC of MISTER MAGIC and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.

I could not put this book down once I started. I stayed up way too late because I just had to know how it ended. I went into this book expecting a lost media horror story and got that and a beautiful exploration of religious trauma and how it shapes people. I don't want to say too much and give any of this book's layers away, but, this book is relentless, it pulls you along for the ride with twists and turns that start big and never fully let up. If you like horror, and especially if you like your horror with a dose of religious trauma, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Kids on a weird tv show that ends in mystery and horror- what happens when they get back together?
The premise of this sounded so fun and interesting, and it started off okay. But then it got boring and drawn out and unfortunately, it did not seem to be going anywhere. Not a win for me but maybe someone else will love it. I do love the bright cover.

This book is a cautionary tale about how adults want children to become nothing other than automations with all the “right” responses to things.

Nothing is as it originally seems because the motivations of the adults are, inherently, dark and twisted. Your child isn’t supposed to be perfect, nor is she or he supposed to unfailingly follow whatever you say.

I was satisfied with this reading experience. And it’s easy to see how much the author’s messed up Morman background contributed to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

2.5⭐️/5
This book is VERY well written. The author is very talented at conveying character emotions and setting the scene that makes it super enjoyable for the reader. The beginning of this story easily reeled me in, and I was very excited to see where it was going to take me. However, the climax of this book was just lackluster for me. I can see why some would truly love this story. I definitely did appreciate the culmination of the story more after reading the author’s note. White has a way of really shaping and molding scenes to where they are almost tangible. While it wasn’t up my alley, I can see why others would rave about it!

Thank you NetGalley and RandomHouse for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Mister Magic is about a children’s TV show that unexpectedly ended thirty years ago. There is no record of the show anywhere online. Thirty years later, the cast members comes back together for a podcast reunion. Val is one of the children that was a member of the show. She does not recall her time on Mister Magic. All she knows is that her father raised her hidden away on a ranch. When her past cast members find her after her father dies, Val’s whole life changes. She goes to the reunion intending to find answers.

Mister Magic had a lot of potential; unfortunately, it did not work for me. The beginning of the book hooked me in, but until the end, it really slowed down. In between each chapter, there were message boards and theories about the show. Several of the boards were too long and took away from the story.

I have seen other five star reviews for Mister Magic. It just didn’t work for me.

I really appreciated how DIFFERENT this book was. It was a blend of thriller, mystery, and sci-fi - which isn’t totally unique - but the plot of child starts from a popular kids program trying to figure out why it all mysteriously ended is!

I didn’t love the ending as much as I hoped too, but I enjoyed getting there enough to make it worth it!

I would recommend this if you’re looking for something a little different.

Thank you NetGalley, Del Rey, and Kiersten White for the advanced copy of Mister Magic in exchange for my honest review.

I will be honest and say that I struggled with this one. The synopsis sounded *SO* intriguing but it just didn't quite deliver for me. The ending really frustrated me too, so that was an extra factor of exasperation.

That said, once I read the author's note at the end (no spoilers) a lot of the book's topics and themes definitely did make sense.

I do love Kiersten White's writing style and will absolutely continue to read her books in the future!

For decades, children all over the nation tuned in to a wildly popular children’s show to watch the Circle of Friends having adventures and learning lessons under the watchful, gently correcting eye of an enigmatic figure known as Mister Magic, for whom the show was named. But a tragic accident on set permanently ended the show 30 years ago, with no video footage or filming records surviving. Since its end, the show has lived on only in the memories of the people who watched it – until now. After three decades, the final five Circle of Friends are reuniting in a mysterious desert compound, where they will have to reckon with some difficult memories – and maybe with Mr. Magic himself.

Mister Magic is one of those books that scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. It’s such a mysterious, meaningful book, at turns disturbing and nostalgic. Kiersten White really captures the magic of childhood – the whimsy, the innocence, the wonder – and also the feeling of having no agency, of being forced to conform to a box that doesn’t quite fit, of being expected to adhere to arbitrary rules and guidelines for behavior just because the adults said so. It’s really quite poignant and brilliant.

The narrative includes social media and message board posts, articles, and other excerpts written by fans of Mister Magic, which serve to highlight the almost supernatural quality of the show and the mysteries surrounding its myth-like status in popular culture. I love books with a mixed media element, and White really uses that structure to her advantage in this novel.

