Magic or Madness, and Magic Lessons, by Justine Larbalestier

Several months ago, I went to a sci-fi bookstore and asked for a recommendation concerning what I should read next. The shopkeeper handed me a copy of Justine Larbalestier’s first novel, Magic or Madness, with the comment, “I don’t often suggest this to people.” I’m still not sure why he recommended it to me, but I’m glad he did.

After finishing Magic or Madness in two days, I jumped on the Internet and frantically searched for anything else by Larbalestier. To my delight, I found a sequel to Magic or Madness called Magic Lessons. (Furthermore, the series will be a trilogy; the third book is scheduled to publish in the United States early next year.)

The books follow 15-year-old Reason Cansino as her world turns on its head after she discovers that magic actually exists. We first meet the young Fibonacci-sequence-obsessed girl as she’s on her way to live with her grandmother, Esmeralda.

All her life, Reason had been hiding in the Australian Outback with her mother, Sarafina, convinced that Esmeralda fancied herself a witch who practiced black magic. Reason, of course, logically assumed Esmeralda was crazy and had followed her mother’s example. Unfortunately, Sarafina goes insane and the young girl finds out why after being sent to live with Esmeralda.

After stepping through her grandmother’s kitchen door, which magically transports her from Sydney to New York, Reason must reluctantly admit that magic is real. However, it has horrible consequences. If you use magic, you die extremely young; if you don’t use it, you go mad. So now, along with two new friends, Reason must try to find a way around that tragic side-effect of magic if she wants to live and save her mother.

Although simple to read, Larbalestier’s books are far from boring. The suspenseful stories are interesting, and the protagonist is easy to relate to—even though she’s never watched television. Also, Larbalestier writes in the first-person, alternating between Reason, Tom (Esmeralda’s magical neighbor), and Jay-Tee (Reason’s new American friend). This provides a wide variety of language, using American slang for Jay-Tee’s point of view and Australian slang for Reason’s and Tom’s thoughts—keeping the story from sounding too monotonous.

I highly recommend Magic or Madness and Magic Lessons to any fans of sci-fi and fantasy or just good fiction.