Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy

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There is a lot of African American history woven into this book which I loved, and I feel like Angie Thomas adds a lot of magic and life into telling stories that kids will have seen/heard in their history classes.

I would say her first middle-grade fantasy debut is a success on its own and I love how she puts her own flair towards it. I think the heavy topics for young readers was well balanced with the levity of the adventures the trio embark on.There were a lot of great foundations in this book, and I think it just needed a bit of work to really bring out the aspects that would make it great.

It’s one thing to cover up being a Remarkable for safety in busy Jackson, but quite another to learn that your father is a thief. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, was acquired by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in a 13-house auction. If you want a fun adventure full of magic and self-discovery, but also with some important topics being touched on, then I think you might really enjoy this one. In a set of gleefully ingenious riffs on African and African American folklore, from "The People Could Fly" to Wakanda, Thomas pitches 12-year-old Nic into a whirl of stunning discoveries about her background as she struggles to understand her own magical gifts.

Others, not so much—like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor. I know I can't expect middle-grade to have the depth of YA or adult, but there was something really lacking in this book. I could see my 12 year old loving it, while at the same time my 42 year old self felt it was right at my level too. By submitting a review you grant us the right to display and use it in any way; please read our General Legal Notices for full details. As you could expect, Angie Thomas is another one of those authors who couldn't be bothered to give some explanations on her inspirations.

The characters are mostly fun, but there is no way that a twelve-year-old can have so much world knowledge as that, or be so eloquent - their vocabulary is much too big. I love how all the characters and the story is derived from African lore and it makes the story has a different twist of its own. Not that those were things that are relevant on the level of the story, but it still made me frown because I just didn't understand.Don't get me wrong, I'm all for kids receiving the opportunity to learn more about experiences that aren't their own; however, in this case, the "tid-bits" of information weren't woven in seamlessly. At times the book strays off the path of the fantasy novel, and feels a little like a PBS or history channel special. The Manifestor Prophecy is a tantalizing first installment in what is sure to be a blockbuster series, and a remarkable achievement for a master author in a thrilling new arena.