The Unlicensed Magician

by Kelly Barnhill

There were twenty magical children born that year. Nineteen, if you count the one that died. The Minister ordered that the nineteen children be shipped to the Tower to be worked and drained to nothing, and that the dead child be thrown on the rubbish heap, and never spoken of again. But the dead baby had other plans. When the half-drunk junk man witnesses the half-decayed corpse becoming a living, breathing, healthy baby, he knows at once that he must protect the child from the clutches of the Minister. Enlisting the help of the formidable egg woman and the sagacious constable, he manages to keep the existence of the child a secret.

But children grow. And so does magic. And secrets long to be told.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Novella, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

123 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Kelly Barnhill is an author and teacher. She won the World Fantasy Award for her novella The Unlicensed Magician, a Parents Choice Gold Award for Iron Hearted Violet, the Charlotte Huck Honor for The Girl Who Drank the Moon, and has been a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the Andre Norton award, and the PEN/USA literary prize. She was also a McKnight Artist's Fellowship recipient in Children's Literature. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her three children and husband. You can chat with her on her blog at www.kellybarnhill.com

Reviews

[Monica Hills · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short story of a different world with magic. A very fast read and a great lesson on love

[Caleb M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a little confused about this one. Probably 3.5 stars, not a full 4.

I loved! Loved, the premise of this one. It sounded amazing, it won the World Fantasy Award for long fiction, and I think I built it up just a tad to much in my brain. That doesn't mean it wasn't a good book, because it was, I just got myself a little to hyped. I love the characters in this book and the story that was told. In a weird way this is actually more dystopian than it is fantasy. I wish that Barnhill wrote a more extensive novel actually. There was so much goodness here I actually feel that if it was a bit more fleshed out, it would have been even more enjoyable.

I also like the writing style. Each chapter goes back and forth between past and present just like Talion: Revenant, which is one of my favorite books. Its a fun way to read a story and was well implemented here.

I recommend you go and read the synopsis of this book, and if it sounds good you should go read it. Its certainly not a waste of time; and it won't take much of it either.

[Frederic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read this after The Girl Who Drank the Moon, as they deal with similar sorts of themes in similar -- but apparently different -- worlds. This one is shorter, more of a novella, and while it's hard to avoid making comparisons it's probably best read as its own thing. I really enjoy the writing and the characters, and I find the world immersive even in this shorter frame. Looking forward still to reading more of Barnhill's work.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was so much fun! I'm in no way ready to leave this world, I want more! Such a fantastic story, very much wrapped up neatly but the world just expands so far off the page and I want to explore it all!

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read anything similar, really really good story and shifting between than and now giving the current story arc a background. The beginning and the heartbreaking tentiom towards the end create a fashinating and beautiful circle for the story and leave me wanting more, much more. This just feels like s beginning of a much bigger story.

[Amanda Petermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never had a book by her I didn’t love.

[Felicia J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisted by grief and greed, a Minister rules over a dystopian nation. Every 25 years, he steals the magical children born during the appearance of the Boro Comet, then works them to death, magically extending his life and constructing his tower to the stars. One day, he will pluck the comet from the sky, finally sating his lust for more magic. But it turns out he's looking for magic in the wrong place.

This tale was wonderfully unlike anything I've read before. In alternating chapters, set in the present and past, the story of the one magical child who escaped unfolds perfectly. The Sparrow knows the true source of magic, and unlike the Minister, longs to use it to benefit everyone. The Sparrow and the Minister were both amazingly multilayered characters, and the story ultimately both humane and hopeful.

I listened to this as part of Kelly Barnhill's collection Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories.

[Kali · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Magic children were, after all, expensive children, the price of them measured in heartbreak and loss."

4,5 ⭐

While the story in itself is good, the way it's told makes all the difference. Going back and forth between the present and various points in the past, feeding the reader pieces of information that fit together like building blocks. And the very smart way it's used to enhance certain scenes.

Very tender and unexpectedly hilarious at times.

