The Mystwick School of Musicraft

Jessica Khoury

Jan 2020 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

Humor and heart shine in this middle grade fantasy about a girl who attends a boarding school to learn how to use music to create magic, perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The School for Good and Evil series.

Amelia Jones always dreamed of attending the Mystwick School of Musicraft, where the world’s most promising musicians learn to create magic.

So when Amelia botches her audition, she thinks her dream has met an abrupt and humiliating end—until the school agrees to give her a trial period. Amelia is determined to prove herself, vowing to do whatever it takes to become the perfect musician. Even if it means pretending to be someone she isn’t.

Meanwhile, a mysterious storm is brewing that no one, not even the maestros at Mystwick, is prepared to contain. Can Amelia find the courage to be true to herself in time to save her beloved school from certain destruction?

Ratings and reviews

This playful romp through a musical alternate world where live music generates magic is both simple and elegant. The characters are interesting, though admittedly most outside of the main characters feel two-dimensional. The characters that matter most are still deep and convincing, however. As a children's book, this is a wonderfully well-crafted option for bedtime stories. It gets a bit spooky and a bit emotional, but without taking a dive too deep for elementary school kids. A thoroughly enjoyable read! Pros: Delightful, interesting, yet easy to absorb alternate world. Musical in both theme and tone. Vibrant main character. Kid-safe. Great message/lesson about confidence and class. Cons: Formulaic, magical school trope. Despite the setting, only <10 characters are memorable enough for me to describe at any length. The others are mentioned, then kind of left to the imagination. In short, the book hits the target audience well. I'll be reading this to my 4-year-old.

excellent. magical and full of mystry

About the author

Jessica Khoury is the author of multiple books for teens and young readers. In addition to writing, she is an artistic mapmaker and spends far too much time scribbling tiny mountains and trees for fictional worlds. Her spare hours are spent video gaming, painting, or cooking badly. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband, daughters, and sassy husky Katara.