*Note: This book is not perfect so I would say it's actually 4 1/2 stars but it's still a fabulous book!

The book focuses on a group of adults who were a part of a children's television program called Mister Magic 30 years prior. It was the best time of their lives...at least from what they remember. After a tragic accident, the show was cancelled and the group continued on with their lives after that. Through the years, the show developed a cult following, with many people wishing for the return of the wholesome program. As they try to move on, the group known as the Circle of Friends spend their lives trying to find the happiness and belonging they felt while on Mister Magic. One day, fate intervenes and the group is reunited at the compound they filmed their beloved show at. As the group continues to piece together their memories of that last fateful day, they realize that there are ulterior motives as to why they've been reunited. It is up to them to dig into the secrets of the show and process the traumas of their childhoods.

I loved this! I was a big fan of Kiersten White's Hide, which came out last year. White's books are great at building suspense and Mister Magic is no exception to that. I read this in 24 hours and was on the edge of my seat the entire time. White's religious trauma from her childhood really amplified the themes of the book. There's a lot of discussion on conformity and fitting the image of the "perfect child" and the guilt of not achieving it. White takes her time developing each of the members of the Circle of Friends. You can't help but get attached to them and relate to their personal struggles. They're imperfect children who grew up into imperfect adults, which leads to a lot of guilt from each character.

White's former Mormon background also heavily inspires the town, which worships the children's tv show with religious fanaticism. It becomes clear that despite the adult townspeople's desire for "good" and "behaved" children, their behaviors to the outside group of friends is erratic and aggressive. The way they worship and praise the titular "Mister Magic" is extremely unsettling.

I'm usually on the fence with cosmic horror. I either love it or extremely hate it. In this case, I think it was done very well. The worldbuilding and the descriptions of the Mister Magic set were enthralling. It was the perfect balance between something out of this world but also grounded in relatable themes and real life issues like religious fanaticism. The only critique I have is that I wish there was MORE horror. It build up a lot of suspense and tension but I wouldn't categorize this as a true horror book. I highly recommend it still!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the digital ARC of this. I loved it!

An eerie and creepy book that in the end somewhat fell flat. I kept expecting more out of the plot.

This book is spooky as hell and such a creative idea! Sometimes a tad hard to follow, but we always made it back around to figuring out where we were. Loved

What made Kiersten White's novel Hide so - ahem - magical for me was her insane talent for building tension and developing characters that not only feel real but deeply compelling and complex. I can safely say that Mister Magic is a hat-dropping, wand-wielding spiritual follow up to Hide. The threads of rural life and religious trauma rang true, mixed with a unique premise relevant to new shifts in horror media today. (Basically, I love analog horror and Mister Magic shamelessly feeds into that adoration.) Mister Magic put a spell on me and now it's mine.

I was, perhaps, more primed to read this with White's intended critique of her experience growing up in Mormonism than many readers. After living in Utah for over six years, I have learned quite a bit about the state religion (mostly against my will), and I recognized a few elements immediately. Also, I'm friends with White's sister through work - we were in the same department for five years or so. Fun fact, I once asked White's sister whether Mormons celebrate Christmas because I knew so little about it when I moved here.

I love that White is transitioning more into adult horror! A lot to like about this one. I think she captured the urban legend vibes of the Mister Magic show so well, with the various asides about the differences in memories and everyone trying to track down what really happened. The town was uncanny. This is my favorite of hers so far.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for giving me an advanced copy!

This was fun! I enjoyed Hide by this author and the premise of this one drew me in. It kept me invested and I don’t regret picking it up. Not an all time favorite, but definitely fun!

Thank you, NetGalley, for a chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t one of those literary marvels, but rather a quick-witted adventure that keeps you looking a little closer to see what happens next. It felt a little like a Salvador Dali painting at times, but if you like a little distortion in your perception of reality, this would be a great fit for you :)

Kiersten White is a fantastically creepy author and Mister Magic is no exception. This book is about Val and her circle of friends who were on the children’s show, Mister Magic. Thirty years after it was shut down, the five surviving cast members have tried to move on from what happened years ago. But what did happen? There is no record of the show Mister Magic anywhere; no producers, scripts, camera people, or record of the show online. What was it about again? And who, or what, was Mister Magic? A puppet? CGI? A man?

When the castmates are brought back together to record a podcast on the show, they feel like they are back where they belong. Even though Val has no memories before the age of six, she knows these friends and it feels like they belong together. But soon they begin to ask themselves, are they here by choice, or have the been lured into a trap much more sinister than they could ever imagine.

Thoughts: What a TRIP! This book was like if the children who were on Barney were also part of a cult and had the show shut down because someone died. You know. Tale as old as time. This book was abstract and complex and I loved it. Essentially it was talking about the cultish way we follow religion without having flexibility to make mistakes. It’s about forgiving ourselves for being human and giving ourselves grace every day. It used religious trauma as a plotpoint and brought up so many good points about our childhood. It was trippy and nostalgic and I really loved the multimedia aspect as well.

I loved how eerie the house was. It was a sinister character in itself and gave me the creeps. There was a clear message about racism, homophobia, and sexism, but it bothered me that the main characters were all one dimensional and known for a singular character trait without depth. Without reading the author’s note this can be very disappointing and feels one note. I can see how this book could be confusing or disappointing if taken for face value, but as someone who loves the subtext of books, I found it terrifying and creepy and realistic. 4-stars

I can confidently say I've never read anything like Kiersten White's Mister Magic before. This book is strange, unsettling, and deals with childhood trauma. Mister Magic won't be for everyone because we don't get all of the answers, and you have to suspend your disbelief and just let it unfold even if you're kinda confused. I personally really enjoyed this one!

