I found this to be such an interesting read. There is something about Kiersten White's horror books that really work for me. Mister Magic is such a unique premise and I was instantly hooked. I loved following this story with the weird and creepy happenings.

I do feel that a bit too much was placed into this that I wished was explored more, especially about half way through. Many of the characters, while being 30-40 year olds, did read young to me. While I enjoy having older characters in books, I think with the personalities and actions of some of these characters, if would have worked better with 20 year old instead.

There were some really creepy moments that I wished for more and some of the conversations/themes were very on the nose. Overall though, I really enjoyed my time reading this and will pick up her next hour!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the earc!

Wow! This book was absolutely stunning. The atmosphere that Kiersten White creates while maintaining a fast paced narrative is incredible. I’m always impressed by White’s books but this one absolutely knocked it out of the park.

This is one of those books where you start reading and you're like...wait is this going where I think it's going? And then IT DOES GO THERE and it is awesome. I don't want to spoil anything, but <spoiler> this horror novel is rooted in religious trauma. </spoiler>

Anyway, so yeah, I really liked this book. I liked the message, I thought the premise was really creative and the characters felt like separate, real people. I love the commentary about how we treat children and how hard it is to be a child. My sole complaint would be that the horror elements weren't quite creepy enough for this girl (maybe because I've been reading a bunch of horror lately?), but otherwise, no notes. A unique, thought provoking, very cool book. 4 stars Goodreads, 5 stars Netgalley - I really liked it and will be widely recommending it.

Five friends who used to be actors on a children's show reunite, and in the process discover that their happy childhoods were a lot stranger than they thought they were. Val, the youngest friend who remembers the least, suspects she was responsible for ruining the show somehow. The closer she gets to discovering Mister Magic's secrets, the more she starts to think he's more than just a TV magician, and the show probably shouldn't get a reboot.

Like Hide, Mister Magic also centers around a cult. At first I thought this was repetitive, but then I found out White is an ex-Mormon and I can see why that's a recurring theme in her work. Mister Magic comes right out and confronts the church in a really bold way, and I love that.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the advance copy of Mister Magic. I've really enjoyed Kiersten White's previous work, but this one just didn't work for me. I struggled to connect with the characters or to even really care very much about them, which made it difficult to be invested in the story. I think a little more information up front would have helped me very much. I was previewing this title as a possible adult book that would have YA appeal, and I don't think it will sell in my library.

The storyline to this book reminded me so much of the infamous Candle Cove creepypasta, so I just couldn’t resist! A creepy kids show with no history or record of existing outside of people’s memories is just the coolest concept. That, and I loved Kiersten White’s book Hide from a couple years ago (even though that’s an unpopular opinion for some reason; no idea why, I thought it was great).

No slow boring buildup for any fellow impatient readers; the book hits the ground running pretty quick. Everyone remembers the mysterious Mister Magic show. There’s podcasts that have discussed it and even a petition calling for the show to be brought back. Yet, anytime anything with substantial information about the show is written, it gets taken down immediately. No one seems to recall or even know who the cast list of the show was, or the studio distributor. No photos from set, not a single youtube video, nothing. Yet, everyone remembers the show, despite there being no evidence of it having ever existed. Did everyone just collectively dream this show? Is it all just one big hallucination? This was so compulsively readable because I was just dying to know how it ended. I WANTED ALL THE ANSWERS. I had so many possible theories running through my head as I raced towards the end because I wanted the answers so bad. Aren’t those the best kind of books to read?

Unfortunately, I enjoyed the beginning of this book far more than the ending. In fact, I liked it a lot up until the ending and resolution. It was super confusing, and I had to keep reading and rereading it to make sense of it and I still don’t really get it if I’m being honest. I also thought the escape was too….easy. Sorry, but hope and want isn’t powerful enough to get you out of impossible magical situations lol no matter how “fiercely” or “powerfully” you want it. Realistically this wouldn’t make sense. This isn’t a Disney movie, so something like this is just unrealistic and frustrating in the case of this story. Honestly in general it just didn’t make sense, and I kept reading and rereading it trying to make myself understand.

Also, the whole concept of, only one girl is strong enough to save all of them, she’s the leader and always has been and everyone else sucks in comparison! That also got on my nerves. The whole “chosen one” type concept really didn’t work in this story. Like geez you don’t gotta make everyone else seem so helpless outside of the main character.

I also don’t understand what the author is getting at here. What exactly is the moral she’s trying to get across? What exactly is wrong with being taught what is right from wrong, as long as what you’re being taught is something good? People need rules. Rules exist for a reason. Without them, society would be reckless. The only real moral I could manage to pull out of this is, having your own personality and individuality, but I don’t think that’s the big message the author is trying to get at here. Moralism and having rules is not bad. We need rules or society would collapse into chaos.

