"Steeped in circus magic, friendship, and curious creatures, this dazzling debut is an adventure-packed feast for the senses"
October 2023 Debut of the Month
Maggie and Josh’s friendship bond is at the heart of Christine Aziz’s The Kingdom of Broken Magic, a spritely, atmospheric story that’s impossible to put down.
Residents of the Scribbens Home for Very Wayward Children, all Maggie and Josh knew “was that they had either been dumped on the Home’s doorstep or dropped down its coal chute as babies”. Though they’re skilled pickpockets, their every attempt to escape the Home has been thwarted, until the day a circus rolls into town and Maggie falls under its spell, and into a bewitching, perilous world.
Here, in Mrs Gumbo’s Flying Circus, Maggie meets the “spectacular, audacious, miraculous, breath-taking, one and-only Flying Lulu”, who promises to make her a star, and to deliver a letter to Josh in secret. But, as Maggie is sucked into the circus, mystified by its vanishing performers and animals, Josh embarks on a quest to find his dear friend.
Vibrantly visual, in The Kingdom of Broken Magic Aziz has created a richly-imagined world that fizzes with drama and big themes, and all delivered in an energetic style that will engage 8+-year-old adventure-lovers.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A whirlwind of a story with talking tigers, a knitting elephant and a sinister monkey. In the Kingdom of Broken Magic, who can you trust?
Streetwise pickpockets, Maggie and Josh, are inseparable. Only their friendship makes life bearable at the Scribbens Home for Very Wayward Children, run by the villainous Miss Scribbens. But when Maggie encounters a strange and sinister circus, she abandons Josh and tumbles headfirst into a world of dangerous and dazzling magic.
She's determined to solve the mystery of its disappearing performers and animals. Where do they go? Who is the mastermind behind it all? Josh sets out to find Maggie, unaware of the dark dangers that lie ahead.
Set in Victorian London, The Kingdom of Broken Magic was inspired by true stories of people of colour working in the circus world.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Kingdom of Broken Magic and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
The Kingdom of Broken Magic features in the following genres: Animal Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Fantasy / Magical, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 7+ readers
The Kingdom of Broken Magic is available in Paperback
The Kingdom of Broken Magic was written by Christine Aziz and published by Everything with Words
The Kingdom of Broken Magic has 231 pages
£8.09
