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Magic Attic Club #5
Princess Megan
When the mirror in the magic attic transports her to a medieval French castle, Megan befriends a peasant girl and helps in a plan to rescue a unicorn
66 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 16, 2024
If you want the intro to me reading Magic Attic Club, go read my review for Allison Goes for the Gold. I'll wait.
In this one, Megan faces a conflict between her own previously arranged Saturday plans (she's directing her friends in a three-woman "Peter Pan" at a local nursing home) and being asked to step in for her mom (Mom, a high-powered attorney, Has To Work, and needs someone to fill in for her at a food drive). Which, wild. You can't do something you, a fully grown adult, committed to, so you ask your ten-year-old to take your place? Bonus points for the guilt trip of "you'll organize things even better than some of the adults!" Ma'am.
This is good set-up, because once Megan goes through the magic mirror in Ellie's attic, it get MORE bonkers. The purple brocade princess gown that belongs in a high school production of "Camelot" transports her back to actual medieval France. Conveniently the magic takes care of any language problems.
Megan promptly meets a peasant girl who works in the local manor house, where they are preparing for the arrival of the king — theoretically her father, though she's sure he won't recognize her, an interesting contrast to Allison being recognized by her skating coach. Michelle shows Megan around and we get some historical details about sleeping arrangements and illiteracy.
But it all feels like the writer read a few encyclopedia articles, in contrast to the depth of American Girl's research team. As one example: Even after we establish that Michelle doesn't know letters, Megan keeps pulling out her diary and dashing off a few lines, which makes me think we missed an opportunity to comment on how rare books were in this period. And what is this magical implement she's using to write with? But we don't get any of that.
What we do get is a unicorn and an invisibility cloak.
I mean, the premise is that there's a magic mirror in a magic attic, so why should we bat an eye when the unicorn shows up?
There's not a strong correlation between Megan's problem at home and her problem in medieval France. In both cases, she reasons her way to a solution with a little help from her friends, but that's about as far as it goes. On the bright side, we have a nice resolution where Megan and Mom both apologize, reconnect, and find a schedule that works. Love to see that kind of compromise modeled.
So: Come for the unicorn, stay for the healthy conflict resolution. And despite my earlier grousing about Megan's costume, the cover picture is really lovely. Actually the illustrations throughout the book are quite nice, better than "Alison Goes for the Gold." Will have to track the illustrators on these things, too — its interesting to see the characters done by different artists.
In this one, Megan faces a conflict between her own previously arranged Saturday plans (she's directing her friends in a three-woman "Peter Pan" at a local nursing home) and being asked to step in for her mom (Mom, a high-powered attorney, Has To Work, and needs someone to fill in for her at a food drive). Which, wild. You can't do something you, a fully grown adult, committed to, so you ask your ten-year-old to take your place? Bonus points for the guilt trip of "you'll organize things even better than some of the adults!" Ma'am.
This is good set-up, because once Megan goes through the magic mirror in Ellie's attic, it get MORE bonkers. The purple brocade princess gown that belongs in a high school production of "Camelot" transports her back to actual medieval France. Conveniently the magic takes care of any language problems.
Megan promptly meets a peasant girl who works in the local manor house, where they are preparing for the arrival of the king — theoretically her father, though she's sure he won't recognize her, an interesting contrast to Allison being recognized by her skating coach. Michelle shows Megan around and we get some historical details about sleeping arrangements and illiteracy.
But it all feels like the writer read a few encyclopedia articles, in contrast to the depth of American Girl's research team. As one example: Even after we establish that Michelle doesn't know letters, Megan keeps pulling out her diary and dashing off a few lines, which makes me think we missed an opportunity to comment on how rare books were in this period. And what is this magical implement she's using to write with? But we don't get any of that.
What we do get is a unicorn and an invisibility cloak.
I mean, the premise is that there's a magic mirror in a magic attic, so why should we bat an eye when the unicorn shows up?
There's not a strong correlation between Megan's problem at home and her problem in medieval France. In both cases, she reasons her way to a solution with a little help from her friends, but that's about as far as it goes. On the bright side, we have a nice resolution where Megan and Mom both apologize, reconnect, and find a schedule that works. Love to see that kind of compromise modeled.
So: Come for the unicorn, stay for the healthy conflict resolution. And despite my earlier grousing about Megan's costume, the cover picture is really lovely. Actually the illustrations throughout the book are quite nice, better than "Alison Goes for the Gold." Will have to track the illustrators on these things, too — its interesting to see the characters done by different artists.
June 8, 2018
I read this book when it was released and I had a love for the middle ages then but this book sparked my love for historical fictions from then on, it is still currently sitting on my shelf for my kids to read and me too lol
April 30, 2022
I remember thinking that this was ridiculous and unbelievable when I was the target age for it, and it is indeed. The only thing that saves it from a one-star rating is the solid framing story, which involves Megan's frustration over scheduling conflicts in her single-parent family. This part of the story is very realistic, and I appreciate how Megan and her mom figure out a compromise and connect with each other.
