Magonia

The description of this book sounded so enticing, I just had to get it and see what it was about. Aza and Jason are the main characters and Jason is basically a child prodigy, and Aza at 15 is wise beyond her years. Unfortunately Aza is chronically ill and there doesn't seem to be any way to help her. That part of the book could come across as a normal teen story, but then the ships in the sky part comes in, making it more of a fantastical story. Aza sees these floating ships in the sky and confides in Jason, who then does a ton of research and comes up with lots of scenarios. Without giving anything away, the story progresses at a slow pace in the beginning and this was not a book that I HAD to read during free moments to see what was happening. I had recently read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, and I was reading that as often as I could, whereas this book I did not go out of my way to read it. I would say it wasn't until the last 50-75 pages that I felt it was really picking up and situations would be resolved. The ending was nice and it does leave it open for a sequel.

I liked the book in that it was a very imaginative story, I just thought at times it was a little slow. This was probably done to give more character development, but it just didn't draw me in as much as I hoped it would. I am not sure if I would pick up a sequel if it came out. This doesn't take away from the pleasure that I did get from reading the book, but with so many books out there, this one will not be one of my all time faves.

*I received this book as an eARC from Harper Collins via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

I haven't read much YA Fantasy that takes place in a contemporary setting. I often find them unbelievable with a whole magical world existing right under the surface of our real world. This book, though, made me believe. The world building in this book is excellent. There is enough that is left unanswered and only hinted at that a world above us between the clouds is somehow believable. Even STORMSHARKS!

Not only is this a great Fantasy book with an awesome world, but the writing is beautiful. The relationship between Aza and Jason is written so realistic. And intelligent.

Less than a quarter into this book, I was completely hooked. This book sucked me in from the very beginning. The first chapter was excellent. I also loved the casual mention of a same-sex couple.

Since this book does have a contemporary setting, I enjoyed the actual acknowledgement and use of modern technology like Google. The other nerdy bits also really got me going. Pi and cephalopods both are featured.

The way this book is written, everything comes together wonderfully. I enjoyed the references throughout the book, like the squid video.

This book is a strong 5/5 for me. The first quarter is perfect. There are some lower points, for me, later in the book but overall it came together. I highly recommend this to all fans of YA. If you don't usually read fantasy, I think you'll still enjoy this. If you don't usually read contemporary, you'll enjoy this too. Go read this book!

This YA book opens engagingly with the rather unconventional inner monologue of the about-to-be-sixteen-years-old Aza, who has a rare lung ailment (it's even named after her!) and as she puts it, "a history of hospitals". With such a history, her inner voice is tough, with hints of vulnerability as well. There is some vulgar language, but that's about the only non-age-appropriate part of the book. I think an audio version would be particularly appealing, too.

And though Aza addresses the reader directly at times which is a huge pet peeve of mine, the book has a convincing edge to even it's most unbelievable sections. It's a surprisingly emotional read, too. The perspective doesn't stay with Aza, but the style isn't very different between the perspectives, so it could be even more powerful if future books in the series develop the other characters more, especially in those sections. The action gets a little chaotic and muddled at times, the book ends leaving me at least anxious for the sequel! It's an exciting read and really feels original with its blend of modern and magic. I definitely plan on continuing on with the series - I hope that the wait isn't too terrible long! There are plenty pf places to pick up the story and questions left unanswered, and yet the ending is still completely satisfying which is a conclusion with a balance that is hard to manage! It's very well-done!

Magonia is hands down a fantastic read. Heroine with a history of hospitals? Ships in the skies? Birds in the lungs? These story elements easily demand a reader’s interest. More than that, Magonia’s narrative and exciting plotline will keep you engrossed and leave you quite breathless. And speaking of breathless…

Meet Aza Ray- miracle girl with a very curious, unsolvable lung disease that makes breathing difficult for her. Death hangs around Aza, threatening, but somehow it hasn’t taken her yet. Maybe she’ll actually live to sixteen. But when she glimpses a ship in the sky and starts to hear someone calling out her name from said ship, her disease strikes and this time it’s a fatal blow. Though Aza passes on from earth, she finds herself in the clouds above (nope, not heaven), where Magonia lies. On the Amina Pennarum, the sky ship that was apparently not at all a delirious hallucination, she discovers many things about herself- how she possesses a power unlike any other.

What I have to say about Aza is that her character voice is absolutely awesome. She has so much personality and sass going on for her. I was hooked by the first few pages where she explained the tragic situation that was her inability to breathe. Being in her head was an enjoyable experience because it was so genuinely entertaining to read. I think has a lot to do with the writing, which I really loved. It’s striking and unorthodox. I know it won’t work for everybody but it worked perfectly for me. In fact, I thought the prose was exquisitely beautiful and poetic.

