The Land of Magics is a place where children like Merlin live a life of wonder. Magic and imagination run free and the world is beautiful and whimsical. Merlin’s power is growing but so is his arrogance, and it is affecting his friendship with Vincent. Cross, and determined to best his friend, Merlin sets out for a land that he has read about. A land the books warn against.
The story shifts abruptly and Grace is introduced as protagonist when her boat washes up in Wasteland. Her memory is impaired and she finds herself hunted by The Catcher. Then she is offered a job by crotchety old Mr Smith and the Invisbles find her … the voices that say things in the basement at night …
I’ve never read a story by Susie Bower before but love The Invisibles. It is exceptionally well written with prose that never faltered, something which makes it possible to get lost in the whimsy and wonder of the story. It is lovely to find a fantasy that is less intense action and more about the intrigue of what is going on. It put me in mind of Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away. There is a strong plot about children getting trapped in a place where imagination is feared, and needing to solve their past connection and individual stories in order to escape. There is allegory: the book is strongly about the wonders of childhood imagination and the pressure society puts on older children and adults to forget their innate creativity.
Grace only has some sense of who she was before she came to Wasteland and that allows her to go on a journey of discovery. She’s been thrown in at the deep end. Should she trust Mr Smith? The Invisibles? The Catcher? Why has someone painted the words ‘traitor’ outside Mr Smith’s house? The story could prompt some interesting discussions about how we decide who to trust, what qualities make someone trustworthy, and what kind of behaviours or incidents make us hesitant to trust someone.
When Grace is introduced in place of Merlin it leaves the reader with questions. What happened to Merlin? Why are we now following a new character? Did Merlin escape? It is lovely to find a book that trusts the reader enough to make such a move. This is a masterful example of how a slightly shorter middle grade can work. It caters perfectly to the younger end of a middle grade audience without ever once underestimating them. It also shows, as the novels of Christopher Edge do, that shorter middle grade is a form in itself when written by a skilled writer.
The story’s settings are immersive and filled with wonder. The Wastelands are imagined as vividly as the magical worlds under the SeaSky. These are settings that allow readers to picture a place immediately. That allow children to go outside and enact their own adventures in the worlds they feel connected to immediately. This reminds me storytelling from the Third Golden Age, books so brilliant they give the impression that the author has simply breathed a word to life.
The Invisibles would make a lovely read around novel and it is a healthy reminder to everyone of the true magic of imagination.
- The Invisibles by Susie Bower is available now from Pushkin Press. RRP. £8.99 (My copy was provided for review as part of a promotional blog tour)
