School of the Ages: The Ghost in the Crystal by Matt Posner

Kiki & Jules rating: 5 stars

Fantastical...... Any book that can make you sit up, take notice, talk and debate, is a great book! Kiki and I did just that, and we are still processing all that this book has to offer.

School of the Ages has a new fresh take on young wizards in training.  Posner has taken this much loved topic of young wizards, and has intertwined  magic with the aspects of religion and our ability to believe in something more.  News Flash this is not Harry Potter, nor does it resemble those shows on a channel with a famous mouse. This is a book that takes magic and makes it feel real, like if we were to believe a little bit more we would see it.  As one would say "seeing is believing", but in this case "believing is seeing".  This book is so well written, you feel everything the characters are feeling.  We felt the darkness with only candles to light the way.  We felt the cold that no amount of clothes to heat.  To put it lightly, we felt as if we were Simon.  This is the type of book that pulls you in, and you will not be able to put it down.

When Simon gets accepted to the School of the Ages, he didn't know he would have one of the hardest challenges of his young life. Beyond training to be a wizard, being possessed by an ancient spirit, making friends and enemies, and time travelling to ancient Alexandria, Simon struggles with what it takes to be ....Simon. Magic was something in Simon's blood, but not something he was accusomed to on a daily basis.  His idea of magic was that much like our own, a wand, a spell, maybe lighting some engraved candles.  What Simon finds out, the hard way, is that magic is not like what you see in the movies.  It hides in the realm of belief and lives off our emotions.  With a vast cast of unforgetable characters like Goldberry, Robbie, the nasty Yakov, and the ever elusive Leah, Posener takes Simon and us through the first year of magic. 

After much debate and some LONG converstaions, Kiki and I have decided to not tell you any more about the plot of this book. We feel deeply that no matter your genre, this book is a must read!

Kiki & Jules

PS - We are on pins and needles in antisipation of the next installment of this fantastical series!!!