Personal Rating: 3.8 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.62 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? (goodreads.com) Let me warn you, this is the weirdest, most artistic book I have ever read in my life. I loved it, but it was also incredibly odd. I can see this book being both loved and hated amongst readers because of its uniqueness. Some of the other reviews that I’ve read have claimed the narration is annoying, and I see that, but I liked it. The concepts are kind of out there and the fantasy/sci-fi bits were supremely strange, but I really did enjoy this book. The main character, Aza Ray, is the primary narrator (we get a few chapters from her friend, Jason’s POV) and she does tend to ramble and her voice could be considered grating, but I loved how different it was from the typical first person narration that I’ve grown accustomed to in young adult novels. For the more conservative reader I have make sure you know that she does swear. Only one F-bomb that I recall but more than a few uses of “s***”. Another note is that there is homosexuality in this book, as Jason (the love interest/best friend) has two mothers, both of whom are good characters. The book portrays it as positive and they mention it many times. However, a plus side is that there are no “awkward romantic scenes” (you know what I mean) between anyone in this novel (although, there was some kissing between Aza and two boys - yeah, I know, love triangle, but it’s not a dominant plot point). Speaking of plot, this book has a great one. It was a tad predictable in some spots, but for the most part is was really original and good. Even though romance wasn’t a huge part of this book, the parts that did have it were really well done and I think I have a new OTP. They’re just so sweet and he’s so wonderful to her and she’s so short with everyone else, but they make the best couple. Just sayin’. Some of the main themes in this book included self discovery, what “home” means, and… uh… death. I know, I know, death isn’t exactly something I like to read about on a regular basis (unless I’m in a Lit class, in which case I get used to it), and this book made me tear up a few times, but it was a really beautiful, heart wrenchingly sad kind of death theme. But it’s all okay! Things turn out okay. I promise. The magic in this book took some effort to get into, but I think that’s just because it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before and I had to get used to it. A lot of the magic in this book revolves around singing, which is kind of cool. The singing isn’t given lyrics at all (personally, I prefer it when there aren’t lyrics in a book because I have no tune to go with it), but is described more as something that just comes from you and your emotions. Seemed pretty accurate to me. This book definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is something that I really enjoyed. I am hugely excited to read the sequel Aerie, because even if this book ended in a mostly satisfying manner, there are some things that I’m dying to know. I recommend giving it a shot if the premise sounds interesting to you, and if you don’t like it then don’t worry about it. As I’ve said, it’s not for everyone. A couple of final warnings before I sign off: this book has a lot of birds in it! I know some people who don’t particularly like birds so if you think that will impede your enjoyment of Magonia then you might want to reconsider reading it. Also, this book has some bizarre formatting with words taking odd shapes and moving across the page. Finally, the style is kind-of-almost stream of consciousness, but not quite, which is part of the weirdness. That covers it, I think. You are sufficiently warned. Not really. I don’t think you can be fully prepared for this book. If you do read it or have read it then I’d love to hear what you think! I have a quick question for you: do you think I should add a “Christians/Conservatives May Want Warning About This” section to my posts? I know Plugged In is basically that, but they don’t have a huge selection of books reviewed and I thought it might be something helpful to add since most of the people I know that read this are Christians or at least more conservative. I don’t have to add it, but I thought I’d ask what you thought. If I were a Magonian I would sing my goodbye. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21393526-magonia?ac=1&from_search=true
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