Review:
Title: Magonia
Author: Maria Dahavana Headley
Publication: April 28th, 2015 by Harper Collins
Format: Hardcover
Source: Owlcrate
Genre: YA; Sci-fy
Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.
Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.
So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn’t think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.
Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.
Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?
I received my copy of Magonia in the May Box supplied by Owlcrate. I have since unsubscribed, so I will not be receiving the June box. However, it was not for lack of love for the product, but more for the monetary cost and the fear that I would accidentally buy the book that I was to receive in the box.
Regardless, I had seen some hype about Magonia in the blogesphere but because I avoid hype like the plague I didn’t pay a particularly large amount of attention to it. Of course, I eventually picked it up.
Needless to say, Magonia is one of the strangest reads that I’ve ever read. I took my time with it, and read attentively as always (including using my beloved sticky markers) and yet I finished the book with a strange personal conclusion. I almost feel, to a certain extant, that I didn’t even read the book. I tried to describe the book to several friends, and it ended up coming across as “A book about a girl who dies but accends up into the sky and joins a cult of bird aliens who live in ships (think pirate ships) and control the weather on earth with their singing in order to steal farmers crops”.
That description garners a wide array of response, but the majority of people are like “what?!?” and I agree. I read the book, and I’m still left with the conclusion, “what??”
The beginning of Magonia is incredible. I was instantly drawn in to the less cynical personality of Aza (as compared to the teenaged cynics that all YA death-books seem to feature). Her relationship with Jason was broody but budding, and I loved the clues and hints that were smattered about as the book began to find its pace. Everything was actually a particularly artful set put (including several bits of prose that I quite liked) until Aza “leaves our world” which we all know is code for dying.
At this moment, we have an awkward switch in POV to Jason. I loved having Jason’s POV included, especially in moments like these, but his sections were choppily placed and it felt a little off, I’m not quite sure why. When Aza’s POV returns, this really fall off the bandwagon. The entire introduction to ‘Magonia’ was botched for me. Perhaps it was just my interpretation, but it felt like Aza just fell into it, with little questioning or even time for learning. As a reader, I felt lost from that point on for the rest of the book.
The world of Magonia was fantastically peculiar, but it was something that I almost couldn’t wrap my head around. I longed for more explanation, more background or description or some sort of justification as a reader to understand. In sic-fy/fantasy I feel like there is necessary separation from real life, but also a necessary reality check periodically to acknowledge human nature. I felt like Magonia strayed to far from that, and it hurt me as a reader.
The rest of the book is quite a blur to be honest. Jason’s periodic reappareances are disjointed and display zero character development. The relationship between Aza and Jason that was budding in the beginning of the book suddenly jumps to a level that makes little sense chronologically with human action. Aza acts out of character and shows growth but in an unrealistic way. I became more confused as I went along; my confusion worsened in in depth scenes like the final battle, where more description would have given me a more imaginative and clear internal visual.
But for all of this confusion, I didn’t dislike Magonia. I just didn’t understand it. I considered not writing this review and immediately jumping into a re-read, but I decided that an initial review was important in the long term. But I crave understanding of this book. For all of out of this world commentary this book received, I want to have that experience with this book. That’s a high expectation that perhaps will never be, but I think that a re-read might lift up a better experience with Magonia.
Final Thoughts:
Magonia is mysterious, riddled with conspiracies and high level science fiction. I was less impressed with its descriptions and the abilities of the author, but remained engrossed. I would compare this book, are at least the feelings I felt while reading it to The Twinmaker by Sean Williams. I plan on re-reading Magonia, for closure, and for myself.
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