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Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: "Maria Dahvana Headley is a firecracker: she's whip smart with a heart, and she writes like a dream." �??Neil Gaiman, bestselling author of The Graveyard Book and Coraline Aza Ray Boyle is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak�??to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name. Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world�??and found, by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power�??but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza's hands lies fate of the whole of humanity�??including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie? Neil Gaiman's Stardust meets John Green's The Fault in Our Stars in this New York Times bestselling story about a girl caught between two worlds, two races, and two destinies. Don't miss Aerie, the stunning, highly anticipated sequel… (more)
User reviews
Uniquely strange
3 stars
I almost gave up on this book, in the beginning. Slow start and I didn't like the protagonists annoying and abrasive personality. In short, a VERY cynical teenager (Aza Ray Boyle) suffers her whole life from a breathing disease which is basically causing her to drown
There are a lot of things about this book that were interesting and unique (pirate ships, birds nesting in your lungs, bats used as sails, flying whales) but there were quite a few things that grated on my nerves(long drawn out sentences, weird and random dialogue, Aza). I enjoyed the fantasy element very much and recommend it. It's a pretty neat story. Also, if there is a sequel, which is a possibility, I'd read it.
But I hate when something is selling like a stand-alone novel, but "the end" is not the end of it. Not at all.
OK, so, this is the first in a series. So, the author spends a lot of time on world-building. I could forgive it, if the world is beautiful, interesting, or at least does not defy logic. Sorry, not here. It's ugly, it's just the earth mirrored in the sky, and it shows author's poor knowledge of physics (or geophysics, whatever).
So, are there any redeeming qualities? Like engaging and believable characters? Sadly, not really.
In the beginning Aza is engaging enough, but as the time goes, she becomes more and more Mary Sue-ish. The Chosen One.
Jason is better, but just marginally. And they have the same voice. Ok, they are alike. Still. Longer phrases might have helped. Really. I mean, {{[]}}?
Obviously, I am not a fan of such writing style. Don't know, maybe, it's brilliant. Just not for me.
And the love story? Sickeningly sweet. Love overcomes everything. Rock, water, earthquakes, lightnings, death... Everything. It's postulated. And eventually boring.
Summary: In my opinion, the best and the most impressive part of this book is its cover. (And marketing campaign.) The writing is not on par with it.
I believe I will skip next books in this series.
And then.
In the sky, as half-bird and fueled by songs from a bird that flew into in her chest, she is a superpower. Also, a boyfriend who speaks in pi, a giant squid, and lots of lightning. And a crazy power-hungry bird-person-mom. And I'm still not quite sure what really happens here.
"trembling adored tousled bird mad girl" - Robert Smith
I can honestly say that I've never read anything like this before. Maria Dahvana Headley has
I totally LOVED Headley's writing style, both Aza and Jason's voices, and the wildly creative world that she created. In fact, there were only two things that kept Magonia from earning all 5 Stars for me.
1. Aza goes through this "phase" towards the middle of the book that kind of annoyed me. It was almost like she was stronger as a weak human girl than she was as a strong Magonian one. I get that she was kind of going through a Big Thing, but still, she didn't quite seem like herself for a while there.
2. And this is probably just me, but I kind of feel like the last 2/3 of the book was rushed. At just over 300 pages, Magonia isn't what I'd call a long book---I would have liked to have had 50-100 more pages of story to fully explore Magonia's history and customs. I would have liked to have had a little more detail about the sky ships, the Rostrae, and the power of song. But you guys know me, I'm just greedy like that.
I can't find anything about a sequel anywhere, but I definitely feel like there's a lot more of this story left to be told. If ever a ship sets sail for Magonia again, you can bet I'll find a way to stowaway on it ;)
I can honestly say that I've never read anything like this before. Maria Dahvana Headley has
I totally LOVED Headley's writing style, both Aza and Jason's voices, and the wildly creative world that she created. In fact, there were only two things that kept Magonia from earning all 5 Stars for me.
1. Aza goes through this "phase" towards the middle of the book that kind of annoyed me. It was almost like she was stronger as a weak human girl than she was as a strong Magonian one. I get that she was kind of going through a Big Thing, but still, she didn't quite seem like herself for a while there.
2. And this is probably just me, but I kind of feel like the last 2/3 of the book was rushed. At just over 300 pages, Magonia isn't what I'd call a long book---I would have liked to have had 50-100 more pages of story to fully explore Magonia's history and customs. I would have liked to have had a little more detail about the sky ships, the Rostrae, and the power of song. But you guys know me, I'm just greedy like that.
I can't find anything about a sequel anywhere, but I definitely feel like there's a lot more of this story left to be told. If ever a ship sets sail for Magonia again, you can bet I'll find a way to stowaway on it ;)
But then...not so much.
As soon as Aza goes
Also the introduction of a love triangle was so anemic as to be pointless. And yet it looks like it might develop more in the sequel. Bleh.
Overall, this would have been one of my favorite books if the last 2/3 of the book (the fantasy) had lived up to the 1/3 (the contemporary). I love fantasy YA, but this just didn't work on that level. I will anxiously await this authors next contemporary offering, but I won't be returning to Magonia.
I have so much respect for writers like Maria Dahvana Headley who are so immensely creative that they can create an entire world.
