A review by thekatiefu
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

3.0

This was a fun concept, an idea of magic I have not read before.

*Spoilers*

The apprentice having had barely any training made her rescue attempt not even a little bit believable. We needed so much more back story and world-building. I guess that's why this is a YOUNG adult novel; one that is perhaps truly written for that age group, more than most YA fiction.

The imagined love story had so little development that it, too, felt forced; and at that age to be in love with someone so much older than her is gross. The whole thing would have been better, and more believable, with the adversarial relationship between apprentice and magician, rather than a love/attraction connection. This is the type of thing that gives kids completely wrong assumptions about "love."

I'm going to keep reading because I'm hoping we'll learn more about the other types of magic... Hope I'm not setting my hopes too high.