Book Review: Mister Magic by Kiersten White

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Del Rey (August 8, 2023

Length: 288 pages

Author Information: Website

Books like Mister Magic are why I typically avoid any reviews or media commentary prior to reading so that I can approach them with a blank slate, and hence I did not find out until the end of the novel with the author’s note that this story was meant to be an allegory for some of Kiersten White’s own experiences. Had I known this beforehand, it might have changed a few of my thoughts as I was reading, though I doubt it would have ultimately raised my rating. However, it did explain for some of the heavy-handed messaging I saw, or why in certain sections the writing felt overly self-indulgent.

For as long as she can remember, Val has been living on a farm with her father, working for its owners. She can’t recall anything from her early childhood before he brought her here, and it has never bothered her until his death brought a couple of unexpected visitors to the funeral. One of them is Isaac, claiming that when they were younger, he and Val were on a children’s show called Mister Magic along with three other kids—Marcus, Javi, and Jenny. Or was it four others? Val has no memory at all of what Isaac is talking about, but something about him feels familiar. She also thinks he may be able to help shed some light on why she keeps seeing visions of a mysterious girl in her mind.

As it turns out, the other cast members, now all grown up, have been trying to find Val to get the old gang back together for a special reunion podcast. Apparently, Mister Magic had been quite popular in its heyday, with many nostalgic fans still discussing their favorite episodes on online forums dedicated to the show. But mixed in with these conversations are some unsettling questions as well, like why Mister Magic ended up being canceled. Most agree that it was due to a tragedy, though no one can remember what exactly happened. What’s weirder still is that no footage of the show can be found anywhere, or any proof the show itself even existed, though surely it must have. For Val, who realizes she will find no answers on her own, the only choice left is to accompany Isaac and the others to Utah where the podcaster has set up an interview space in the old house where the original cast supposedly stayed.

There’s no doubt a lot of strangeness to untangle here, and this is certainly the most complex book I’ve read by White to date. Sure, we’re dealing with some pretty abstract themes, not to mention all the bizarre things that happened in the story, but these were not the factors that made the novel a challenging read. Instead, what gave me an incredibly hard time was not knowing where the narrative was going with all this. Mister Magic is being marketed as horror, and to its credit, that’s exactly the way it started, infused with the creeping dread of blank memories and unanswered questions. But by the end, it was clear the story was becoming so much more, and to be honest, with the plot spiraling out of control, I wasn’t sure I liked the direction things were going.

Instead of clarity, all I got was more confusion. Now, I get it—this book is clearly important to the author, who has poured all her pain and trauma into the writing. Speaking with admiration and respect, that takes a lot of guts. With that said, at times I could feel it getting personal, to the point where some of that emotional release was leaking into and intruding upon the story. There were moments where I felt the entire premise was too flawed for the points she wanted to make. Some ideas were hammered home a little too forcefully or injected into the most inconvenient and illogical places, the characters (especially the antagonists) too simplistic or stereotypical to be convincing. Admittedly, after learning Mister Magic is an allegory, I did understand a bit better, along with White’s reasons for writing it, but unfortunately my frustration with the plot structure and heavy-handed writing style remained unchanged.

To sum it all up: it was a mentally draining experience trying to engage with Mister Magic, and while I deeply admire Kiersten White for addressing an issue that impacted her so negatively in her youth, I’m not sure that, without her afterword providing a full explanation, I would have gotten any of it on my own. In many places in the book, the writing simply felt weak, making it difficult to discern the novel’s identity or deeper message.