In an interview she gave about what had inspired her to write The Marvellers, the author shared her experiences of working as a librarian in a school in New York City’s East Harlem neighbourhood. The pupils there came from many different countries and cultures and she was very conscious that in the fantasy books they wanted to read, children like them weren’t represented. So she decided to write a story which would enable them to connect with the various characters and to recognise a diverse range of cultural references. However, when reading the first sentence in her acknowledgments …‘this book is my heart made into words’ … it became clear that the seeds of her inspiration had been germinating since childhood. She reflected that as a child, and keen reader (especially of books about magic schools!) she’d always yearned for her own magical adventure but had been aware that none of the characters looked like her, and neither did the storylines reflect the community in which she lived. I think that in this engaging fantasy adventure she has very successfully redressed this balance by telling a story she’d yearned for as a child!
As an adult I found the pacing of the story rather uneven, particularly in the first third, with the descriptive world-building at times feeling too repetitive, sometimes to the extent of reducing the tension in the developing storyline. However, the final half of the story felt full of fun, mayhem and exciting adventures and therefore, for me, much more consistently enthralling. Generally the use of language felt age-appropriate, as did the interactions between the young characters, so I can imagine young readers feeling able to easily identify with the protagonists and the various challenges they faced. With a number of unresolved plotlines, as well as characters introduced but not fully developed, the stage has been well set for the next installment in this promised series and I imagine there are lots of enthusiastic young readers now eagerly awaiting the opportunity to immerse themselves again in this magical fantasy world!
As an adult I found the pacing of the story rather uneven, particularly in the first third, with the descriptive world-building at times feeling too repetitive, sometimes to the extent of reducing the tension in the developing storyline. However, the final half of the story felt full of fun, mayhem and exciting adventures and therefore, for me, much more consistently enthralling. Generally the use of language felt age-appropriate, as did the interactions between the young characters, so I can imagine young readers feeling able to easily identify with the protagonists and the various challenges they faced. With a number of unresolved plotlines, as well as characters introduced but not fully developed, the stage has been well set for the next installment in this promised series and I imagine there are lots of enthusiastic young readers now eagerly awaiting the opportunity to immerse themselves again in this magical fantasy world!