Review: The Kingdom of Broken Magic

The Kingdom of Broken Magic is a spectacularly surreal and brilliantly bizarre adventure that completely captured me in its unique magic.  I was swept into a highly imaginative, wonderfully strange world where nothing is ever as it seems – and I absolutely loved it! 

Maggie and Josh live in a dreadful place:  Scribbens’ Home for Very Wayward Children.  Left there as babies, they have become inseparable, the only family each has.  Whilst Josh works in the Home, Maggie has proved herself a master pickpocket, so is sent out to increase the cruel and unscrupulous Miss Scribbens’ wealth.  Both children long to escape from the clutches of Miss Scribbens and her loyal spy, the crow, Carry-On; however, all their attempts have proven unsuccessful, and they are caught and returned to face punishment.

That is, until the day Maggie almost gets caught stealing, and finds herself pulled to safety by Madam Lulu, a trapeze artiste in Mrs Gumbo’s Flying Circus.  Although Maggie wants to return for Josh, she makes do with sending him a letter, and begins a new life in the circus …

She soon discovers that her new life may not quite be the sanctuary she had hoped for.  Whilst forming bonds with the strange and wonderful animal and human performers, she discovers that some have gone missing in strange circumstances.  Could she be in danger of disappearing too?  Maggie is determined to solve the mystery, and begins her investigations …

Meanwhile, Josh is not prepared to lose his best friend and only family, and sets out to find Maggie.  But, will he find her before the evil mastermind behind the world’s broken magic strikes yet again? Will these two daring children be reunited in their efforts to defeat a power-hungry villain?  Can they fix the world’s broken magic, and return those who have disappeared?

Oh my goodness!  This is just brilliant, and like nothing I’ve ever read before!  I loved the peculiar circus with its vegetarian, party-loving tigers and keen-knitter elephant not to mention the wonderful Madam Lulu who takes Maggie into her care, believes in her, and helps her discover a dazzling talent.  I loved the twists and turns, the danger and intrigue and the unexpected revelations as I got closer and closer to discovering the villain.  There is both darkness and light, humour and sadness and moments of surrealness that make this an exceptional read.  I don’t want to say too much about the Kingdom of Broken Magic itself except that it is a dark, strangely curious, imaginative feast with surprises galore – superb! 

A truly magical, mesmerising adventure:  a story of finding family, friendship and a place to belong whilst fighting against the darkness brought by those whose greed and thirst for power corrupts and seeks to control.

The partial-and-full-page illustrations are just stunning – dark, intricate, expressive wonder-pieces that capture the atmosphere of the story perfectly. 

An unmissable read to captivate young readers of 9+ as they join a curious circus and meet its strange and wonderful performers.

Thank you so much to Mikka at Everything With Words for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.