I especially really liked how Headley lays down the setting. Magonia is such a bizarre fascinating place and it was described so vividly. Everything was imagined so well. She backs it up with a refreshing mythology, tales of UFO sightings, and a great back story that kept me engrossed in finding out more. Talk about excellent world-building! The chain of the events that follow also were very exciting. Not to mention magical. Singing heart birds and storm-making skywhales magical. The fantasy aspect of the book was truly astonishing- completely unique and worth discovering.

Another thing that was really strong in the story is the emotional connection between Aza and her loved ones on earth. It made my heart hurt how Aza’s family and bestfriend, Jason, loved her so so much. I was touched by their dynamics and I couldn’t help but cry when Aza was lost to them. *sniffles* Also, Aza Ray Boyle and Jason Kerwin, you guys. I { } them more than [{{{( )}}}]. Their relationship was just completely lovely.

I think by now I’ve given you more than enough reasons to go and read this book. Magonia is an enchanting novel with characters, emotion and writing that can stir your heart. Let this book take your breath away.

I had such high expectations of this book. Unreasonably high, even.. I was so taken with the idea of it, that I preordered it, and I didn't do well at waiting for it to be published, instead I kept checking if the release date had possibly been moved forward, and considering which books I could best read while waiting, making sure that I was available when it arrived on my shelf.

Obviously, I didn't expect it to disappoint, and it didn't. Nevertheless I ended up giving it a 4 star rating, why? The book was every bit as mesmerizing, and strange, and magical, as I had hoped. It was visually stunning and the writing certainly compelling, yet something left me feeling that it wasn't entirely perfect.

At the time I couldn't pinpoint it, but now, some months later, I might finally have an idea at where my expectations wanted something else of the story.. Or more precisely, I didn't want the story to be different, I simply wanted more.. While the story was awesome, dreamy and brilliantly imagined, I felt somewhat cheated, of not getting to stay in the world above us for more than such a short while.

Anyways, I have to recommend this. It's definitely not your ordinary story, and yet, I think most people would enjoy it for what it is - a stunningly beautiful tale of love, life and hope..

You know that thing that happens when you throw all your favorite books from widely varying genres into a super-collider and it makes one heck of a brilliant mess? Wait, that isn't a thing? Well it should be if this book is that mess. This novel is part Fault in Our Stars part Girl At Midnight/Smoke & Bone part nothing I have ever read before. And it's not all wonderful. A lot of it was confusing (purposefully, I mean the main characters have NO clue whats going on for a majority of the book). The book was also short, for a YA novel, less than 300 pages. I feel like a little more time could have been spent explaining or filling in HUGE gaps in character development. It was one of those instances like: "You are special main character. Oh really? No, I'm ok, I don't need to be special. Oh wait, BOOM, I am special. The end." It all happens a bit to fast for my liking. But in all, I did really like this book. It was definitely a weird mismatch but that worked for it. And I look forward to more magical world-building in books to come.
Final Recommendations: if you like sick kids, fantastical fantasy, awesome creatures (I mean what could be more awesome/precious than a squallwhale!), star-crossed love, ocd earth boys, shady moms, girls with a destiny

Quote: “Because every time someone finds a new animal, or a new amazing thing on earth, it means we haven't broken everything yet.”

With an incredibly rare lung condition, Aza Ray is scheduled to die before her 16th birthday. But with only couple of days left, she knows that she is getting worse. And that's okay. Because she's lucky enough to live this long and to see her parents, sister, and best friend Jason by her side every single day.

When Aza sees a ship in the sky, she thinks she's hallucinating, again. But when it happens over and over, and suddenly hundreds of birds are on her lawn and one is flying into her lungs, it is more than hallucination, it is reality and what she finds when she opens her eyes after thinking she died, is a lot more than she might be able to handle.

With an incredible writing, Magonia really was nothing I have ever read. I've seen a lot of reviews where they mentioned this but I really had to read it for myself. An entire colony of birds in the sky, a whole new possibility of the world we know and cannot see, it was really amazing. Also, since this was YA novel, I was expecting cheesy romance but even though there was a hint of love triangle, it was very genuine and I still enjoyed it. Jason was definitely was a lovable character, we all need to have a man like that in our lives.

