The Bootlace Magician

October 11, 2019

Gr 4-6-This sequel is as magical, fun, warm-spirited, and full of fabulously imagined offbeat magicians as the first book. Eleven-year-old Micah is desperate to prove to his new home that he fits in, that he will master his own burgeoning string-magic abilities, and that he is a good person despite his kinship with the evil Bird Woman. Unfortunately, catching up with beloved characters takes such priority that plot and pacing suffer: the book's entire first half follows Micah's visits to magician after magician. Although the seeds for a larger plot are planted early, they don't actually blossom into a story until the last quarter of the book. Still, the ending is exciting, the world-building is top-notch, and while Micah is a bit of a worrywart goody-two-shoes, he's a sympathetic and interesting enough protagonist to follow. Micah is assumed white, while other characters are varied. There is also a strong underlying current of female empowerment pushing its way up in this male-dominant world. VERDICT Lovers of Circus Mirandus will enjoy visiting this world again, but this title doesn't stand alone.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Micah Tuttle begins to discover the depths of his own magic in this sequel to Circus Mirandus (2015). Micah, just passing his 11th birthday, becomes more at home in Circus Mirandus and spends time perfecting his charmed knot tying (and untying), using threads, shoelaces, and string as the mediums for his magic. He hopes to capture feelings and memories in the knots and to understand the mechanism by which a knot might remain connected to one in a thread far away. He is given the responsibility of caring for the baby unicorn in the Circus Mirandus menagerie. Micah's kindness and his affection for the lighthearted creature, Terpsichore, lead him to wonder whether the foal wasn't really abandoned by the other unicorns but rather deliberately left with the circus to protect its life. The wicked grandmother whose reputation haunts Micah emerges as a powerful threat to both the circus and the world at large. Micah presents as white; several other primary characters are described as having dark skin or non-European origins; and Micah's friend from outside the circus is Latinx-implied Jenny Mendoza. Beasley's taut third-person narrative, wholly focused on Micah, is refreshingly free of unnecessary fantasy flourishes. Complex yet efficient, her storytelling is warmly comfortable and sure-handed. Each member of the circus' varied magical community has a gift and an important role to play, and all the magic feels genuine and believable. Marvelously entertaining. (Fantasy. 9-14)

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