However, even though that is nice, the bulk of the story is just Megan's journey in a vaguely history-inspired fantasy land. The story should have gone all fantasy, instead of creating a laughably inaccurate tie to medieval France, and the story has lots of pacing issues and weird elements. I was thoroughly unimpressed with it when I originally read it, and I still think it's the worst installment in the series.
However, even though that is nice, the bulk of the story is just Megan's journey in a vaguely history-inspired fantasy land. The story should have gone all fantasy, instead of creating a laughably inaccurate tie to medieval France, and the story has lots of pacing issues and weird elements. I was thoroughly unimpressed with it when I originally read it, and I still think it's the worst installment in the series.
October 17, 2021
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this haha! Apparently I was expecting an attempt at historical accuracy, but now I see that we’re not too worried about that at all.
Meg puts on a princess dress and looks into the magic mirror in Ellie’s attic - and she’s transported to a vague medieval setting. She makes a friend and discovers that she must save her new friend’s mother and an actual, gods-honest-truth unicorn. I see the appeal of putting a unicorn in a princess story written for young girls, but I was a bit blindsided by it!
That being said, I loved the 90s good-child vibes of a group of friends putting on a play for the nursing home just for the fun of it. It’s been a long time since media presented that idealized version of how ‘good kids’ help their communities, and I love it for all its optimism and lack of reality.
Even more, I liked that Meg and her mother were able to talk out their struggles together and share a really sweet bonding moment.
Now for the real question: When Meg needs to return to her own time/world, she tells her new friend to always remember her, which really makes me wonder…if this isn’t the actual past, do the people the club members meet on their adventures just cease to exist when the girls come home?
Meg puts on a princess dress and looks into the magic mirror in Ellie’s attic - and she’s transported to a vague medieval setting. She makes a friend and discovers that she must save her new friend’s mother and an actual, gods-honest-truth unicorn. I see the appeal of putting a unicorn in a princess story written for young girls, but I was a bit blindsided by it!
That being said, I loved the 90s good-child vibes of a group of friends putting on a play for the nursing home just for the fun of it. It’s been a long time since media presented that idealized version of how ‘good kids’ help their communities, and I love it for all its optimism and lack of reality.
Even more, I liked that Meg and her mother were able to talk out their struggles together and share a really sweet bonding moment.
Now for the real question: When Meg needs to return to her own time/world, she tells her new friend to always remember her, which really makes me wonder…if this isn’t the actual past, do the people the club members meet on their adventures just cease to exist when the girls come home?
May 21, 2017
I liked that because Megan went back in time in this story, we could learn a little bit about the Middle Ages. I liked that it had some fantasy and adventure. I just wish the story was more beefed up. It happened to quick. I also liked that the lesson of the story taught us how important it is to make sure communication is clear and that sometimes it's necessary to take time to cool down before figuring out a solution to an upsetting problem.
November 6, 2023
I found this at a thrift shop, drawn by its beautiful cover. It is truly a gorgeous illustration of the protagonist in an archetypal medieval princess dress. Even the tall hat truly looks "elegant" as described in the book. There are other illustrations in this book, of Megan, of a unicorn, even of maids cleaning up in a room, and all of them fantastic.
The story itself is very simple; rather it is simply written, but it involves some complex stuff. A scheduling conflict between Megan and her mother leads to stress and frustration for both, which then leads Megan to seek relief in the Magic Attic. This leads to a new adventure in fantasy medieval Europe, where the locals believe Megan to be a princess.
The fantasy plot has a decent set-up and execution, though the conclusion feels weak. There isn't much space to really develop it, so there is room to argue that Michelle and her mother were worried over nothing. Even so, it is strangely engaging. I really wanted to read through it. The "real life" plot also a good resolution. To my surprise, I actually liked that resolution better than the fantasy plot's; I was thinking that the fantasy plot would be the main attraction and the real-life plot would be rushed, but I feel like it was the opposite.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Magic Attic Club - Princess Megan" a B+
The story itself is very simple; rather it is simply written, but it involves some complex stuff. A scheduling conflict between Megan and her mother leads to stress and frustration for both, which then leads Megan to seek relief in the Magic Attic. This leads to a new adventure in fantasy medieval Europe, where the locals believe Megan to be a princess.
The fantasy plot has a decent set-up and execution, though the conclusion feels weak. There isn't much space to really develop it, so there is room to argue that Michelle and her mother were worried over nothing. Even so, it is strangely engaging. I really wanted to read through it. The "real life" plot also a good resolution. To my surprise, I actually liked that resolution better than the fantasy plot's; I was thinking that the fantasy plot would be the main attraction and the real-life plot would be rushed, but I feel like it was the opposite.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Magic Attic Club - Princess Megan" a B+
November 25, 2023
The book was a cute kid's story about the main character, Megan, trying to juggle directing a play with her friends and helping her mom with a food drive. When she tries on a dress in her neighbor's magic attic she's sent back to medieval France where she's a princess and she has to save a unicorn with the help of a peasant girl.
May 15, 2021
I loved this one as a kid, it was probably one of my favorites even though I don't remember what the book was about until I read it again. It's a good story for kids, and not only did Megan learn something, but her mother did too.