A rough sketch of my reading experience:
Pages 1-40: Ugh, awful. Aza is tremendously annoying
41-69: I like the best friend a lot more than i like Aza
70-71: Holy moly, a book hasn't hit me this hard in years
71-250: Some problems, but good pacing - quite a page-turner
251-end: Not quite deus ex machina, but it sure relies on its own poorly-defined magic system

So, ultimately, i'd recommend this book to YA readers with caveats. The first 40-odd pages really are dreadful. Aza is a poster child for Protesting Too Much. All she talks about is how not-freaked-out she is by her impending death. Because she's totally not, sheesh. And the whole 'Why Aza matters to Magonia' predicates on the novel basically not describing the magic system, so Aza can do whatever the plot needs her to do. But unlike the vast majority of YA dying-kid books out there, this one nailed the emotional part when it needed to.

Aza Ray is basically your average teenage girl. There's angst, she's quirky, and she has intelligence. I added "basically" because she's been dying of a disease so rare here on earth, that it's been named after her. While here on Earth, she's sick and has trouble breathing the air we breathe, she has a friend, named Jason who believes in her. He's very intelligent, a little OCD, and is very loyal to Aza. As you can already imagine, they have feelings for each other.

When Aza gets a chance to go to a place much different than Earth called Magonia, she realizes here things are much different. She can breathe here, is no longer dying and even has special powers way up here above the clouds. There are many different magical creatures on Magonia and a different love interest. It's here where it comes down to Aza living her new life here on Magonia or returning home to be with her family and Jadon.

The author, Maria Dahvana Headly, does an amazing job writing this magical world, the story line and both Aza and Jason are very well-crafted characters. I felt like I was right there with the two of them. I cried, laughed, and couldn't help but to route for Aza (and Jason, too). I highly recommend Magonia for anyone who loves a well-written YA story.

Ok.... this book is amazing.
When i first started it i couldn't stop reading, amazing book and amazing magic!!! LOVE IT!!
So, lets talk about this, i loved how it was written, even though the writing style may not be for everyone i, on the other hand, found it to be quite addicting, i couldn't stop reading because i was interested in what she was going to say next. This book is sooooo relatable it's crazy, i haven't felt like this since i read wildwood, which, you should definitely read by the way, a book that has bad reviews that shouldn't be there, because the book is awesome, well, i found that the beginning was slow, but i also found it fascinating, i savored every word, and didn't want it to end, when a bird went down her throat i thought THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!! NEVER READ ANYTHING LIKE IT!!! Then when she gets into magonia i sort of began to wonder why not a lot was happening, i mean, she is on the ship for quite some time, and i wanted stuff to happen like it did in the beginning, but, the colorful world building definitely made up for the slow storyline in the middle, and eventually, you are blown away by how beautiful everything is. I can't really put how much i love this book into words, lets just say I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love strange books. I love strange characters, worlds, writing styles. I should have known by the Gaiman quote on the cover this was going to be fantastic and odd in all the best ways. That said, it took me several chapters to warm up to the story even though I was loving Headley's voice. It's a tricky thing to make a world within a world work and as an adult reader of YA I sometimes struggle with letting myself believe it. Once I warmed to the idea the pages seemed to fly by and I found MAGONIA difficult to set down.

I feel like anything I could review in regards to the plot would spoil discoveries I think readers should get to uncover on their own but I will say that if you like alternate histories or parallel universes this has similar elements. Though I was left with some unanswered questions and threads left unraveled I thoroughly enjoyed MAGONIA and have put Headley on my list of authors to watch.

Romance, airships, strange biology, outcasts... this book has it all. If you enjoy the work of Neil Gaiman or Diana Wynne Jones do not miss out on this one.

As my subject line says, Magonia made me cry - twice.

The first time was roughly 70 pages in. The second was in the final chapter. This is kind of a tearjerker of a novel. However, along with the tearjerker aspect, the author gives us some very respectable fantasy. This calls on some unique mythology and brings some truly fascinating concepts into play.

I liked Aza Ray, loved Jason, and enjoyed a couple of the non-human characters immensely. I wasn't quite so enthralled with the villain of the story (not even in a character you love to hate sort of way), but there's one particular bird who stole my heart.

Overall, it was an exciting read and I'm curious to see what happens next.

One quick note: players of a certain MMORPG may recognize some concepts and creatures from the game. My daughter is a huge fan of this particular game and one certain world (or sub world) as well as some creatures from battle cards are startlingly similar. I actually think maybe it's coincidence (?), but it was noticeable enough for me that it threw me for a bit.

I was fascinated by the book cover first and then the summary of this book. So I took chance on it. Overall, it was a good book. The world that the author built in Magonia was amazing. It was so colorful and full of magic. Aza is a different person in Magonia than she is in the real world. I liked her better in Magonia. She is strong. The reasons that I gave this book only 3 stars is because when I first started this book I did not pick out anything in the first several chapters as interesting. In fact, I started this book while laying in bed. Some of my best times to read. Because the story had not picked up yet, I quickly fell asleep and could not remember anything that I had read in those several chapters. Also it seemed that the story was rushed and details glossed over. I wanted to know more about this fascinating world and the people in it. I did not have a close connection with anyone in particular in this book. Although, I must admit that this book is different from the books that are currently on the bookshelves. This is a good thing.