Most people remember watching Mister Magic when they were children, but there's no hard evidence of the show's existence. No video, no producers or writers, no evidence of who the mysterious host was. Thirty years after Mister Magic disappeared from TV, the last Circle of Friends come back together and begin unraveling the mystery of the show's end.

If you have a childhood show you loved that no one else seems to remember, or if you've grown up and realized all of those "children should be seen and not heard" types of lessons were more harmful than beneficial, you'll find something to relate to in Mister Magic. I hope this strange book finds its way into the hands of those who need it. Mister Magic releases August 1st!

I enjoyed the narrative and creativity of Mister Magic, in which a group of former child actors reunite. White has a knack for crafting a short text that packs a punch, and this was no different. Still, much like her previous novel Hide, the piece felt like it went a bit off the rails towards the end. Still, I would happily read another piece by this author.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

I'm so glad I stuck with this story. It contains some really important messages and is almost a memoir of breaking out of toxic beliefs in the form of magical fiction.

The perfect summer thriller. Fans of psycholocal thrillers and books that play out like movies will love this new release from Kiersten White!

This book stayed with me long after I put it down. White ratchets up the dread and the tension at a deliberate and excruciating pace and drew me in with fully-realized and nuanced characters who have all responded to childhood trauma in different but very realistic ways. The characters are really what make this work so well- even as the action gets really, *really* bonkers, the Circle of Friends remain desperately, desperately real. I don't know that I can really express how hard this book hit me- I will be thinking about it for a long time.

This book is a little hard to discuss if you haven’t read it so I’ll do my best.
Mister Magic is a former children’s tv show that all children remember but no one has been able to find evidence of it ever existing. There are no clips online, no episodes on demand, nothing but memories. The only thing that can be confirmed is that six children would stand in a circle and Magic would happen. Those original 6 (now 5) children are all adults and have been round up and brought back to Mister Magic.
This is being called a horror story and I can see why, however, I felt that most horror elements were absent. The not knowing and talks of darkness and shadows I guess were the scariest part of the book. This actually took a turn towards religion and that surprised me. I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to people but I have a hard time categorizing it as horror and so I think some may be disappointed. 4 ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray Publishing for an arc copy.

I really wanted to love this book, but it was just so dry.

When I began this book, I truly thought I was going to love it. The writing was pretty strong and the idea of Mister Magic was super intriguing. I think Kiersten White executed the idea of the children's program, Mister Magic, wonderfully and the mystery behind the show along with the interviews and reddit threads kept me trudging through the novel. I desperately wanted to know what was going on.

Sadly, the rest of this book was not executed very well. It had its moments of amazing writing but a lot of it felt stale and dry. The story was clear yet, I was confused at times, because they would hop from one thing to the next and the male characters were not clearly defined therefore I kept mixing them up which led to a lot of confusion on multiple occasions.

I am so sad that this book was not for me. I had such high hopes as I love the idea of a thriller revolving around a TV program. I am truly disappointed with how bored I was and the ending just was not satisfying,

Keirsten White writes the hell out of some characters. Every one of the main circle jumped off the page and tugged at my heart. It's very human to look back on childhood and want it to be magical and not horrorstruck. I loved how this one unfolded and, I won't lie, I sobbed my way through the last chapter, and then sobbed my way through the acknowledgements. Would die for Val. Highly recommend.

Really enjoyed this novel. Story was very interesting and engaging. Looking forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommend!

Is there anything weirder and eerier than a childhood mystery, recalled through an adult lens? Something you may have done or experienced or been a part of, that in retrospect, as an older, just seems so surreal and farfetched and bonkers, that there's no way that could have happened, you must have dreamed it or imagined it? That's how a swath of internet users of a certain age feel about an eccentric show called Mister Magic that mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves many years ago, and which, strangely, one can now find no evidence of having existed. There are no producers, transcripts, camera people, or records of the show online--the blog posts and message boards even speculating about it seem to vanish without a trace. But the child stars who were at the heart of the show are quite real and are being gathered together for a podcast interview, which may, in fact, be heralding a reboot of the show. Once reunited, the characters start to feel pieces of themselves clicking back into place, it feels like being home--but at the same time, something strange is happening, and the reconnecting that's happening is more than just lonely adults reunited with old friends. Wounds are being reopened, traumas are surfacing. There is so much from their past with this tv program that has been repressed or that they never realized the truth of, to begin with, and there is more at stake with the reboot than they could possibly know. The author seems to be exorcizing some intensely personal demons with the book--which once you think about the locale and start putting pieces together, you guess it before the story gets there. But whether you relate to or have experiences with that kind of trauma or not, this was a great read, and I tore through it in less than a day.

I received a copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

When Val was a child, her father took her to a ranch where they lived off the grid from that point until the time that her father died. Her father had many rules she had to follow, like no watching television and no going to school. When her father dies, a few people show up to his funeral and greet her as an old friend, only she doesn’t know who these people are, however they do seem slightly familiar. They tell her that they all used to be on a children’s show called Mister Magic, but she has no memory of the show. Why doesn’t she remember anything prior to coming to the ranch? And why did her father bring her to the ranch in the first place?

While reading, I found myself wanting to know the answers to all of the mysteries about the children’s show and Val’s past. And with answers comes more questions. It seems like nothing is as it appears. It gets a bit trippy near the end. This book kept my attention, and I did enjoy it. I think that some of the characters could’ve been fleshed out a little more, but otherwise, most of them were at least likable.

I had fun reading Hide so I knew I had to get my hands on this book!

I loved Mister Magic! It's a story of friendship and love and finding yourself. It was wonderful. I can't wait to see what else this author writes.