Review: The Magic Hour by David Wolstencroft

The Magic Hour is an explosively exhilarating time-twisting adventure that gripped me from the opening pages and kept me utterly captivated throughout.   

Eleven-year-old Ailsa Craig is always running late although it pays off when she misses being at home when her house explodes on New Year’s Eve.  Rather than going to see the temporary home her father has found, Ailsa is drawn to her old home in search of the steamer trunk which her much-loved astronomer Grandma has bequeathed her.  But instead, she makes a discovery that will change her life forever!  She finds herself in a parallel Edinburgh where an extra hour exists in every day:  The Magic Hour!

As Ailsa explores this new world, she learns more about its secrets, and discovers that gaining an extra hour comes at a terrible price.  Can Ailsa battle both those from her own world and the faerie world who are manipulating time, and save herself and those she loves? 

Oh my goodness!  Every second counts in this exceptionally exciting, fast-paced adventure that had me on the edge of my seat from the opening pages.  The short chapters kept me wanting to read just one more and, before I knew it, I had finished.  I was completely fascinated by, and immersed in, this richly imagined world and loved learning about how the Magic Hour was operated, who could spend time there and the consequences of having an extra hour.  In any story that includes the Fae, I hope for trickery and intrigue, and this did not disappoint with breath-taking twists and revelations.  The element of danger really increases as Ailsa discovers more about the Middlemarket and the tensions between the Fae groups within it as well as the human threat from outside.  I loved the inclusion of a creature from Scottish myth whose ominous presence sent shivers down my spine.  This is a story fizzing with discoveries, secrets and darkness, guaranteed to brings gasps of shock and delight as the threads come together – utterly brilliant!

Ailsa is a wonderful young girl – strong, determined and courageous – who shares her time between her mum and her dad who have split up.  She feels like she doesn’t belong at school, and finds solace in the books she reads. When she takes advantage of the Magic Hour, she finds that she has time to complete her work, and even finds friendship with rich-girl Credenza Dingwell who also visits the parallel Edinburgh.  She also makes two other friends in the Middle Market, Sydekyck, a cat and Tobias Ragwort who warns her that the Magic Hour is not all it seems.  Ailsa is determined to stand up to others for the sake of her family and friends, but can she and her friends stop time from taking what it is owed?

I loved the narrator’s observations and the use of footnotes which gave tantalising glimpses of secrets given to the reader before Ailsa is aware. I also enjoyed the acerbic wit in these notes. 

The Magic Hour is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure with an ending that is guaranteed to make you desperate for Ailsa’s next adventure.

Thank you to Harriet Dunlea and Scholastic for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.