Magic City - Edith Nesbit Book Review

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"Magic City"
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Review Summaries

"Philip Haldane, 10, is not happy when his older half-sister Helen marries a widowed man with a daughter named Lucy. In a sour mood because he has had to give up his exclusive relationship with Helen, Philip makes a bad impression on everyone, who in turn treat him badly. Left alone one day, he builds a huge city with Lucy's toys, then awakens to find himself inside it! Much to his irritation, Lucy shows up too. At first placed under arrest, Philip is then hailed as "the Deliverer," who must perform seven tasks to free the magic city from its enchantment. This includes killing the dragon (which turns out to be a giant wind-up lizard), unraveling the Mazy Carpet (a giant crochet) without cutting it, freeing the Islanders from their fear of the sea, and so on. All along the way, Philip and Lucy recognize elements of the Magic City as toys from their past. They are pursued by a pushy, arrogant lady in a veil who seems to want to take over, and whom they dub "the Pretenderette." This 1910 novel by the great children's storyteller E. Nesbit features her familiarly charming, pleasant style."
David Loftus, Resident Edith Nesbit Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 60%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - exploring a CUTESY fantasy world
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a kid
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - servant
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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