Review by Ren_c_13 -- The Secret of Magic

[Ren_c_13]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Secret of Magic" by Natassa Louppou.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Secret of Magic: The Forbidden Box is the first book in a magical series by Narassa Louppou. This is the story of twelve-year-old Tania who finds a suitcase that a magician left behind. Inside, she finds a rabbit, a few other things, and a closed black box. When she opens the box and takes out a watch, she is whisked back to the past and onto the Titanic. With the help of her magical talking rabbit, Mike, Tania starts saving the passengers aboard. At the last minute, Tania escapes from the Titanic with Mike and a little two-year-old girl who is missing her family. After grabbing an orange peel from the black box, Tania is transported to Rhodes during World War 2. She saves two boys from a Nazi soldier. They take her home to their mother after explaining he was after them for trying to steal his orange peel. Tania sells her necklace to give the family food and then leaves the baby with them. She takes a paintbrush from the box and Tania and Mike are transported to Leonardo DaVinci's studio. Tania helps him with his paintings and soon grows tired. Will Tania ever be able to make it home at the right time?

The book was generally pretty good, though there were a few flaws. I feel like the story moved too fast and the book would have been better if it were longer and spread throughout more pages. It just felt a little rushed. The plot was good and I think it is pretty well-written. I noticed only three errors, so it is pretty well edited.

I like Tania’s character. There weren’t very diverse character personalities or character development, however, it is hard to fit that in such a short amount of pages. Tania did have good character development. She was not very brave and she was shy at the beginning, but then she got the courage to save others and stand up to bullies by the end.

I think the book is targeted towards younger readers. Tania is a relatable character and I think younger readers will be able to connect with her. It is a good read and I can’t wait for the next book.

I rated this book 2 out of 4 stars because I felt like it was a bit rushed and it would be better if it was longer. It was pretty well written, but there were a few things that could be better. I would recommend this to children 6-10 who love a good magical fantasy novel.

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The Secret of Magic
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