Bound To Stay Bound

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 Mystwick School of Musicraft (Mystwick School novel)
 Author: Khoury, Jessica

 Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2020)

 Classification: Fiction
 Physical Description: 361 p.,  21 cm

 BTSB No: 517091 ISBN: 9781328625632
 Ages: 10-12 Grades: 5-7

 Subjects:
 Magic -- Fiction
 Music -- Fiction
 Private schools -- Fiction
 School stories
 Fantasy fiction

Price: $21.88

Summary:
Twelve-year-old Amelia gets the opportunity to attend a boarding school and learn how to use music to create magic, hoping to become a Maestro like her deceased mother.

 Illustrator: Frenna, Federica
Accelerated Reader Information:
   Interest Level: MG
   Reading Level: 5.20
   Points: 12.0   Quiz: 509891

Reviews:
   Kirkus Reviews (10/01/19)
   School Library Journal (00/12/19)
   Booklist (12/01/19)
 The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/12/19)

Full Text Reviews:

Booklist - 12/01/2019 All Amelia Jones wants is to study magic at the Mystwick School of Musicraft, like her mother did before her mysterious death. After botching the audition, however, Amelia is shocked to receive an acceptance letter. As it happens, the letter was meant for a different, deceased Amelia Jones, but the maestros in charge of the school grant our Amelia two months to prove herself. This is a book that will inevitably face unfair comparisons to the Harry Potter series, and while there are strong similarities, that isn’t a bad thing. The concept of musicraft—producing magic by playing music—feels fresh and is undeniably appealing, and who is going to say no to a trip to another magical boarding school? The storytelling flows, pulling readers along, and some particularly grand, magical sequences (including a legitimately epic ending) make this stand-alone fantasy a memorable adventure. It may not spawn a multi-billion-dollar franchise, but it’s full of heart, clever plotting, and strong world building that young readers, musicians and otherwise, will enjoy escaping to. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2019 Gr 4–7—Magic and music blend in this "Harry Potter"–esque fantasy. Amelia Jones has always longed to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a Maestro, or a musician who controls the magic of music. In Amelia's world, Musicraft powers everything from construction to farming to medicine. To achieve her dreams, she must get into the Mystwick School of Musicraft. But once she's accidentally admitted, she must prove to the school and to herself that she belongs there. Beautiful imagery describes magic emerging from instruments. Frenna's cartoons depict important moments but would have been more effective in color. The book's climax will send a chill down readers' spines. Like Harry Potter, Amelia is an orphan who lives with a relative who wants nothing to do with magic, and she also attends a magical boarding school that contains an enchanted forest and lake and divides students into four groupings (at Mystwick, the groups are wood, percussion, brass, and strings). VERDICT For fans of "Harry Potter" who don't want to stray too far from Hogwarts but are in need of new adventures.—Kerri Williams, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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