The Marvellers

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Average customer rating 4.2 (6 comments)

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Ella Durand is the first Conjurer to attend Arcanum Training Institute, where Marvellers learn to discover and develop their magical talents. Marvellers have historically looked down on Conjure magic, labelling it "dark and unnatural." Ella is excited about her new school and eager to prove herself and make new friends. Ella becomes friends with her new roommate, Brigit, who doesn't seem to want to be at A.T.I. at all, and Jason, a classmate whose talent is communicating with magical creatures. Ella realizes that not everyone wants her at the school, and she encounters microaggressions and blatant prejudice from some teachers and fellow students. Tensions mount when a dangerous convict escapes from prison and Conjurers are blamed. Ella maintains her positivity in the face of terrible discrimination. She is a brave, persistent girl with a strong sense of justice and a supportive family. The Marvellers is a middle grade fantasy that tackles some important real-world issues while being suspenseful and engaging. The world building is detailed, creative and vivid with a well woven plot. A highly recommended addition to the magic school genre.

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At 11-years-old, Ella begins at the Arcanum Training Institute. Ella is the first Conjuror there which comes with some difficulties. Not all Marvellers are welcoming to her. Even so, she is able to make some friends. Ella soon finds herself the target of terrible rumors. A teacher has gone missing and a criminal escaped from prison. Can Ella clear her name? THE MARVELLERS was a magical middle-grade fantasy. It took me a little while to get a handle on the fantasy world as there were a lot of pieces but once that smoothed out for me, I was engrossed in the story. I loved the diversity of the characters, each being compelling and truly adding to the narrative, not being one-dimensionally diverse for the sake of checking off a box. There are many great thought-provoking and teachable moments for young readers, though adults can also glean quite a bit. THE MARVELLERS is the first book of Dhonielle Clayton’s The Conjureverse series. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of middle-grade fantasy. I look forward to reading the next book, THE MEMORY THIEVES.

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Whenever someone asks for a recommendation based on the fact that they loved Harry Potter, it's a loaded question. However, I think The Marvellers is a perfect solution to that all too common inquiry. It has enough similarities in the "magic school" setup to satisfy lovers of that genre, but many unique aspects so it feels like a fresh take, a new interpretation, rather than a rehash. The magic system is fun and unique, with guidelines that offer a familiar sense of categorization (joining one of five paragons largely based on the senses), yet a lot of flexibility within each group to allow for many imaginative showings of power. The fact that it addresses American slavery as part of the divide between Marvellers and Conjurors makes the story feel authentic; it uses real-life tension to add to the drama of the fantasy world. Also, it is much more internationally inclusive than the aforementioned Harry Potter without feeling forced. This was a delight to read, and I look forward to the next installment!

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This one was really cute and had all of the makings of a potential series. I’ve struggled finding unique fantasy worlds since Harry Potter, but The Marvellers was different enough to cause some excitement. I really liked our main character, Ella, as well as a few side characters. Creating an entire world is a difficult feat though it reads almost seamlessly here. The main critique I had was the author tried to pack to much into one story. This left a lot of loose ends and moments where a side plot drops off without ever being tied up. Going along with this was a pacing issue where a huge amount of action would happen, not be resolved, then the next chapter would start weeks or months later. Overall I think Marvellers could have been shortened about 100 pages with the same result though I do commend the author for the effort here. Not a lot of Middle Grade fantasy stands out to me but this was fresh, original, and very enjoyable.

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There is much that will remind contemporary fantasy readers of J.K. Rowling’s award-winning series about a boy wizard in this story. But there are vastly significant differences as well. Ms. Clayton manages to fill her Arcanum school with a dazzling diversity of skin colors and cultures and keeps us interested in them; they’re not just temporary background filler. The various “senses” come with their own brands of magic and children must study to find out which marvel Paragon (i.e., magical house) they will fit into after their first year. This is a stark reversal of Rowling’s system, one that sorts small children into a specific house on the very first day of their orientation at an age when most children don’t even know how to eat a healthy breakfast. Ella Durand turns out to be a redoubtable heroine. She’s not foolhardy; in fact, she thinks of herself as a coward although circumstances prove her otherwise. But she’s willing to be kind, to meet hatred with sweetness, to strive for high grades in class (she gets them; she’s no dummy) and to reach out to those who are as different as she. She’s also peevish on occasion, desperate to please and too willing to hare off on her own when older, wiser heads are advising her to stay put. This novel sparkles with humor, tenderness, fierce familial ties and an altogether different type of magic system, one that mesmerizes with its originality and beauty.

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I can appreciate what the author is aiming to do - providing representation that is lacking in a lot of similar magical school stories. Not just the characters, but the magic systems are very multicultural, which makes the world feel more alive, showing the various ways the magic manifests and how people interact with it. There were aspects (beyond just the generic magic school idea) that were rather reminiscent of Harry Potter, but there was also a solid foundation for the series to distinguish itself. However, I had problems with the structure and pacing of the story. There was a lot of disconnect between different aspects of the book. It is very slow-paced for the first half to two-thirds of the book. Too much time was spent on inconsequential aspects of the world that didn’t seem important to the characters, the plot, or even the themes. The bigger issue for this book was that the protagonists and the main villain, the Ace of Anarchy, had little to do with each other. Ella had no personal connection to the Ace and didn’t interact with her until the last fifth of the book. Her escape from prison was kind of a background detail that caused some increase in rumors and discrimination against Ella, but nothing much more than she was already subjected to. This made their confrontation feel abrupt and not impactful. There wasn’t much rising tension or build-up as the plot progressed and what there was felt mismatched with the climax we got.