July 2, 2017
This was my very favorite of this series.
August 10, 2025
Pretty good. I love the compromise at the end that Megan had with her mother.
Love the illustrations
Love the illustrations
October 25, 2025
A quick dip back into the Magic Attic Club strain of my childhood rereads. In this one, real-world Megan faces a dilemma when her high-powered attorney mother wants Megan to step in for her at a volunteer event—but Megan has a volunteer commitment of her own. When she's magically transported to a version of medieval France that has unicorns and invisibility cloaks and Merlin, she has to put her problem-solving skills to use to save a unicorn. How are these two plotlines related? Nobody knows.
I'm not sure I read this one as a kid—it rings very few bells. (I just read it now because I wanted to see what they'd do with a princess plotline.) I don't think this is one of the stronger books of the series; in some, the characters are magically (and temporarily) given the skills and knowledge they need to function in their magic-attic roles, but here, Megan is basically just herself. She's immediately befriended by a servant her age (who doesn't think it at all odd that Megan knows nothing about their world, and who tells Megan all the secrets that could presumably get the servant's family banished or killed), and the girl just...tows Megan around and tells her all the things that Megan should already know.
I rather wish this one hadn't gone into fantasyland. Seems like there was a chance to add to the historical background and information, no? We get bits and pieces about what life might have entailed in medieval France (e.g., servants sleeping on straw on the floor; Megan learns that not everyone can read), but then Megan has to go steal an invisibility cloak and chase down a unicorn, and that's kind of the end of the historical information.
Back in the real world, Megan manages to have an adult sit-down conversation with her mother, with the satisfying-to-them result that her mother's commitments are spread between Megan and her friends. Who are ten. Because it's great parenting to have to get elementary schoolers to take over an adult's job...
I'm not sure I read this one as a kid—it rings very few bells. (I just read it now because I wanted to see what they'd do with a princess plotline.) I don't think this is one of the stronger books of the series; in some, the characters are magically (and temporarily) given the skills and knowledge they need to function in their magic-attic roles, but here, Megan is basically just herself. She's immediately befriended by a servant her age (who doesn't think it at all odd that Megan knows nothing about their world, and who tells Megan all the secrets that could presumably get the servant's family banished or killed), and the girl just...tows Megan around and tells her all the things that Megan should already know.
I rather wish this one hadn't gone into fantasyland. Seems like there was a chance to add to the historical background and information, no? We get bits and pieces about what life might have entailed in medieval France (e.g., servants sleeping on straw on the floor; Megan learns that not everyone can read), but then Megan has to go steal an invisibility cloak and chase down a unicorn, and that's kind of the end of the historical information.
Back in the real world, Megan manages to have an adult sit-down conversation with her mother, with the satisfying-to-them result that her mother's commitments are spread between Megan and her friends. Who are ten. Because it's great parenting to have to get elementary schoolers to take over an adult's job...
October 13, 2009
This is a new series that we've stumbled upon at the library. It seems that there are four friends, all girls, who travel to different times and places in a neighbor's attic. This book was pretty interesting and short enough to keep our girls' interest. The story seemed a bit rushed and not nearly as complete as I'd like, but I think our girls will like the series. I like that Megan was able to solve a problem she had at home after her adventure; it seemed to attach a present day moral to the tale.
December 3, 2010
I gave this book 3 stars because I thought that so far it is pretty good. I like how it is a bout a girl wanting to do plays. This book is fun. I like that this book is not boring. This book has quite a bit of detail in it. This book is a fun one to read if you want to read a fast book. I liked how the author maid every character fun, nice, caring, and helpful.
September 12, 2011
I still remember randomly picking this book off the shelf in the library when I was younger. I didn't even know it was part of a series - I just really liked the idea of a modern-day girl getting to go back in time and be a princess. Then I read it and got totally hooked on the characters and the whole series. These are great imaginative books for young gilrs.
July 28, 2017
I wish these books had gotten more attention. They were good reads but most girls in my class viewed them as American Girl knockoffs, since you could buy dolls and outfits to match each book. I loved the fantasy element.
May 26, 2023
Princess Megan (Magic Attic Club, #5) by Trisha Magraw - Megan has an even more over-the-top adventure (with unicorns) courtesy of the magic attic! This was my favorite one as a kid lol! Happy Reading!
March 10, 2011
Another fun and imaginative story about friendship, courage, and honesty.
August 10, 2012
Since this is a book series for young girls, it was inevitable for "The Magic Attic Club" to do a princess story. I really don't remember much about this story, other than that I liked it.
July 26, 2011
I wish I could have read the whole series, but I never got around to it.
July 29, 2011
I really liked this story. Megan is one of my favorites. She's so couragous and does what she can to do what's right.
July 24, 2012
Was my absolute favorite book when I was younger. So happy I actually own it now.
December 5, 2013
a very good story about courage and bravery. About doing what you think is right and fighting what is evil.
July 13, 2014
I am so glad I found this book. I read it so many times as a young child but I could not find my copy when I recently went looking for it. I loved this book so much.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews