The Magicians---- a book review...

Just finished Lev Grossman's, The Magicians, and I have to say, the book was surprisingly good. It centers around a group of "normal" teenagers who aren't so normal.... at least, they've never felt normal or like they belonged in the world.

Quentin Coldwater is one of those out-of-place teens, a math genius, looking to enter an Ivy League college and wondering what it would take to find something exciting. Quentin runs from the boredom of his home, from the boredom of his high school. He runs straight into the arms of a magician's college. And, when he discovers the possibility of a magical world existing that he's read about since childhood, he thinks he's finally found the life, the world he's always wanted. But, the deeper he goes and the further he runs, the more he begins to question exactly what it is he's running from.

This is not your typical magical story. And, definitely not a children's fantasy tale. It is the adult "Harry Potter", if you will, where the lines between good and evil, between right and wrong, are blurred until the differences are no longer distinguishable.

Whether you're a magician or not, the world between childhood and adulthood isn't an easy place to navigate. And, The Magicians, goes a long way to prove that sometimes having what you think you want, isn't always what you need... or, perhaps, what you're looking for might be with you all the time.

Definitely worth a read if you're looking for something a little different. Grossman does a wonderful job with imagery. My only qualm is there seemed to be too much twisted into this story-- it could have easily spanned 2 maybe 3 books. Perhaps Grossman felt the need to include everything at once, perhaps he never intended to write a sequel.

I am glad that I read it, and now that they sequel is planned for release next month, I'll probably pick that up as well.

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