sashahc's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
If you are looking for a middle grade #book that hits all the notes of Harry Potter but without the fatphobia, bigotry and TERFdom, check out “The Marvellers” by Dhonielle Clayton. It’s about a magical academy that has just been forcibly integrated to include Conjurers and about the first young conjurer to attend. It has close friends, magical animals, punn-y food, grand adventures, a mysterious villain, and a supportive and close-knit family. And it’s for-real diverse. Perfect for ages 6 to adult!
kileebender's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ddmgembala's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
erinsbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ravenclaw_princess913's review against another edition
5.0
Title: The Marvellers
Author: Dhonielle Clayton
I LOVED IT! This book was amazing and so hard for me to put down. I can't wait to read the next book and excited for the rest of the series to come out.
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton was about three friends Jason, Brigit and our main character Ella Durand's first year at the Arcanum Training Institute. In this Institute students are separated into five Paragons at the end of year one. In the book we get to follow along with all the hardships and challenges that the three main characters come across and how they learn to overcome them. For example the bullying Ella goes through due to coming from a Conjuring family. Ella learns to stand up to these bullies who eventually get their karma in the end. We also get to see how the others learn you can't judge a book by it's cover due to past mistakes. I really loved reading about it. I one hundred percent recommend reading this book.
Let's talk about each Paragon now. First is The Paragon of Vision aka The Sage. People of this Paragon value the continued path toward opening their minds to learning more. They are very studious and very disciplined. Their saying is "The Eyes are Wise!" Some examples of marvels through this Paragon are time travel, dream decoding and Fortune telling. The next is Paragon of Taste aka The Honest they value making the world a better place and honesty. Their saying is "The Tongue tells truth!" and examples of marvels under this Paragon are spice manipulation and alchemy. Another is The Paragon of Sound aka The Patient they believe "The ears listen well!" They tend to be patient and take in everything around them before developing an opinion. One example of this is someone with a kindred animal communication marvel. The Intuitive aka The Paragon of Spirit believe "The hearts beats true." They tend to have a weatherman, vanquished arts or spirit negotiation marvel. The last one is the Paragon of Touch aka The Brave they believe "The hand has no fear." The tend to have marvels of metamorphosis, golemmaking and paper arts. What so you think your marvel would be? What Paragon do you most resonate with? Me personally believe my marvel would have something to do with art possibly painting or sewing and than Paragon of Vision.
Author: Dhonielle Clayton
I LOVED IT! This book was amazing and so hard for me to put down. I can't wait to read the next book and excited for the rest of the series to come out.
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton was about three friends Jason, Brigit and our main character Ella Durand's first year at the Arcanum Training Institute. In this Institute students are separated into five Paragons at the end of year one. In the book we get to follow along with all the hardships and challenges that the three main characters come across and how they learn to overcome them. For example the bullying Ella goes through due to coming from a Conjuring family. Ella learns to stand up to these bullies who eventually get their karma in the end. We also get to see how the others learn you can't judge a book by it's cover due to past mistakes. I really loved reading about it. I one hundred percent recommend reading this book.
Let's talk about each Paragon now. First is The Paragon of Vision aka The Sage. People of this Paragon value the continued path toward opening their minds to learning more. They are very studious and very disciplined. Their saying is "The Eyes are Wise!" Some examples of marvels through this Paragon are time travel, dream decoding and Fortune telling. The next is Paragon of Taste aka The Honest they value making the world a better place and honesty. Their saying is "The Tongue tells truth!" and examples of marvels under this Paragon are spice manipulation and alchemy. Another is The Paragon of Sound aka The Patient they believe "The ears listen well!" They tend to be patient and take in everything around them before developing an opinion. One example of this is someone with a kindred animal communication marvel. The Intuitive aka The Paragon of Spirit believe "The hearts beats true." They tend to have a weatherman, vanquished arts or spirit negotiation marvel. The last one is the Paragon of Touch aka The Brave they believe "The hand has no fear." The tend to have marvels of metamorphosis, golemmaking and paper arts. What so you think your marvel would be? What Paragon do you most resonate with? Me personally believe my marvel would have something to do with art possibly painting or sewing and than Paragon of Vision.
bright_night's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
nithpanthiel's review against another edition
3.0
This book had me on the fence the whole time on whether or not I was enjoying it. In some instances, I enjoyed the plot and a few of the twists. In other instances, I was struggling to keep up with all the new words thrown at the reader with expectations to understand them without explanation. I think the prose was lacking. It felt like something was missing to give it the final spark or, dare I say, magic it needed. It wasn't bad, I quite liked the world. But it certainly needed more.
jkpiowa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I am not the target audience for this, so while I have a couple comments on things like pacing, overall this was fantastic. I can't wait to read more in this series. The characters had depth and personality, the plot line was unique enough to keep me very invested, while including some of the best tropes of the genre. Ella's family was wonderful and I wish I had a family like hers. The ideas the author was trying to get across were a little heavy-handed, but again, this is a book for 10 year-olds.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Xenophobia
gtea_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
marynolanpleckham's review against another edition
4.0
Fun magical school (unclear to me if this was middle school or high school) with non-traditional (non-White) characters and magic represented. Overall, a super fun book, but could have been edited a bit more tightly (the world building was a bit confusing and there was some repetition/weird pacing). Looking forward to the next in the series!!!