Review by jmjReader3 -- The Secret of Magic

[jmjReader3]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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“Can there be such a thing as magic”, asks twelve-year-old Tania. In The Secret of Magic: The Forbidden Box , by Natassa Louppou, Tania celebrates her birthday with a party and an amazing magician, Peter, who leaves Tania questioning how magic is possible and does one learn it at a special school. Dismissing the idea of magic down to physics, and thus explainable, Tania starts to open her birthday gifts but stops short when she recognizes Peter’s black suitcase in her room. How did it get there and what is inside? By opening the forbidden box Tania begins an adventure throughout history with a magical bunny, Mike, at her side.


I really enjoyed the clever concept of the story and the trips through history. Some of the adventures have more historical context due to familiarity, while others offer little insight to the event and is more for dramatic story telling (specifically the German occupation of Rhodes). For younger audiences this book offers mystery and magic. It is a quick read. It should be noted that the Kindle version does have formatting issues but it does not make the story unreadable. The story does have some cultural references that one may need to look up as I am not sure how many young, American readers are familiar with Hercule Poirot. There are parenthetical statements to clarify historical context and language translations (as an adult reader I didn’t feel that some of these were needed. At one point at footnote actually gets in the way of a joke and can confuse the reader). Although geared towards a young reader audience, I think children under 10 and some adults would enjoy these adventures. There are no vulgar language or scenes.


I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars due to some narrative confusion. There is an excessive use of ellipses and the conclusion introduces a pivotal moment of character development that was rushed over. The author summary has pronoun errors that may cause confusion as the author is a woman but the translator is a male.


Overall, it was a pleasant read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

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The Secret of Magic
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