Magic or Madness

Last updated
Magic or Madness
Magic or madness.jpg
Cover image
Author Justine Larbalestier
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
SeriesMagic or Madness
GenreFantasy Fiction
PublisherRazorbill
Publication date
2005
Pages788
ISBN 978-1-59514-022-7 [1]
OCLC 56386932
Followed by Magic Lessons  

Magic or Madness is a fantasy novel for young adults by Justine Larbalestier. First published in 2005, it is the first installment in the Magic or Madness trilogy. The novel won the 2007 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Contents

Plot summary

The three main characters are Reason Cansino, Sarafina Cansino and Esmeralda Cansino. Reason and her mother Sarafina have been on the run from her grandmother Esmeralda for fifteen years staying in one place for seldom more than a few months. Her whole life Reason has been brought up with a hate for Esmeralda who believes in the practicing of magic and horrifying ritual. Only once does she recall being within her grasp but now Sarafina has had an unexpected mental breakdown, and Reason is forced back to the one place she never thought she would go back to. But after finding a portal within Esmeralda's house she starts to question her mother's beliefs and face the truth, that magic is real.

Characters

Reception

By turns a fantasy adventure and a thoughtful examination of relationships, this radiant gem stands alone, but expect readers to be impatient for the rest of the trilogy

School Library Journal

Magic or Madness is a breath of fresh air. The characters are unforgettable, the voice delightful, the plot tense and compelling.This is the kind of book you take in at a gulp and, having reached the last page, put it down reluctantly. More please!"

Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club

Awards

Magic or Madness won the 2007 Andre Norton Award. It was shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Award, one of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for 2006, as well as an Aurealis Award for best young adult novel and a Ditmar Award for Best Novel. It was also nominated for The Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up Award. Magic or Madness was a best book of the year selection for the School Library Journal , Tayshas (the Young Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association), the Australian children’s literature magazine Magpies, as well as making the ALA (American Library Association) 2006 Best Books for Young Adults list, the Locus Recommended Reading List and the Bank Street Best Teen Books of the Year list. [2]

Related Research Articles

Andre Alice Norton was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical fiction and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, to be SFWA Grand Master, and to be inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Laurie Halse Anderson American writer

Laurie Halse Anderson is an American writer, known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for her contribution to young adult literature.

Sherwood Smith is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adults and adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant.

Delia Sherman American writer (born 1951)

Cordelia Caroline Sherman, known professionally as Delia Sherman, is an American fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

Holly Black American author

Holly BlacknéeRiggenbach is an American writer and editor best known for her Children's and Young Adult Fiction. Her most recent work is the New York Times Bestselling Young Adult the Folk of the Air series. She is also well known for The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with writer and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, and her debut trilogy of Young Adult novels officially called the Modern Faerie Tales.

Scott Westerfeld American writer of young adult fiction (born 1963)

Scott David Westerfeld is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the Uglies and the Leviathan series.

Catherine Webb is a British author, educated at the Godolphin and Latymer School, London, and the London School of Economics. She was 14 years old when she completed Mirror Dreams, which was written during her school holidays. Her father is author and publisher Nick Webb and he suggested she should send the manuscript to an agent he knew, who eventually offered to represent her. The book was published in 2002 by Atom Books, part of Time Warner, and Webb was named Young Trailblazer of the Year by the magazine CosmoGirl UK. She has published eight young adult novels, all with Atom Books, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 2010.

Justine Larbalestier is an Australian writer of young adult fiction best known for her 2009 novel, Liar.

Cassandra Clare American author

Judith Lewis, better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

<i>Magics Child</i>

Magic's Child is the third installment in Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy. It talks about Reason Cansino trying to tell Danny Galeano that she is pregnant with his child and that Jason Blake is coming close to succeeding.

<i>Magic Lessons</i>

Magic Lessons is the second installment in Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy. It was released in 2006.

Sarah Rees Brennan Irish writer

Sarah Rees Brennan is an Irish writer best known for young adult fantasy fiction. Her first novel, The Demon's Lexicon, was released June 2009 by Simon & Schuster. Brennan's books are bestsellers in the UK.

<i>How to Ditch Your Fairy</i> 2008 young adult novel by Justine Larbalestier

How to Ditch Your Fairy is a young adult novel by Justine Larbalestier. It was published in 2008 by Bloomsbury.

<i>Liar</i> (novel) 2009 young adult thriller novel by Justine Larbalestier

Liar is a 2009 young adult thriller novel by Justine Larbalestier. It is written in first person from the point of view of Micah Wilkins, who introduces herself to the reader as an unreliable narrator.

A. S. King American writer

Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction.

Alaya Dawn Johnson American writer of speculative fiction

Alaya Dawn Johnson is an American writer of speculative fiction.

<i>Akata Witch</i> 2011 fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch is a 2011 fantasy novel written by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor.

Rae Carson is an American fantasy writer.

Sarah Beth Durst

Sarah Beth Durst is an American author of fantasy. Her 2016 novel Queen of the Blood won a 2017 Alex Award from the American Library Association. Durst writes for adults, young adults, and middle grade level readers.

Traci Chee is a Japanese-American author of young adult fiction, best known for The Reader Trilogy and We Are Not Free. Chee resides in California where she grew up.

References