From the cover alone, I couldn't wait to read this book. I really enjoyed Ella and her family--I want to be part of this supportive, loving multigenerational family. The secondary characters, however, mostly seemed two dimensional and therefore stereotypical. I liked the diversity included, but questioned the use of actual author names for some of the teachers.
The worldbuilding felt superficial and lacked the depth and development that would have made me suspend my belief and become invested in the world. It also felt like a clone of Harry Potter (even the cover shows three characters) and his friends Ron and Hermione, but the world of Harry Potter is built at a much higher and more imaginative level than this one.
Why did the world dislike Conjurors? I still don't know and I finished reading the book. This seemingly random racism that often led to bullying and name calling didn't tug at my emotions at all.
Overall, the idea of the book is good, but the execution is seriously lacking and often left me either confused or bored.
The worldbuilding felt superficial and lacked the depth and development that would have made me suspend my belief and become invested in the world. It also felt like a clone of Harry Potter (even the cover shows three characters) and his friends Ron and Hermione, but the world of Harry Potter is built at a much higher and more imaginative level than this one.
Why did the world dislike Conjurors? I still don't know and I finished reading the book. This seemingly random racism that often led to bullying and name calling didn't tug at my emotions at all.
Overall, the idea of the book is good, but the execution is seriously lacking and often left me either confused or bored.