Magisterium

December 24, 2012
Hirsch's brisk, concept-driven second novel (after The Eleventh Plague) features a dystopian future world divided into two realms. After a mysterious "Rift" event, half of Earth appears to have turned into a wasteland; meanwhile, science has advanced tremendously in the "Colloquium," where 16-year-old Glenn lives with her father. Glenn's mother vanished when Glenn was a young girl, and her father has devoted himself to tinkering on an apparently useless invention ever since. Then he reveals to Glenn that everything she knows about the Rift is a lie, and that the laws of physics can be subverted on the other side; only his invention can protect travelers who cross the borders between worlds. After the military attempts to claim the discovery, Glenn and Kevin, the love interest she holds at arm's length, escape to the Rift, where they discover a fantastical kingdom in chaos. Though the nature of the book's science and magic may be a bit vague for some readers, Hirsch keeps the action rolling nonstop. Fans of dystopian adventure will find familiar, yet gratifying thrills with a touch of glamour. Ages 12âup. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

September 15, 2012
What could have been an interesting exploration of the conflict between science and magic instead devolves into a choice based simply on who has the bigger bombs. Sixteen-year-old Glenn is a genius computer engineer torn between the desire to travel into deep space and the need to care for her increasingly unstable father. Perhaps it's this tantalizing beginning that creates such disjunction once this tale turns out to be just one more story of a chosen girl with an inborn destiny. It seems that the Rift that destroyed so much of Earth in the year 2023 wasn't a natural phenomenon after all. Instead, deep in the Rift lies a magical land, the Magisterium. There, quelle surprise, Glenn learns she has a dark magical heritage. The land calls out for a savior, but whom can Glenn trust? While she deals with her own developing magical powers and the possible betrayal of Kevin, her best friend and erstwhile beau, Glenn fights in a sudden and fairly inexplicable war that has descended upon the Magisterium. In fantasyland, Glenn's apparently genius-level skills at engineering lie undeveloped and unmentioned. Even her name changes, the "Glenn" (perhaps evoking astronaut John Glenn) replaced with the over-the-top fairy-tale name "Glennora Amantine." "You're a scientist," Kevin tells Glenn. "Tell me you don't want to understand...." Would that she did, but there's no thoughtful consideration here. Rushed worldbuilding and romance by peer pressure undercut any excitement the occasional battle might engender. (Fantasy. 12-14)

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January 1, 2013

Gr 6-9-The eye-catching cover is the best part of this novel, an uneven mixture of science fiction, fantasy, and postapocalyptic elements, set sometime around 2153. When 16-year-old Glennora was 6, her mother disappeared across the Rift, the restricted borderland that is reputedly full of monsters and magical creatures. Her scientist father claims to have built a bracelet-shaped device that can change reality on the other side of the Rift and allow them to bring his wife back. The teen thinks that her father is delusional but is proved wrong after the Authority arrests him and she and her friend Kevin are forced to flee across the Rift to avoid being shot. On the other side in Magisterium they discover that their technology doesn't work but Affinity (magic) does. The bracelet that Glenn wears reverses that effect and both the Authority and the Magistra, the ruler of Magisterium, will go to great lengths to possess it. The properties found in Magisterium that give those with strong Affinity the ability to pass through objects or fly is interesting but the explanation for why the magic works that way is vague or nonexistent. The pacing is uneven and the transitions between events are abrupt and often hard to follow. The characterizations aren't always consistent or logical, and the world-building is weak. This disappointing novel doesn't fulfill its promise.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Grades 7-12 Highly intelligent and driven, 16-year-old Glennora Morgan and her father live near the Rift, which separates their technologically advanced society from desolate wasteland. Glenn's father is a brilliant scientist who dedicates himself to finding a way to locate her mother, who disappeared when Glenn was six. But her father's attempts attract the wrong type of attention from Colloquium Authority, which has been lying all along and will stop at nothing to gain control of his Projecta bracelet that harnesses the power beyond the Rift. Glenn, her cat, Hopkins, and her best friend, Kevin, escape across the Rift into the Magisterium, a place where no one and nothing are as they appear, where magical Affinity rules, and technology has no place. Along the way, Glenn learns that she possesses abilities far more frightening than she could have ever imagined. This fast-paced, action-packed story features a strong protagonist, fabulous imagery, and romance. By novel's end, feats of sacrifice and extreme loyalty illuminate the truism that the more things change, the more they stay the same. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hirsch's debut, The Eleventh Plague (2011), was hugely popular. Look for a 50,000 first printing for his sophomore outing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)