The last third of the book veers into the realm of cosmic horror, and it all gets a bit muddled. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself a bit perplexed as you’re reading the book’s climax, but my advice is to just absorb it all, and trust the journey White is guiding you through. And then read the Author’s Note immediately after you finish the book. I wouldn’t recommend reading it before you start, because I think it’ll be more meaningful if you read it when you’re done with the book. But the Author’s Note is absolutely vital to understanding and appreciating what White is trying to accomplish with Mister Magic. And accomplish it she does: I was so impressed by this highly original, thought-provoking exploration of the joys and pitfalls of childhood. Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

This book really didn't work for me. I thought about DNFing it several times but I have a hard time doing that when it's an arc. First of all, this book is very boring. I dislike the trope where the MC has zero memories of their childhood. How is that possible! Even if there was trauma you would remember SOMETHING! But for the first 8 years of her life, nothing. But it was effective in keeping me reading to find out what happened. I shouldn't have bothered. This book wasn't thrilling or scary or atmospheric in any way. I am not sure I would even classify this as horror. Maybe magic realism or something?And the ending was a bit confusing and was basically the author's "theme" or message being blatantly shoved in your face. It just really didn't work for me. Not an entertaining read. What a disappointment. It's a shame because the cover is great. After reading Hide by this author last year and then this one, I am thinking this author just isn't for me.

I have come to absolutely love White's books and her horror is so well done. This book is one that keeps you in the dark and slowly reveals things as you go along. I think it's best to just dive in and know that it's okay to be confused at times, that's how the main character feels as well.

This isn't a long story and the pacing ramps up as Val gets closer to figuring out what happened to her as a child and why she can't remember anything. I also loved the inserts of comments from internet forums that illustrate the hype around the show and how much conflicting information there is.

Another hit for me and I hope fans of White devour this too!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the copy.

DNF at page 132

Pacing was too slow for my liking, I couldn't force myself to keep going. I really wanted to know what was going to happen but the characters weren't intriguing enough to keep my that interested.

If you are looking for a lone woman's journey to overcome her past this is the book for you. Ms. White can really bring the scares so for me I was hoping for a little more fleshing out of the supernatural element of the book.

I’m quickly becoming a fan of Kiersten White’s adult horror novels. I really enjoyed Hide when it came out and Mr. Magic continued to delight in the same vein. This book scratches a very particular itch, filled as it is with 90’s children’s programming nostalgia, lost media, and unreliable memories.

The basic plot (spoiler free!) is this, the main character Val, discovers she was a child star on an educational show Mr. Magic, back in the 90’s, however she has no memory of this and any concrete info about the show, like the director, filming locations, old re-runs are completely nonexistent. When old friends that she also doesn’t remember, her former costars, come back into her life, Val sets out to find out what really happened.
Kiersten White has a gift for solid and memorable characterization. Everyone feels genuine and fleshed out and they interact and clash with each other in a way that feels believable and human. The author is also skilled at setting up interesting plots and then moving the action along at a steady clip, once this book gets going it does not let up. The one area I feel this book didn’t fully rise to my expectations is in the horror element. The initial premise is pretty creepy and suggests lots of unsettling possibilities, especially if you’re a fan of pop culture rabbit holes and lost media. However, for me it never really got beyond that in terms of horror. The story ended up being excellent, with a lot to say about childhood, parenting, and how even though some things will haunt us for the rest of our lives, we can overcome them and do better, but it wasn’t scary per se.

Overall this book was a great read, when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about reading it and I wanted to get through the whole thing as soon as possible, the story was that good. In the end I wish it had leaned more into the unsettling horror elements that were present, but the ending was satisfying enough that I can’t really hold that against this book.

I don’t know why I keep trying with Kiersten Whites’ books, they are obviously not for me. And with this one, it was especially bad, because it focuses on cults and religion and that’s something I don’t like.

The story itself was very boring. For the most part we don’t know what it's really about, I wasn’t interested in the TV show plot or what happened when it ended and why. I didn’t connect with the characters, none of them really had personality. The main character asks about 2 million questions, no one really cares to answer those questions and just pretends she didn’t say anything. I was baffled at the idea that a 38-year old woman would decide to leave her fathers funeral with three strangers, just because they told her they knew her.

For me, the blurb was the most intriguing part of this story and I’m sad to say that I didn’t have much fun with the book.

Well..... That was interesting. 3.75 ⭐
The ultimate Mandela Effect. There is no denying the existence of Mister Magic, just the trouble of proving it.

30 years after the sudden end of the longest-running and most cherished children's program former Mister Magic cast members are reunited. One of which has absolutely no memory of her time "on" the show (or anything before the age of 8). They are brought together under the pretense of participating in a Reunion episode for a podcast. Some are desperate for nostalgia, some for Truth and Justice. They will all soon realize just how magical real friendship is.

The secrets, allure, and mystery caused an immediate addiction. It was absolutely un-put-downable for about the first 80%. Then, as truths become revealed and questions get answered, Confusion sets in.
I admit, I got a little lost and found myself rereading paragraphs several times to try to make it make sense.
However, once all is said and done, and especially after reading the Author's Notes at the end, I was able to understand it a little better and appreciate the parallels concerning White's religious upbringing.

Thank you so much Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything about Mister Magic is meant to keep you off balance and it worked. I went through the entire book a little confused, a little irritated, and a little exhausted. The book was a weird but original experience.