Audiobook Review: Middle Grade Fantasy

Illuminations by T. Kingfisher

Read By: Raquel Beattie

Publication Date: November 2022

Summary from Goodreads:

Confession:

This was such a fun and adorable story. I loved the characters and the family dynamics and the setting was somewhat futuristic, but still very much falls into the fantasy realm. The reader, Raquel Beattie also did a fabulous job with the narration.

Rosa Mandolini is a very sweet 10 year old who just wants to be useful to her family of artists. But her talent hasn’t quite manifested and so she does what she can to help out. This is a very believable character and very well rounded out. The family is very quirky, but they were also lovable and wonderful to Rosa. They also are able to pull together when they need to to protect each other and all of their work.

Payne was the best animal sidekick I have read in awhile. He was funny, and even though he isn’t a real crow he very much acts like one. I loved how he just couldn’t resist anything shiney and would lose himself in it. He did have a habit of coming up with half truths, but these were mostly based on what he knew, and he mostly didn’t have the whole picture most of the time.

The world this story takes place in was fascinating. I think the culture was somewhat similar to our 1800’s, but there had been some sort of revolution around 100 years ago, and the calendar was changed because of that. The magical part of the story was fantastic. I loved that the paintings the Mandolini’s created had magic infused into them, that for the most part only did one thing. Like a cat drawing with blue eyes kept the mice away. There were all sorts of specific drawings that did specific jobs. It was really interesting to learn about this. The Scarling was a type of drawing that was alive and it was quite terrifying, the way that it was determined to destroy Rosa’s family.

The pacing was perhaps a tad slow for a middle grade, but the writing certainly made up for that. There are some themes of friendship and family that kids will be able to relate to. I also think that most kids will like and will be able to root for Rosa and her family.

If you know a young artist that would love to read a story about a girl whose drawings come to life than you must get this book into their hands. Actually any young fantasy lover will enjoy this book, and will many adults. If you are a fan of the authors, than this is a book that you will enjoy.