About the Book

Beyond the gateway, in the Hidden Peaks, live the Spectaculars – magical performers, with special powers gifted from the stars. They can levitate you out of your seat with a song, make a costume that will turn you invisible and create a snowstorm with a dance.

When Harper joins The Spectaculars at their travelling boarding school, she can’t wait to learn all kinds of magic. But when the song of the Four Curses comes to life, and a terrifying creature threatens everything, she must use her new powers to save her school…

While dreams come true at the Wondria, nightmares might just be lurking in the wings.

About the Author

Jodie Garnish is a playwright and performer, usually based in London. She studied Drama at the University of East Anglia before going on to train at Drama Studio London. She has had plays produced at various London theatres and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which were critically acclaimed. Her career as a performer, including in shows designed for young people, has allowed her to shape the world of The Spectaculars, as well as giving her good insight into what young people love.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jodiegarnish
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jodiegarnish

What I Thought

Roll up, roll up – fans of Nevermoor and the theatrical life – The Spectaculars is here to dazzle and entertain.

This sumptuous middle grade adventure brings us the fun of magic school with a travelling troupe. A population and magic in exile and anti-magic rhetoric that very much echoes what we hear from our politicians daily at present.

Harper got locked out of her birthright after a terrible accident but despite only vague recollections of a blue haired boy – she doesn’t hesitate to join The Spectaculars despite it meaning needing to leave her mum. She’s just known that she doesn’t fit in in the Smoke, but maybe that will now change?

But the course of magic school never does run smooth and soon the Four Curses strike. Very real manifestations of Death, Discord, Malady and Misfortune.

What follows is a series of twists and turns, learning who to trust and how to believe in yourself. The humour and whimsy comes along for the ride and keeps you mesmerised – I swear I even levitated at one point.

A great addition to the magic school genre with a plucky heroine, and we even get a sneak peek at book two.

Thanks to the Publisher Usborne and Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review and do check out what everyone else has been saying too.