I read a lot of reviews for this book so I knew that the authors note would explain how the author based this off of her traumatizing experience with Mormonism. I’m sorry that she had to endure religious pain and trauma, but I really would like her to clarify if this book is intended to be a jab to her personal experience in Mormonism specifically (no offense to any Mormons reading this, I respect you whatever you believe!) or intended to be an insult to all organized religion in general. Because some of the quips in this book were general enough for me to feel personally targeted and get offended and I’m literally not even Mormon. Again, I can’t speak for her or how toxic her experience with Mormonism was, and maybe she was just speaking specifically about situations with how far some extremists can take religion. However, organized religion in general is NOT A BAD THING. As a progressive Christian, I think that religion is a beautiful thing. It has added so much hope, peace, and unconditional love into my life. It has done nothing but made my life better. I am also super opinionated, open minded, and extremely liberal politically and I have never once felt like my religion took away any part of my individuality. It’s done nothing but give me peace, purpose, and make me a better person. So not everyone feels restricted by religion or their religious beliefs. Her authors note felt really insensitive to me and I recommend she tweak it before publication and clarify her intentions of writing this book and exactly who she is trying to target with her words, because I took it as a giant belittling session to anyone in general who chooses to be religious and part of organized religion. I’m sorry that her experience was bad but not everyone’s is, and you can’t imply that any and all organized religion is like that. If she is speaking of religious extremist groups specifically and not ALL religions, she needs to clarify that, which she doesn’t. It would be nice if she could acknowledge that organized religion in general is not a bad thing and that not all religion is toxic, and can be a big source of comfort and joy to many people.

I was planning to give this 4 stars until the ending, which I did not like not only because it was confusing and the resolution made zero sense and was too convenient, and because it just felt like a giant insult to anyone who chooses to be religious/religion in general because it was filled with misconstrued statements of what she thinks religion is intended to be. So I recommend her clarifying her intentions in the authors note and explaining if this is all directed specifically towards her personal religious experience/cults/extremists and not directed towards any and all organized religion. Overall, Hide was way better. But, I really liked the build up, and the concept of a creepy childhood show is a cool one, so 3/5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review!

I think Kiersten White has a talent for storytelling, and that's evident here.

Mister Magic is a wild ride of a horror/thriller, with unique characters and themes. I really enjoyed the concept at its core, too: a tv show no one really remembers happened, the cast of said tv show participating in a reunion. It's all, in theory, going to be amazing.

I just think the execution left a bit to be desired. The plot was fuzzy and hazy at times, with me wondering what the hell is happening more than I actually found myself following the story. Some of the events ultimately just blurred together, so I couldn't really even begin to tell you what happened, aside from the fact that it was a vibe.

I'm really enjoying Kiersten's foray into horror, though, and can't wait for what's next!

I little too strange and abstract for me but I know a lot of others who are into that kind of thing will enjoy it! I didn't love the characters either. The horror and gore was good but it was just too out there for me.

WOW this book! It confused me, it scared me, it startled me, it fascinated me. This book was like a descent into a mind -trip, but it felt so good. I dove right into this story and couldn’t look away. The writing was perfect, the characters were so interesting, and the story itself was so unique. A great new addition to the horror genre!

"Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cult devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic."
Mister Magic is a story reminiscent of Stephen King's IT, following characters who come together as adults decades after the experience they share as children. A bit slow and repetitive in the beginning, the main character seems to struggle with the same internal dialogue over and over. The plot materializes as she fills in gaps of memory she has of the past, along with the reader, to discover who the characters are and how they relate to each other within the story.
Narrowing focus and picking up the pace, the climax and ending carry specific themes speaking to the author's life experience. Religious undertones are easy to pick up throughout the narrative but don't seem to overpower it's trajectory.
Nostalgic for millennials who remember growing up hearing contradictory and problematic messages from family and media, this story has suspense and character. It is a fresh and unique depiction of resilience in children, finding themselves in an uncertain reality.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey & NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Once upon a time in the early 90s, there was a kid’s show on TV called “Mister Magic.” Folks remember it, but in the way you vaguely remember a dream — the details are there, sort of. Everyone knows the show is real, but no footage exists and any information that might appear online about it mysteriously disappears.

What people can confirm is that the show actually spanned decades, and always included a circle of 6 friends … and one mysterious character named Mister Magic. Was it an actor? A puppet? Early CGI? No one knows. Mister Magic ended abruptly 30 years ago, and has never been on the air since.

In the present, Valentine has lived with her father on the same ranch since she was a child. After her father dies, a stranger approaches her and recognizes her. She doesn’t recognize him, but she KNOWS him. She gradually comes to find out that SHE was part of the last circle of friends … but has no memory of her time on the show. But she knows that she wants to find out what happened all those years ago.

