Midnight Magic

by Avi

Overview

A bestselling, magical medieval mystery from Newbery Medalist, Avi!

This delightful page-turning adventure joins Scholastic's esteemed Gold paperback line just in time for a thrilling third book to round out the Midnight Magic trilogy in 2022!

Night after night, a ghost appears in the royal castle of Pergamontio, terrifying the princess. Mangus the Magician doesn't believe in ghosts, but still the King charges him with finding this one and freeing his daughter from its torment. If he can't, Mangus will pay with his life. The magician's only hope is his faithful, street-smart servant boy, Fabrizio, who must solve the mystery of the ghost using logic and reason — and a bit of magic of his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338804386
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Series:	Midnight Magic Series , #1
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	341,088
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Avi's work spans nearly every genre and has received countless major prizes, including the Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead and Newbery Honors for Nothing But the Truth and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Avi lives in Colorado. You can learn more about him online at avi-writer.com.

Date of Birth:

December 23, 1937

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

University of Wisconsin; M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University, 1964

Website:

http://www.avi-writer.com

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Midnight Magic:

* "With snappy dialogue, nonstop action and lavishly embroidered period backdrops, this will please Avi's fans and may well win over some new ones."— Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The pages fly with intrigue and action." — The Horn Book

Praise for Murder at Midnight:

"Readers will be glued to this suspenseful, headlong caper from first page to last." — Kirkus Reviews

"The suspense simmer[s] right through to the end." — Booklist

From the Publisher

What better place for some midnight magic than a dank, medieval castle replete with hidden doorways, secret passages, and a daunting spiral staircase? In the summer of 1491 a servant boy named Fabrizio and his master, a retired magician, are urgently summond to this castello in the Italian kingdom of Pergamontio. Young princess Teresina has witnessed a frightening apparition, which she claims is the ghost of her murdered brother. While Mangu the Magician attempts to solve the mysery through reason and deduction, his twelve-year-old servant roams the castle halls, where he eventually sees the ghost himself. Fabrizio, who is not above using a little sleight-of-hand to secure an advantage, befriends Teresina and learns that the ten-year-old princess will soon be betrothed to her father's adviser, Cont Scarazoni. Although Teresina shows Fabrizio the secret chambers of the castle, she does not share all the secrets she knows. Indeed, most of the characters in the novel withhold information from one another, and Fabrizio is left in the dark both literally and figuratively when, at the book's climax, he must race through the castle's pitch-black corridors and help Mangus conjure up an illusion that may save the monarchy. Readers who can get past the misleadingly romantic cover illustration will discover an old-fashioned story that emphasizes plot over characterization. Brave orphan boys, feisty princesses, and villainous royal advisers are all familiar, timeworn roles, and the character never emerge as unique individuals here a flaw further magnified by their arch, often melodramatic dialogue. However, Avi uses some literary sleight-of-hand to make the pages fly with intrigue and action.

Horn Book Magazine

Taut and suspenseful, this vivid mystery set in an imaginary kingdom of Renaissance Italy is vintage Avi. The story starts with a bang as an unmarked coach arrives one stormy night at the home of Mangus the magician, who is under house arrest for his knowledge of the dark arts. Mangus, as readers quickly learn, is no wizard but a former entertainer, and he in fact scoffs at the notion of magic. He protests vigorously when he is summoned to the castle (along with his 12-year-old servant, Fabrizio) and ordered to help free the princess from her visions of a terrifying ghost. All is not as it seems, however, as the pair discover a court intrigue involving a missing prince, a murder, hidden passageways and the king's Machiavellian adviser, Count Scarazoni. Weaving in the age-old clash between superstition and reason, Avi creates a sort of 15th-century Holmes and Watson in the characters of Mangus and Fabrizio, who continually trade aphorisms (" `Fabrizio, if you buy with ignorance, you will be paid with the same coin.' `But, Master, you know what people say, False gold often buys more than iron' "). With snappy dialogue, nonstop action and lavishly embroidered period backdrops, this will please Avi's fans and may well win over some new ones. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In the kingdom of Pergamontio, in days of yore, a servant boy named Fabrizio tries to help his master, Magnus the Magician, figure out royal intrigues that could lead to death for both boy and old man. Will the boy's headstrong choices doom them both—or solve the mystery of the haunted castello? Newbery Medal winner Avi gives us another absorbing adventure, and Jeff Woodman is in top form. He provides listeners intimate access to voices young, old, male, female, and, perhaps, even ghostly. In this tale of magic versus reason, Woodman casts a spell, drawing listeners down twisting stairs lit by flickering candle sconces, revealing his characters at every turn. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2011 - AudioFile