From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-This book can be read on several levels. As a story of magical powers, alchemy, and spirits, it may attract readers looking for a suspenseful thriller. But it can also be read as a metaphor, cautioning of the dangers of denying one's true self. Outwardly, Roland, 17, appears to have everything-popularity, good grades, and a terrific girlfriend. But he also has a strange, recurring dream and hears inner voices warning him away from something he does not understand. Then, inexplicably, he shoplifts some inconsequential items from a local store. A teacher confronts him with his crime and makes an odd proposal: he will tell no one of the incident if Roland will find out what is going on in the life of classmate Jess Ferret. As Roland begins to investigate her, he learns that his terrifying dream is actually a memory, his shoplifting an act beyond his control. He meets Quando, the magician from his dream and, not coincidentally, his teacher's brother. Jess is not what she has appeared to be, and she sees that sinister forces are endangering Roland, and herself as well. The story becomes a battle between good and evil as Quando greedily seeks to steal the teens' powers. The idea that love and hate can release powerful energy to move the universe for good or ill is presented in a unique yet understandable way. The closing struggle leads too quickly to the resolution of several long-standing problems but the outcomes will satisfy readers looking for a hopeful ending. This is not a book that will attract a wide readership, but it deserves a place on library shelves for those teens who are willing to look beyond the surface and delve a little deeper.Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NCCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. Seventeen-year-old Roland has long had a nightmare about being locked in a magician's box. While the audience thinks he's "disappeared," his young self is actually hanging in space. Now what he's always thought has been a dream becomes a horrifying reality as he meets up with the nefarious magician Quando. Mahy, whose thrillers are both complex and literary, once again provides a multilayered story that can be appreciated on several levels. Some readers will respond to the way the frightening encroaches on the everyday. A teacher blackmails Roland to spy on the reclusive Jess Ferret. Strange, sinister things are happening at Jess' house and beyond, and as Roland is drawn in, the wall between family and school life crumbles. Other readers will appreciate the more traditionally ghoulish aspects of the narrative, which allow Mahy to show off her full range of descriptive talents. Although the story seems overdrawn in places, fans of the genre in general (and Mahy, in particular) will find that this meets their expectations. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
VOYA, 5Q4P rating Readers who loved The Tricksters and The Changeover will be delighted with this novel -- it is vintage Mahy....[A] smart, thrilling tale of the supernatural.

Kirkus Reviews A thrilling ride

Review
Kirkus Reviews A thrilling ride

Book Description
What happens when a class assignment becomes a war of magic versus free will? When Roland's teacher gives him an unusual assignment instead of a punishment for shoplifting, he thinks he is home free. All he has to do is find out what he can about a classmate, Jess Ferret, and report back to his teacher. But there is something less than straightforward about this request, and the more Roland learns about Jess, the more confused he becomes. Her house is too tidy, her parents are never home, strange books line the bookshelves, and, most intriguing of all, Jess is studying alchemy. Roland struggles with these questions -- and with a sense that if he doesn't uncover the answers soon, something drastic will happen. When a sinister magician from Roland's past gets involved in the mystery, Roland realizes that he is trapped in a dangerous web of magic, power, and greed -- and there might be no way out.

Card catalog description
Seventeen-year-old Roland discovers that an unpopular girl in his school is studying alchemy and finds that their destiny is linked with that of a power-hungry magician.

ANNOTATION

Seventeen-year-old Roland discovers that an unpopular girl in his school is studying alchemy and finds that their destiny is linked with that of a power-hungry magician.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Roland's teacher gives him an unusual assignment instead of punishment for shoplifting, he thinks he is home free. All he has to do is find out what he can about a classmate, Jess Ferret, and report back to his teacher. But there is something less than straightforward about this request, especially because the more Roland learns about Jess, the more confused he becomes. Her house is sinisterly tidy, her parents are never home, mysterious books line the bookshelves, and, most intriguing of all, Jess is apparently a student of alchemy.