Plot: Aza Ray Boyle has spent her entire life dying. With a completely new disease that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for her to breath, she’s been slowly counting down the days until she finally dies. As her days start to dwindle, Aza Ray begins to see hallucinations of skips in the sky, and no one believes her. And the freakiest part? She collapses in school, wakes up in the hospital and they find a feather in her lung! Feather…in…her…lung. Days before her sixteenth birthday, there is a freak snowstorm and she dies in an ambulance, surrounded by her dad, her sister and her best friend, Jason. Except, she doesn’t actually die. Aza Ray wakes up on one of those sky ships she thought she’d been hallucinating…surrounded by people who look like birds and birds that look like people and every combination in between. She learns then why she couldn’t breath on Earth with it’s heavy oxygen…she’s a Magonian, someone who lives in the sky. Action, a little bit of romance, and a lot of betrayal follow Aza Ray as she tries to adjust to her new life and leave her human family behind.

Review: I really, really love the concept of this book. The actual plot is so interesting, so unique that it blew me away. I can’t even think of anything to compare it to. When I read the first two or three chapters, I fell in love with Aza Ray as a narrator. I actually didn’t hate reading a first person YA book! However, the writing style got a bit much after the first few chapters. There isn’t actually any action that happens until almost the middle of the book. That, paired with the super vague and every-other-sentence metaphor writing style, it was hard to get into unless you just sat down and read it all at once. And even then I tended to skim a lot of the imagery. I love imagery in writing, don’t get me wrong, but when there is this much, it all bleeds together and stops being influential to the reader’s imagination.

While I continued to enjoy Aza Ray as a character–I wish she had a little bit more agency, but she had a bit more than a lot of female YA protagonists–I found myself growing tired of her narration. I was also disappointed when Jason’s PoV was added, since he sounded exactly the same as Aza Ray. That’s what’s hard about multiple first-person PoVs…you have to work really hard to separate your characters. Sure Jason had hiss quirk with pi, but other than that, I couldn’t tell a single distinguishing thing that made him stand out from Ava’s chapters.

I was pleasantly surprised at some of the small twists in the book, but none were totally jaw-dropping shocks. The world that the author created was definitely full of life, if not a bit confusing at first glance. I am aware that there is a sequel, but I don’t think I’ll end up reading it solely for the metaphor-heavy writing. Metaphors are meant to be powerful and stand-alone, not squished together, ten per page. I would have given this four stars if I wasn’t so bothered by the writing, but I still would recommend this to anyone who would want to read something very airy and different with interested formats in the writing style.

I enjoyed so many things about Headley's debut young adult novel: the characters, the setting(s), and the intelligence; most of all, though, it was the absolute inventiveness of Headley's fantasy story that sucked me in.

Magonia is the story of Aza Ray Boyle, a brilliant teenage girl (who reads a lot, thank you!) plagued since infancy with ill health and a distant mother. I loved Aza, though some people might find her unlikable due to her tendency to be antisocial and how she seems at first to adjust so easily to a total change in her life. The exception to her general dislike of people is her friendship with Jason Kerwin, who is equally brilliant (he once built da Vinci's Icarus wings), has all of the numbers of π memorized, and has been her constant companion since early childhood. I really did love the pair of them together. They got up to some serious mischief.

As Aza nears her sixteenth birthday, her health troubles continue, only to vanish as soon as she is whisked into Magonia, a world that floats in the air above our own, and whose people reside on ships or in the capital city of Maganwetar. Once there, she finds that she can finally breathe--but Aza is smothered in a different sense as she learns the truth about who she is and those she must now call family. As her earthbound family and Jason Kerwin try to make sense of losing her, Aza is sucked into the struggle between her ship's captain Zal and the capital of Magonia, Maganwetar.

The whole of the book was impressive thanks to Headley's vivid imagination, the mathematical and other intellectual references that she includes in the book, the new mythology she presents and the older mythologies she manipulates, her ability to manipulate the actual text on the page to tell her story, her neologisms (I did try to look up "ethologidion," among other words, and was happy to find they were not words--for the record, she is my favorite word creator since Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale), and the fact that Aza was not the typical YA heroine. I especially loved that Jason has two moms--I love to see ALL family situations represented in literature.

For an extended version of this review, and other book reviews, visit wanderingbarkhumanities.com

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Book One of an untitled series
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

Neil Gaiman’s Stardust meets John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars in this fantasy about a girl caught between two worlds…two races…and two destinies.