Aza is a young girl with a lung disease that doctors are unable to diagnose. It’s hard for her to breathe, so every day is a struggle, but her family and best friend Jason support her, making her life a little easier for her to bear. One day Aza sees a ship in the sky, but her family thinks she’s hallucinating from her medication. The only person who believes her is her friend Jason Kerwin. Jason mentions Magonia, but Aza thinks it’s a myth. Something goes tragically wrong and she wakes up in an unfamiliar place. She discovers that she’s in Magonia, which is another world, but in Magonia she’s healthy and powerful. She can breathe. Earth and Magonia are dependent on each other and Magonians think a war between them is imminent. Aza feels torn because she still loves and misses her Earth family, but she’s starting to feel like she belongs in Magonia.
Maria Dahvana Headley is super smart and her intelligence shows in her references throughout the novel. Jason is constantly reciting pi and he’s read the Annuls of Ulster. She references Shakespeare, Casablanca, Moby Dick, E. E. Cummings, Animal Form, Icarus and Jacob Grimm. I love stories that incorporate those types of details.
I love the prose; it’s smooth and conversational. It has a natural flow that meshes well with her wonderful storytelling and fully developed characters.
I’ll never view storms the same way again. Whenever I see a storm, I’m going to start thinking, “That’s Magonia foraging the Earth again.” I wouldn’t be surprised if I started staring at the clouds looking for ships. This novel was so refreshingly different, so if you love fantasy, you’ll love this one.
I wanted to read Magonia because I was first drawn to the premise of the girl who has these respiratory issues because illness books have always appealed to me. But then I realized it was a fantasy and she is misplaced--because in this universe in the skies, she is strong and
I like the main character Aza she was very smart and full of life even though she was so sick. her and her best friend Jason were pretty obscure people. they know all kinds of random knowledge and we're constantly challenging each other. since they've been friends for years and years since they were 5 they have a very special and deep bond.
As part of her disease she sometimes runs fevers and hallucinates and when she all the sudden sees a ship in the sky, everyone assumes that it is a hallucination. But when they find a feather, of all things, in her lungs then we start to see the fantasy aspect of the story. jason is very well read so he's heard of mythology and such of people claiming to come from a place called Magonia throughout history and when they are on land, they say they for there by falling from the sky. there is a story event of a man who came out of nowhere with a rope and an anchor and it appeared like he was drowning in the air. the story especially stuck with Aza because of her lungs and her breathing problems that seems to be very unique to her and the disorder is even named after her.
After seeing the ship, she sees all sorts of birds along with crazy weather. Them she starts to think that the birds are talking to her and of course that is a link with the feather. She is in her room and thinks that a bird flies into her chest and is speaking through her. Next thing we see her rushed to the hospital and then we know we are all of the sudden out of Aza and in Jason's perspective and it seems like Aza has passed away.
Jason works hard, using all of his knowledge and connections into looking into ships in the sky. He hears her screaming at him from a distance at her funeral and he doesn't stop searching.
The world building takes a whole new step as we get back into Aza's perspective. She is all of the sudden able to breath, and her body feels strong. She learns a lot about her past, and shocking secrets about her family, and why her lungs were so bad on the ground. She tries to grasp the differences in this whole new species that she is a part of. They work with the birds, their skin is different, so is their language and thinking. She is surrounded by a whole new cast of characters and she is rightly suspicious of everyone. But she does form bonds with some of them, and some are good decisions and others lead to plot developments and twists she didn't want to believe.
I enjoyed this book, and although it felt like some parts got a little slow, I was easily distracted by other things going on, and I am sure that had something to do with it. But I certainly want to keep reading, and find out more about this strange world in the sky and how Aza fits into it. I also am eager to see more of the chemistry and deep bond between her and Jason, how the alliances she made while sailing will play out.
Bottom Line: Intricate world building, relatable main character, and fun read.
Heaven is real, it is really called Magonia, and you only go there after death on earth if you were born there to begin with. Magonians are where the myths of gods come from. They live on a series of floating islands and ships.
In
Aza Ray is a teenager like any other, except her mother is a powerful sky ship captain and Aza Ray is her heir. By no definition of her society is she disabled. She misses her home and the mother who raised her. She struggles to learn the magic everyone else takes for granted. And she misses Jason who she might love.
This book was so great. It's about disability and illness and how disability is so much more about society then about the individual. It's about dreaming of a different life and wish fulfillment and being careful what you wish for. It's a fairy tale. It's a dream. It's a war.
This unique fantasy had me from the first chapter and before I know it I had finished over one-hundred pages of this can't-put-down novel.
Aza Ray's story is full of great humor, friendship, love and hope.
Love this!
I was about 70% done when I realized I’d started another series. It’s okay, the world is interesting enough that I want more information. t have all the back story, yet, but I’m hoping we’ll get some of that in the next book. I also need some more world building of Magonia itself. I have lot of questions, just like Aza.
However, Aza's story doesn't end there, in fact it's only the beginning. You see Aza is not of this world, she belongs to the sky where she is destined to lead her kind. Up in the clouds her lifelong illness can't touch her, she is strong and powerful, and that power would prove to be both a blessing and a curse.
What I like about this story is the voice of the narrators. Aza tells her story in a manic-like voice, but her bravado in the face of her illness makes her a sympathetic character. Jason's pov is told in a semi-functioning, somewhat unhinged voice, from a boy who is hopelessly in love with his bestfriend. It was interesting to see if these two would end up together and how they'll make it work.
One thing I question though, and it applies to other YA novels as well, is that Aza and Jason act older than their age. Jason particularly does some pretty amazing and unbelievable things to help Aza, I would've also liked there to be more world building, especially when Aza was already in Magonia. It's such a unique and fascinating world and I wish it was described more vividly.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
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Ex-library.
A debossed feather on the boards under the dustjacket.