Why is Roland's teacher so interested in Jess? Why has a shady magician from Roland's past suddenly come back into his life? What exactly are the voices in Roland's head cautioning him against? And what is the reason for Jess Ferret's knowledge about alchemy? In searching for answers Roland finds himself trapped in a mysterious web of magic, power, and greed. This is the story of a terrifying war of magic versus willpower, told only as award-winning author Margaret Mahy can.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A teacher discovers that Roland, one of the "top guys" at school, is shoplifting; the man uses the incident to blackmail the teen into cozying up to a loner student, whose interest in alchemy prompts Roland's awareness of his own magical powers. "Fans of this author will relish the combination of realistic, full-bodied characters and elaborately plotted fantasy," PW said. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

Seventeen-year-old Roland keeps dreaming the same dream over and over. In it, he is four-years-old, at a fair with his father and is selected by Quando the Magician to take part in his act. Quando recognizes that Roland has "the gift." But Roland has no idea what this gift is. When his teacher, Mr. Hudson, accuses him of shoplifting, he tells Roland that he will keep it a secret if Roland will find out what is happening in Jess Ferret's life and report back. Roland's relationship with his girlfriend suffers as he spends more time with Jess and learns of her plight. He finds himself caught in a life and death power struggle with Quando who was not a figment of his imagination. An eerie mood is created by the magic inside Jess's house where everything stays the same, even the folds in the coats in the hallway, and Roland finds himself altered when a shadowy creature rushes into him. Mahy masterfully draws the reader into this story and makes the impossible seem real. She slowly unravels the mystery of this satisfying fantasy while keeping the pace steady. 2003, Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster,

VOYA - Rebecca Barnhouse

Readers who loved The Tricksters (Margaret K. McElderry/S & S, 1987/VOYA June 1987) and The Changeover (Atheneum/S & S, 1984/VOYA April 1985) will be delighted with this novel-it is vintage Mahy. Other fantasy enthusiasts will also rejoice in this smart, thrilling tale of the supernatural, set in urban New Zealand. Roland, a handsome, popular, intelligent senior with the right girlfriend, finds himself being tugged by internal voices. They seem related to his childhood dream-or is it a memory? about a frightening, exhilarating experience with a magician. His confusion intensifies when he starts getting to know Jess Ferret, a nerdy nobody in his class. Although Jess wreathes herself in obscurity at school, she comes alive at home by practicing alchemy, which she sees as a way of harmonizing humans with the universe. Once Roland steps across Jess's threshold, he knows that he will never be the same. The competing voices in his head begin to assert themselves, and he is forced to recognize his own nascent powers, which he must use when Jess oversteps her supernatural abilities. Mahy creates a rich, layered narrative that makes readers want to slow down and ponder the complexities, even while the exciting plot compels them to race through the novel. By allowing the extraordinary to mingle with the quotidian, by giving hints of the supernatural within normal family life, and by giving Roland a convincing family as well as a complex set of emotions, Mahy makes magic believable. Roland's transformation from a self-centered youth to an empathetic young man might be the best part of that magic. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; JuniorHigh, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Margaret K. McElderry Books/S & S, 224p,

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2003: Roland, age 17, seems to have it all together. He's a prefect at his school, with a pretty girlfriend and a mother who adores him, even if he's haunted by a spooky recurring dream about a magician and by the memory of the father who abruptly deserted their family years ago. Then Roland is blackmailed by a teacher into investigating a fellow student, a standoffish girl named Jess Ferret, and his whole life changes. Jess is much more than she seems to be, he discovers, and an air of magic and mystery surrounds her and her house. Roland discovers that like Jess he has the power to tap into the forces of the universe, and he also encounters again the magician of his dreams, who seems to be stalking him. This magician wants to steal this power from him and from Jess, and Roland must take him on in a thrilling final showdown. There is much that is mysterious here, but this is nevertheless an appealing fantasy, with ghostlike beings and wonderful powers spinning an involving web that will draw in readers. Mahy, author of 24 Hours, Memory, The Tricksters, and many other YA novels, writes complex tales with appealing, unusual characters, and she builds suspense well. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Simon & Schuster, 207p., Ages 12 to 18.

School Library Journal