Correction to a previous reviewer's comments

books:

	• Alchemy Margaret Mahy Simon Pulse, 2004 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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read before?

When I picked up this book, I knew I had read it before, but I couldn't remember a single thing about it, as opposed to The Changeover, also by Mahy, about which I can remember much of the plot, but never the name of the book (although I suppose I've fixed that now, haven't I?). That I found this book completely forgettable the first time around, and not much better the second, probably tells you everything you need to know.

Magical page turner

This book captured my attention and held it throughout. This book is about a highschool kid named Roland who is popular. He is blackmailed by a teacher into spying on an unpopular girl. He begins to lose interest in his popular friends and cannot get the unpopular girl out of his head. Odd things keep happening to him: he has voices in his head, he feels that he is changing, and an odd figure follows him. He feels that the unpopular girl, Jess, has the key to what is happening to him. She does.

This book was a great page turner with a lot of suspense. My only warning about this book is that it's not for elementary school kids. It has overt sexual feelings in it that elementary school kids wouldn't understand. Recommended for 12+.

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Interesting but oddly written story

I went to the library hoping to get a copy of the Tricksters, thinking it sounded intriguing from the reviews, but this was the only Margarat Mahy book they had. I've never read any of her stories before and found this one intriguing as well. I love stories about magic and magicians, and this one has them both, but there was something about her writing that prevented me from getting really involved in the story. The force of the narration seemed rather weak, and Roland never came off as a very credible character. What 17-year-old would stick around in a house if they saw an unknown creature coming down the stairs? The book also seemed too sophisticated to be a children's book but not sophisticated enough to capture the attention of most adults. I suppose she was writing for teens, but I don't think most teens would be interested in reading this because the subject matter is too dreamy, almost like a vague sort of fairy tale, and at times the action is very slow moving. It's challenging, and while I know most teens who read are more than up to the challenge, most won't care much for the reward, which is the appreciation of the deeper meanings and details behind a rather juvenile adventure story. Sure, they'll understand them, but it's just not what most teen-agers find rewarding. Still, I'd recommend this to teens who'd like to try a rather different reading experience.

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Correction to a previous reviewer's comments

Margaret Mahy is not,as a previous reviewer informs,an Australian.That comment is like saying Sarah Mclachlan is an American!! Margaret Mahy is,in fact, a New Zealander.She works wonders in developing a love for reading in children.There are many a school and library in NZ who has been visited by Margaret Mahy to read one of her books to excited children.Wearing a wig of multi colours or some costume,she portrays to young Kiwi children the magic of books. Her latest book 'Maddigan's Quest' has been made into a series & is being shown on TV in NZ at the moment.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Mindblowing new novel from multi-awardwinning author, Margaret Mahy. Roland has everything a young man could wish for -- good looks, enough money, a cool relationship with his mother, ready wit, intelligence, a sexy girlfriend, a perfect school record. So the fact that he committed a petty crime and that, somehow, one of his teachers knows about it is something he can hardly explain to himself, let alone anyone else. The teacher, Mr Hudson, uses this knowledge to blackmail Roland into befriending the school misfit -- Jess Ferret. The reason he gives is concern for her wellbeing, but even Roland finds this rather far-fetched. And when Jess doesn't respond to his confident advances, he becomes intrigued with the girl for his own reasons. Roland discovers Jess's dark secret and also finds that he has one of his own...

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