Stir of Shadows
5.0
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Marigold has never felt like she truly belonged with her family. And neither has Frederick. When a...
The Myth of Perpetual Summer
7.0
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From the national bestselling author of Whistling Past the Graveyard comes a moving coming-of-age...
Big Breasts and Wide Hips
6.0
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In a country where men dominate, this epic novel is first and foremost about women. As the title...
Historical fiction China Fiction Asia
The Soldier's Scoundrel (The Turner Series, #1)
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A scoundrel who lives in the shadows Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London's slums, born...
Dragon Avenged: Immortal Dragons Epilogue
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The Twin flees across the sky, bringing in its wake the Great Tide. The Earth trembles under the...
A Plague Among Us (Mimi Goldman Chautauqua Mysteries #8)
8.0
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When Al Martin, the editor of a satiric newspaper in Chautauqua, N.Y., reportedly dies of COVID-19,...
Mystery
Merissa (13123 KP) rated Jade (Men of S.O.C. #2) in Books
Apr 11, 2023
This is a high-impact, full-on action book and will leave you breathless. The wit and banter between Allie, Jade, and Jaxon are funny to read, with the relationship between siblings absolutely perfect. A brilliant continuation of the series and I look forward to reading more. Recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
July 24, 2016
Too Hurt to Stay
9.0
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Eight-year-old Spencer takes himself to social services and demands to be taken into care. It’s a...
Nonfiction Based on a True Story Fostering Memoir
Becca Major (96 KP) rated The Irregular at Magic High School: Vol. 1: Enrollment Arc, Part 1 in Books
Feb 5, 2018
Book by Tsutomu Sato
Review by Rip Major
The Irregular at Magic High School is about siblings Tatsuya and Miyuki and their experiences at First High. The school is split into two main groups, the Blooms, who are gifted with the ability to use and control magic, and Weeds, who can use magic, but aren’t as strong with it as the Blooms are. Miyuki, who is a prodigy with magic and has the brains to back it up, is placed with the Blooms. Tatsuya, on the other hand, is not as gifted with magic, so he is placed with the Weeds.
The plot is pretty anime-standard. Boy and girl go to a new school and participate in shenanigans. The majority of the book follows the day to day misadventures of Tatsuya and Miyuki as they deal with the fact that, while they are extremely close, they are essentially in different hierarchical classes. This culminates in Miyuki joining the Student Council and Tatsuya joining the Disciplinary Committee, even though both are reluctant about the whole thing.
Tatsuya is a very interesting character because he is constantly annoyed by his classmates and their shenanigans, most of which he gets drawn into. He seems like the type of character that would prefer to be in the background and be left to his own devices, but his status as main character simply won’t let him. It is actually quite amusing to read his inner monologue while things happen to and around him. He is actually quite smart, being able to work on CADs (the in-universe way to cast magic) with exceptional skill and speed. He is also a skilled martial artist, apparently knowing ninjutsu, or something similar. Additionally, he also has a very mechanical way of thinking, which includes shutting down parts of himself that would ordinarily be considered normal. For instance, there is a scene where he realizes his older classmate is arousing him, and he shuts it down. Basically, in a book where the POV changes often and usually without meaning, Tatsuya is a very interesting character to be in the head of.
Unfortunately, Miyuki isn’t nearly as interesting as her brother. She is beautiful, smart, and gifted; all of which makes her a little too perfect for me to really connect with. Her major flaw is that she has an unusual and uncomfortable obsession with her brother. Also, she just feels a lot flatter than most of the side characters. And I officially have nothing else to say about her.
In all honesty, most of what I found interesting about this book was certain aspects of Sato’s world-building, specifically the pseudo-science/magic marriage and how it is explained. I also like how mysterious the history of the siblings is. Very little about their relationships with their parents is revealed, or why they are living alone in their apartment. In fact, other than the basic setup of the plot and characteristics of the two, not much else is explored in this book. I am curious to see if the next book will reveal more.