Aza Ray 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—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

What I Liked:

I think I liked this one overall. I was a bit confused at times, and I think certain parts were rushed and other parts were too slow, but then I enjoyed the writing style and the fantasy. I could see myself reading the sequel, and that's what tipped this one over to three stars, versus two stars.

Aza has a rare, unknown disease that prevents her from ever being "normal": she gets sick a lot, like she can't breathe on Earth. It's a lung disease, but no one knows anything about it. The doctors have called it "Azaray Syndrome". One day, Aza dies. That is, her human body is buried, but Aza herself finds herself on a ship in the sky, in a world called Magonia. Aza now knows what she is and where she belongs, but she lived for fifteen years with "drowners" (humans). But Aza doesn't know what to do about her newly discovered powers, and she certainly doesn't want to let go of Jason, her best friend, whom she is in love with (and he her). In the end, her decision might cost her life - and the lives of many others.

This book is written with two perspectives, Aza's and Jason's. Both are in first person. I actually really liked this dual sharing of point-of-views, because one is on Earth (Jason), and one is in Magonia (Aza). Both perspectives are definitely necessary for the development of the story. Aza's life in Magonia is obviously a huge part of the story, and Jason;s refusal to believe that Aza is dead is almost as important.

I think I like Aza. She has no clue what is going on when she wakes up on the ship in the air, and she's not afraid to let everyone know that she knows nothing. She doesn't understand everyone's expectations of her. She wants to go back to Earth, but slowly, she realizes that her place in Magonia. She meets her biological mother, the captain of the ship she's on. Zal (her biological mother) explains little, but Aza finds out that she has great power, and that someone put her on Earth as a baby, supposedly to save her from Maganwetar, the capital/government of the ships in the sky.

Things are definitely more interesting in the sky than on the Earth. Don't get me wrong, I like Jason and the second part of the story (with Aza in Magonia, supposedly dead), but I didn't absolutely love the beginning of the story. The ships in the sky are quite intriguing, as are the fantasy elements of the story.

The world-building is a strange thing. The author does a lot of showing, rather than telling. This is great, because the imagery is very rich and clear. However, it was also strange, because I didn't know how much of the world-building was given by the author, and how much of it was my imagination, in my head.

There is the ships in the sky, and there is the whole bird thing. The ships hold people that are birds - not even kidding. If my understanding is correct, the birds are like humans, and can morph into human-like beings. Aza, her mother, and Dai (the boy who is first in command) are not like most of those creatures - but they have birds in their chest (at least, Aza and Dai do. Zal's canwyr was lost long ago). This allows them to sing, and channel their power through singing. Wild, no?

No love triangle, and I hope it stays that way. There are two males in the story (I'm giving you a fair warning), but Jason is in love with Aza, and Aza is in love with Jason. Aza has a partner on the ship, her ethologidion, who is her singing partner, one whom she shares her power (and vice versa), and to whom she is bonded

The plot is a bit slow, and then at the end, things happen all at once. Which actually isn't a terrible thing, but I wish there could have been more things occurring in the middle of the book too. I liked the ending, though I saw it coming (kind of). I know there has to be at least one more book in the series, given the ending - and the Publishers' Weekly rights report confirms this! I'll be reading the sequel (most likely), when available.

What I Did Not Like:

This one isn't getting five or four stars, though it does seem like I liked a lot of aspects of this book. I definitely wasn't really feeling the beginning of the book. This is where Aza and her condition is introduced, and her hallucinations are made known. But they're not hallucinations, because Aza really is hearing someone call her, and there really are ships in the sky. Somehow, the beginning didn't really hold my attention, though the world-building on Earth was solid and there was a lot of great detail.

However, I can understand why people on Goodreads stopped reading after a certain part, so soon at the beginning. Because the beginning, quite frankly, was boring. I think I saw people say something about the author's writing style - personally, I like it, but I can see why people wouldn't. It kind of adds to the lull of the story. Things start to pick up a little a few days after Aza is in Magonia, on the ship with her mother and the crew.

I definitely needed more information than was given in this book. I have a feeling that the author will reveal more about the world, the capital (Maganwetar), the fight for power and rights, why Aza is SO important... but not enough was made known in this book. I was always feeling like something (some THINGS) was lacking. I hope this is rectified in the next book.

So, confusion, some boredom, a desire for more information. My dislikes are a bit vague, but they were enough to make me drop my rating of this book. I'm not really sure what I think of this book, but overall, I think I liked it.

Would I Recommend It:

Ehhh. If this one wasn't already on your radar, then don't go crazy and inflate your TBR list. This one was good, but not a must-read (in my opinion). I liked it, but I'm not sure I would go pushing it on other people. If you already have it, read it!