This book was SO cool. I loved the characters, the writing was great, and it was such a unique story with some really unsettling parts. There were moments that had echoes of The Haunting of Hill House, which I loved. If you’re a 90s kid, you’ll appreciate the parts with nostalgia-obsessed bloggers and Redditors swapping memories about their long-lost favorite show.

This book really did it for me. It felt like creepypasta punched up a few levels, and I couldn't stop reading it. I can't remember the last book I devoured this quickly. When this one comes out, GET IT. Trust me on this one. FIVE HUGE STARS.

I wasn't entirely sure of what I was walking into with Mister Magic, but the premise (a cast reunion of a kids show that nobody has proof of) dragged me in and then shook me a few times for good measure.

The story is tight, weaving between the main pov of Val, along with a bevy of text documents and a few other pov chapters from other members of the show. I read it essentially overnight, because I was never quite sure where it was going, I just knew I was along for the ride.

A supernatural thriller that deftly weaves a discussion about grief, cults, and what it means to be "good" around the mystery of a children's show that abruptly ended in tragedy, and the final stars who are reuniting for a podcast.

It's got a better flow than Hide did, and if anything Kiersten White is only leaning into subverting expectations with spooky stories that get under your skin before asking hard questions.

Hi, was definitely not expecting the religious trauma but I'm not mad at it!

This book does a fantastic bait and switch where you think you're getting a version of the old creepy pasta Candle Cove and you kind of do but you also get this messed up adults chasing the comfort and joy they felt as kids only to discover maybe it wasn't as fun-filled as they always thought it was.

This book has some interesting formatting in the form of chapter breaks that are blog posts, wikipedia articles, chat threads, etc. The formatting is really bad on e-readers and was hard to read in places so people should bear that in mind.

I personally very much enjoyed this and the last two chapters legit made me tear up. I plan to reread the final copy I preordered so that I can appreciate the story a bit more.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy.

Mister Magic has a premise that totally draws you in! I flew through this book because I had to find out what had happened and where it was going. Definitely original and enjoyable. The ending seemed somewhat rushed, like a lot of the action happened so fast and all at once. I had to reread to make sure I understood what was going on. Regardless, I bet you won’t be able to put it down.

3.5, this is somewhat difficult to rate. Taken at face value, the concept is so unique and intriguing. A creepy cultish kids tv show that vanished from the air, tugs at people’s memories, but can’t be found and is basically erased? The final cast is reuniting to kick start a possible reboot. It’s genuinely creepy in parts and kept me up way to late wondering what was going to happen. It definitely flirts along the edges of horror without ever going there. About half way through its easy to see that the entire story is a metaphor and the author’s note at the end makes that clear. So that said, it’s obvious this was a personal story to the author and probably hard and, hopefully, healing for her to write. This would be a good book for someone trying to process trauma from growing up in a stifling, cultish environment. But if you’re just in it for the story and the great concept, the end kind of loses steam and becomes very intangible. I did find the ending satisfactory and it was overall a fast and interesting read. I will definitely pick up another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book because the synopsis is what originally got me intrigued, and I found this book started off slow and then it got confusing and a little to werid for my taste. I do appreciate the cover though.

The premises of Kiersten White’s books always appeal to me. Unfortunately with HIDE, the expectations fell a little flat. Mister Magic was different for me. The entire book was incredible atmospheric and had me filled with dread the entire time.

The only complaint is that I felt just as confused the whole time as Val did. However Val is the one who lost her memories and I am just the reader. Not sure if that’s good since the book is from her perspective but it did make it a little hard to read.

That being said, still loved it. Would recommend to anyone who loves children show nostalgia mixed with conspiracy theories and creepy vibes!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Well written book. Filled with nostalgia but also true to the creepy- horror genre. A little trippy one parts and some portions I had to re-read but overall I enjoyed it

Mister Magic
5 Stars 🌟
Pub day: August 8th, 2023
Thank you so much to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the gifted eARC!

This one is perfect for my Horror, Sci-fi, and thriller people!

Man, this book was a trip! No, literally, it felt like a fever dream reading it. The imagery was so well done that I could perfectly visualize in my mind every scene and I do think much like her other novel Hide, that we will be seeing this adapted, It feels like this was written for film.

The characters weren't always lovable but did find myself rooting for them.

The pacing in Mister Magic is so fast, blink, and you may miss something. I did actually have to read a few parts over just to make sure I caught everything. I truly had no clue where this one was going.

Read if you're interested in:
-Cults
-nostalgia
-backrooms (liminal spaces)
-things that go bump in the night.
-sci-fi

I understood so much more how this concept came to be just by reading the acknowledgments.

This one is tough to explain, but just trust me, buckle up and read it!