The Magicians of Caprona
Ratings11
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings11
Average rating4.5
Chrestomanci Book 2
Tonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter -- but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers.
PerfectBound e-book exclusive extras: "Diana Wynne Jones's The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Nine Notes"; and our exclusive interview with Diana Wynne Jones.
Series
6 primary books8 released booksChrestomanci is a 9-book series with 5 primary works first released in 1977 with contributions by Diana Wynne Jones and Eliana Sabino.
Series
1 released bookMagicQuest is a 7-book series first released in 1962 with contributions by Patricia C. Wrede, Tanith Lee, and 4 others.
Reviews with the most likes.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
Read for the umpteeth time to celebrate March Magics at We Be Reading and Reading the Theatre at Entering the Enchanted Castle. It qualifies for the latter because of a brief but chilling Punch and Judy scene (imagine the horror of being forced to play the role of one of those murderous puppets), and because the magic in the book is wonderfully performative – enacted specifically through singing. I love the wizards' battle and its description of magic made manifest through choral singing, a magic I sorely miss during the pandemic lockdown. The warring families theme is a nod to Romeo and Juliet, but with a much happier ending. The child characters, as often in DWJ's books, need to discover their true powers and stop worrying about external expectations; it has some terrific cat characters as well. It's not as hilarious or twisty as some others, but I'm very fond of it and was so happy to escape to Caprona for a while.