Rating:

3 stars. It was okay? I think it could have easily blown me away, with the lyrical, unique writing style and really interesting fantastical world-building, but my analytic, scientific brain wanted more information! But I most likely will be reading the sequel, so that's a good sign!

Talk about an imaginative world, Magonia had ships sailing in the skies, bird people...literally, Magonians who have blue skin, Sky sharks, Squallwhales and Heartbirds who live in a little door that is part of the Magonians bodies along with a whole bunch of other weird but really unique beings. I really enjoyed the weirdness and uniqueness although at times there were a few things I had a hard time picturing fully in my head.

Aza has been sick since she can remember, she has a hard time breathing air, come to find out she is not human but of an entirely different race of people who live in the sky called Magonians. I liked Aza for the most part even though all this craziness was going on around her I didn't find her to be much of a complex character which is what I look for when reading but I did find myself more into her character towards the end of the book. Also there was Jason Aza's best friend and he has chapters in his point of view as well, nothing really stood out about him I've read many boys who were like Jason in several books. I did however like how dedicated he was with his friendship to Aza.

I felt some chapters were better than others. At some points I was bored and others I was turning the pages as fast as I could. Overall though I did like the concept of Magonia and I felt I cared enough about the characters towards the ending to where I do want to pick up the next book when it comes out especially with that open ended ending and I have so many questions that I need answers to.

“Magonia” has been compared to “The Fault In Our Stars” but I personally feel that aside from the fact that both female protagonists in each story suffer from a terminal condition, “Magonia” is much more deeply realized in terms of fleshing out characterization and plot development.
The story is incredibly well-written with an imaginative world that drew me into the story. I confess that I have become rather tired of the same old dystopian type novels, but in “Magonia” readers get treated to a unique storyline with singular perspectives. The characters of Aza Ray the protagonist and her good friend/ potential love interest Jason are credibly drawn. The story has numerous twists that kept me on my toes and I really enjoyed this. I’m glad it is going to be part of a series. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

I had debated about trying reading this book for awhile. It sounded intriguing and yet, strange. A girl with a feather in her lung? How weird. But in the end, I decided to bite the bullet and try the book.

I was right on both accounts, "Magonia" is both intriguing and strange. You got to be all in for this novel as there ships in the sky and bird people. But if you stick with it, you'll see what a beautiful novel this is. The writing is fantastic and beautiful. The author did a really great job in building this new type of world. And I wasn't sure that I would like Aza, the main character, but I ended up loving her. I will definitely be reading the second novel in this series.

"Magonia" is a fantastic book and I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

This is another book that suffers from bad comparisons. The blurb compares it to The Fault in our Stars. I thought Magonia was better. Author Headley is a great writer. The language and atmosphere are lovely. Headley's world is well thought out and satisfying. I have not read a lusher, fuller world in quite a while.

The strength of this book is the protagonist, Aza. Her physical weakness is a great foil for her intellectual and personal strength. She is very likable. Even though she is special and different, she remains relatable and likable.

I struggled a little with Jason. He just didn't feel like w whole real person. But the relationship was written beautifully.

I did not care for the ending. I get it. I understand why Headley made that choice. But it was a let down.

I have to say that I really, really enjoyed reading this book, I finished it in about a day, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and YA. The story is told mostly from Aza's point of view, with a few chapters from her best friend Jason's point of view. This book is about a 15 almost 16 year old girl who is dying on earth, and no one knows why, her family is caring, supportive and funny, and Jason is the best friend we all wish we had.

At times the story is a bit disjointed and jumps are around from one though to another, but it does so in a good way, in a way that makes since to the story and to the characters personalities. The fantasy aspects are really well though out, and the descriptions that the author uses to truly paints a picture in your find of the world of Magonia. There is a lot of set up in the book that allows for the story to be a continued series, while at the same time the reader is left happy with where the story ends while also wanting more.

I really can't wait to find out what happens to these characters, and also if some of my suspicions of certain characters will come true. And I am really curious to see how the characters will overcome some pretty big obstacles. This is a really great book, and one I recommend.

Magonia .... Magonia ..... At a loss really just how to begin enunciating how grateful i am for this literary gem. Adorned in its gorgeous cover. Its started slow. It was really really slow but when we catch up to this illusionary world the payoff is simply so interesting and so immersive that just might end up forgiving its shortcomings.

Literature is filled with works of authors making their characters fly, floating islands in the sky, or it 'Fie, Fi Fo, Fum' .... the famous fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Kingdom of Giants above the sky .... But Maria Dahvana Headley does something new. Mixing Peter Pan like elements with a whole kingdom above the clouds, sky ships, its shape shifting denizens and of course magic.

