There’s nothing like a little magical escapism to chase away the bad news in the world. Middle school is hard enough, but more so for Alex. He’s in a new town after his famous magician father passed away attempting to create a new trick. When Alex discovers a magical deck of playing cards his dad left him, the adventure begins and what he knows about magic changes forever.
The story is fast paced and frequent illustrations by the author add to the appeal. The royal family of hearts comes to life, but only Alex can communicate with them. That is until he misplaces the deck. His ways of dealing with the crisis are sincere and kid like. The fictional small town of Orchard, Maine is the setting Alex despises as it is quite the change from growing up in his home state of New York. Filled with magical surprises and a thrilling ending, the book would appeal to any girl or boy—along with a few of us older MG readers. There’s also a hint on the final page of what would be a welcome sequel.
BOOK BIRTHDAY: APRIL 1, 2020 (no fooling!) PAGE COUNT: 178
FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT
MISADVENTURES OF A MAGICIAN’S SON
1. The joker in the deck will cause a smile or two as you read.
2. The 27 chapters (each announced with accompanying cards from the magical deck) were the perfect length for a read-aloud.
3. Mom pretty much stays aside for the story and keeps the young characters in the forefront.
4. Magic lovers might be inspired to get there own deck of cards. There weren’t any sources in the back pages but I can recommend an oldie but goodie: The Kid’s Guide to Magic Tricks.
5. The small town setting was nicely woven into the story. Big city kids might be surprised at the differences.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (From Blue Whale Press)
Laurie Smollett Kutscera was born in Greenwich Village and grew up in Queens, New York. At the age of 11, she performed her first magic trick and was destined to be a ventriloquist with the aid of her childhood friend, Neil, who today is a real magician! But rather than follow in the footsteps of Houdini, she went on to study fine art and children’s book illustration at Queens College with Caldecott medalist Marvin Bileck. She is an award-winning graphic designer, a published children’s book illustrator, and toy designer.
Laurie’s passion for writing began 12 years ago while cruising the eastern seaboard from Nantucket to the Virgin Islands. Today she continues to write and illustrate and is currently working on several contemporary picture books and middle grade novels.
Laurie lives on the North Shore of Long Island with her husband Nick and rescue doggie, Cody. You can learn more about Laurie by going to lskillustration.com.
Read Laurie’s recent guest post at Reading Writing, and Stitch-metic.
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Comments are always welcome! Leave one below.
Always in the Middle... 
This sounds like a fun story and should appeal to all those kids who do or like magic tricks. Also, the link to card tricks provides a great activity for kids sheltering in place with some time to fill.
Glad you enjoyed this. It’s making me want to order some cards to practice magic tricks.
This sounds like a fun book. I have a lot of students looking for books on magic when they come to the library (when school is in person). I bet this would appeal to many of them. I look forward to checking it out. Thanks for sharing. Great review!
There has been such a growing interest in magic (perhaps due to the TV program AGT) that it is fun to see it written into a novel for teens. It does sound like the perfect escape book for the time. I like the idea of cards that communicate. Sounds entertaining! Thanks for sharing!
My thirteen-year-old likes to do card tricks. Maybe I can tempt him to read with a book in which they play a part?!
Ooh, this sounds fun! I bet the joker’s part is funny! I think this would really appeal to MG boy readers, and it’s hard to find books for that group. I also like the chapters start with something from the card deck. Thanks for featuring this one!
My kids love books with magic. Will have to check it out!
I especially liked your line, “His ways of dealing with the crisis are sincere and kid like.” So often these days, kids in books don’t handle crises in kid-like ways. This book sounds like a great read. Thanks for the heads up.
I enjoyed reading your review of Laurie’s debut. It definitely sounds like a great read for kids and those of us who are young at heart. I’ve got this one in my TBR pile. Thanks for the fun post for MMGM, Greg!