This is the story of Aza Ray and Jason. Friends since they were young. Oddities of their generation. And they just love to quote pi (π) But the cinch in all, Aza Ray ha been terminally ill with something no Doctor knows to either diagnose or cure. She has been drowning on air as long as she has been alive. But it all begins to change when she starts hearing her name coming out of the sky. Accident & coding on the ambulance bed, later she wakes up in a new world.

There really is a world above the clouds. Magonia is very much real and turns out it is true home. Turns out something happened above for her to be placed with her Earth family ..... For the most part I really liked Aza Ray. She is resourceful, powerful, spunky and all round gumptious. She also sometimes felt lacking in resolution and decisiveness but that can be understandable as she gets to be in Magonia what she wanted down below. And those round her have their own agendas to fulfill, some dangerous beyond compare.

Jason on the other hand was definitely a sweetheart. He had loved his best friend Aza Ray for all their lives and when she dies or disappears above the clouds he somehow knows that its not over. He somehow knows that his Aza Ray Boyle is still alive and he is prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to find her ..... And did I mention he is a wiz at finding things out? Well he is definitely that. Doesn't know when to quit, I liked that about him.

Couple this wonderfully compact plot with the author's lyrical prose and Magonia is the finished treasure. Of course I can understand the comparison with The Fault in the Stars but it doesn't feel like that at all. Also it dragged a lot and the pacing was all over the place as well. I took really really long breaks between reading this book .... but really I wouldn't have it any other way at all. I may have given it a 3/5 but this is definitely a book you should make time for.

This book is so good. Manages to start off fantasy-free and not ruin the story when it delves into the fantastic like so many other books do. Aza's life is fascinating and heart-breaking and I can't wait to read more.

This book starts off with the main character, Aza Ray Boyle, introducing herself by telling us all about her history with hospitals. She has spent a lot of time in them in her almost sixteen years. Because she has an incredibly rare disease that completely baffles her doctors. She is the only person know to have this disease so it's named after her. I felt like the whole first chapter was just her going on and on and on about her disease and imminent death. I nearly stopped reading this book because I was like okay, yeah, I get it. You have crappy lungs and are probably going to die.

So anyway, things are going as well as can be expected for Aza until she sees a ship sailing across the sky and calling out to her. Everyone but her best friend Jason believes it's just a hallucination. But after some internet research they come up with Magonia. Basically a world up in the sky. They don't get much further than that before Aza leaves that world behind and wakes up in Magonia. The people there are blue and bird-like. They sing things into happening and they are on a mission that requires Aza's help. She has to decide if she can trust these people.

I liked the dual point of view with Jason. I liked how he truly believed Aza was still out there and never gave up looking for her. He does everything in his power to find her and get her back. He's kind of a weird dude, but Aza's kind of weird too. So they make a good pair.

I also liked how when Aza got to Magonia, it wasn't like she somehow automatically became an expert on all things Magonia. She asks a lot of questions. She really wants to go home. I liked how it wasn't like okay, I'm here, I'm just gonna like it and pretend I know everything.

I liked the idea of this story. I think that Magonia being a land in the sky is a really interesting setting. I think all the singing and the little birds that live in your chest and sing with you are weird. But in general I think this is a really neat concept.

I did not care for how this book was written. Honestly, I may not have tried hard enough to like it. I didn't like all the weird parentheses and brackets and such because I didn't know what I was supposed to fill into most of the blanks. I didn't really care for how it was written in general either. I feel like things are worded too weird and I had to read some things over a few times to fully understand what they were trying to say.

So I am giving this book three stars because I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either. I might read the second one, but I wouldn't go out of my way to read it or anything.

I received Magnolia in one of my Owlcrate boxes. I hadn’t heard much about it, but the cover was art. I am still geeking out over the cover. One of my blogger buddies said that she thought I would like the book even though it got mixed review. I would have to say that I did enjoy it but wowizers, it was odd. This was one book you really have to let your imagine go and just flow with the story. It starts off so generic, “sick girl and boy who loves her.” But then, it gets CRAZY! I am not exaggerating here. Totally honestly crazy. It is so hard to write this review without worrying about spoilers. Aza finds out that she is actually not really sick, she just is not made to breathe air on earth. She finds herself on a ship in the sky, fully able to breathe and with a new path in life. But her heart still aches for the boy below. Plus, there is some crazy (more crazy) stuff going on with the people of the ship. The world building was a little lacking – I am not sure if it is because there was so much shoved into this one book. It appears that it will be a series, so I would have really liked more development of Aza’s life on this ship. Maybe the part of her training could have been fleshed out more. But, it was still a great read. The writing was really well done and fit the fantasy aspect of the story. I am interested to see where the series goes.

The writing was gritty and poetic all at once. Aza and Jason's voices are clear and true. I liked HOME backwards and forwards, up and down and the author's use of blanks, brackets and strikeouts is really how we think - it made it very fresh and hip with old fashioned, universal themes of love, home, family, honor, trusting your instincts and what ifs. I literally hugged my reader when I was done. It's in my top ten and I'm not a YA.

The cover is gorgeous, and the description of the book sounded really good. Unfortunately, those were some of the best parts of the book. The main character, Aza, I think was supposed to come off as a bit snarky, a bit ironic. But mostly she sounded like a whiny emo brat to me. I just found it really difficult to like her at all.

Her best friend Jason on the other hand, I did like. And so of course he had a fairly small part. The book is told mostly from Aza’s point of view, with a few scattered chapters told from Jason’s. Some of the things Jason was able to do and accomplish, came off as unbelievable, but he was still a more interesting and engaging character than Aza was.

The beginning of the book dragged for me, and then there were some really fast areas, and then more dragging. Also as others have mentioned… Bird People. I think they could have been described a little better/more. I was never quite sure if they had wings and hands, or if the hands were somehow attached to the tops of the wings, or maybe meshed in with the feathers somehow? All I could picture in my head was Big Bird walking around as various bird types, and doing sailor jobs on flying ships.

I would have been fine with them if they were part humanoid, part bird. Or looked like people and had bird attributes or something. But it made no sense to me why they’d be a ‘normal’ bird and normal bird-size one moment, and then decide to grow to person-size and work on the ships.

It also seemed like we were being preached at about the environment. People are bad because of x-thing, and they need to be taught a lesson.

All in all, it was not what I was expecting from the summary.

I won an ARC copy in a giveaway, some things may have changed in the final version of the book.

(cross-posted to my blog)

This was…interesting, to say the least. I'm not sure I was ever truly 'hooked' by the story, but it was a very unique book, and trying to make sense of this fantastical world kept me reading.

Aza, an almost sixteen year old, suffers from a mysterious lung disease. When she sees a ship in the sky one day, she only tells her best friend Jason. As a result of her supposed illness, Aza passes on from this world…and enters the world of Magonia, where she truly comes from. But which world will she end up choosing?

This book was well-written overall (though I was unimpressed with the unnecessary vertical words that stretched down the whole page…they did not add anything for me as the reader). The fantasy world of Magonia that Headley constructed, however, fell flat for me. Whereas other fantasy authors craft a world that is vivid and so well-described that you can't help but be pulled in and deeply engaged, this author didn't quite pull that off. I kept rereading certain descriptions, sure that I had missed something. I felt as though the author gave a broad overview of what she had imagined, but didn't fully elaborate to help the reader imagine it along with her.

I borrowed this book from the library, and I couldn't put it down. It's a totally unique story. I loved it. I enjoyed the writing style; it's less formal and easier to relate to. Easy to read and just become immersed into the story without getting bogged down with too much info/description. I didn't know this was the first of a "series", and am sad that I will have to wait until October to read the next part, but I am excited to hear that there is more. :D

I loved the sarcastic writing. The author experiments with formatting words on the page which I thought was cool. The world was fascinating and felt new, but the plot slowed down in the middle because the world building kind of took over at that point. It has a lovely ending and wonderful characters. This book is perfect for fans of unique and creative fantasy worlds.

An intriguing take on an old, old premise: the changeling, a character raised by the wrong parents in the wrong place for some reason, with the added complication that said wrong place is killing her. However, the work is marred a bit by writing gimmicks and a protagonist who gives readers few reasons to like her and thus care for her.

Very original. I really enjoyed this tale. It's a lot different then many books I read. I loved the idea of a kingdom in the sky. I'm very sad that the next book isn't out yet and I have to wait till next year. Jason and Aza are great nerdy characters. Only thing is I want Dai is come out on top not Jason. Aza and Dai all the way

Weird. Weird weird weird. I just could not get into this. Without spoiling it for you, it turns out that Aza is something not human. And what she is, is something I've never read about before. Which quite honestly is a good thing. I can't even really wrap my head around it enough to write a proper review. So I'll sum it up by saying it again. It was just plain weird.

Please read this book....For over ten years the Watchers has been my favorite book of all time...then i read this. If you love fantasy, adventure, if your passionate about life and your existence.....please read this

This book is so good. Manages to start off fantasy-free and not ruin the story when it delves into the fantastic like so many other books do. Aza's life is fascinating and heart-breaking and I can't wait to read more.