[Nicolas Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, if you can read the first chapter of this book and walk away, then you are seriously not of the human world. Lol For a short novella this book is packed from beginning to end with magic, love, drama, compassion and cautionary tales told in barnhill’s perfect prose. I wish there had been more books like this when I was a YA reader because man would it have rocked my world. I’ve seen the usual complaints here about how the book may be too much in some ways for YA readers but I’ll just say that if you’re kids love it and you don’t. . . Then the book is perfect for YA. This award winner deserves all the applause. It’s wonderful.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea where the idea for this story came from, but I just did NOT like this book. It was so twisted and weird, which was disappointing because Kelly Barnhill is one of my favorite authors.
The story itself weird, like the whole “atmosphere” of the book was like: WTHeck did I just read??? The ending wasn’t any better. It left me feeling empty and wishing for not only a better story but at least a better ending.
Can’t say enough how sad I am. Not only was the story really twisted but there was a lot of language in it, that I didn’t care for, as well.
Sadly, I would never recommend this book to anyone!😢😢😢

[Liv Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of the reviews I'm seeing here mention being confused about certain parts of this book, things not being clear or completely explained. I agree. I was confused, certain things evaded my comprehension. But that was why I loved this story so much. It was able to tell a deeply emotional story, the first that has made me cry in a long time, while still leaving me with that sense of uneasiness and confusion that so many of the character had. The ending scenes were vague, but I feel that if Barnhill had decided to tie things up in a neat little bow, I would have felt... dissatisfied.

[JV Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella by Kelly Barnhill that I hadn't read? Count me in! I enjoyed this book immensely. It unfolds in a Then / Now series of chapters and is told from a narrator that does not give us great detail about things that are tangential to the story - I wanted a little more on how the Minister managed to run the nation and how the magic children could be so easily removed and used up. But the story we get is magical and loving.

[Emily Skarda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t often read books that are in present tense, and my brain got confused for the first few pages. But after that, this was an absolute page turner. I read this book for the sheer joy that the writing brings. There are so many literate devices used, like repetition and alliteration. A way I use to describe this book is purple prose done right. It’s not so extensive that it drags your attention away from the plot, but it’s also just absolutely beautiful.

[Ann Merriwether · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of magic. This is a story about the power of love and kindness. It is the story if a child named Sparrow. Sparrow loves people and animals freely and they love her back even if they don’t really know or remember her. This is also the story of selfishness and greed on the part of an evil self centered minister. It’s classic good and evil but in this tale is good enough?

[Andi_banandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't end up finishing this book, but I'm going to give it a two because it was interesting enough that, if I had time, I would finish it. However, I'm very busy, and it's not compelling enough for me to finish it with so many things going on, so I'm not going to finish reading it.

[Cazlam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this but didn't love it. The writing style took a while to get used to. It felt like THE HUNGER GAMES meets a Hayao Miyazaki movie. I think the world needed to be explored more as I wasn't able to fully connect with the characters.

[Irenka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly Barnhill is the best storyteller for young ones that I know. The Unlicensed Magician is a beautifully written story, with complexity and darkness, just like life is. The representation of the tyrant and the love and magic that finishes him is a perfect metaphor for today.

[Dia · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting story, Im still not 100% sure what I think about it. I wont recommend to almost 12 year old to read it until she is a little older.
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[Ris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wouldn’t recommend this for a kid. A bit on the grownup side and as much as I liked The Girl who drank the Moon, I won’t put this one on my son’s kindle. Just ok. Also she uses a pentagram which really bothered me.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative beautiful and well told

A short imaginative story. Well told and an enjoyable read. Surreal at times with a happy lack of explanations. The ending was ....

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange, but enchanting story about a loving, unlicensed magician in a VERY strange world.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short, this lovely tale

I have loved everything I've read by Kelly Barnhill. Her vivid words stir the imagination. It seems like anything one imagines could become real.

[Natalie Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such great writing! This author is amazing! The Sparrow is a great character!

[Tiziana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's magical, it's poetic, it's a fairy tale about the power of love - but it's definitely a book for grown-ups. Perfect for a dark winter's evening in front of the fire.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was lovely in many respects, but the fact that the central character didn't seem fully person-ed to me, but was just a living bit of loving magic, made me not love it.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely story, well-told.

[Sara MA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. So sensorial and delicate. I wish it was translated to Spanish so I could gift it to friends.

[Stephan Benzkofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book suffered for my daughter and me in coming directly after and thus being compared with "The Girl Who Drank the Moon," the much better book. Still, a fine novella. It is more allegorical and lacks the depth of feeling because of that.

[Kurt Springs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.

Synopsis:

Every quarter century, the Boro Comet returns. Every quarter century magical children are born. The Minister’s people collect the children and ship them to the Tower. There they are worked until they are dead. Sparrow was one of twenty children born that year. She didn’t survive her birth. While those born with her went to the Minister’s Tower, she was thrown on the rubbish heap. But this dead child was more clever than those she was born with. A drunken junk dealer found her body, and she regenerated before his eyes. He didn’t understand what happened but knew he must protect the child from the Minister. With the help of some friends, he managed to keep Sparrow’s existence a secret.

However, Sparrow can’t stay a child forever. As she grows, so does her magic—so does her understanding of the magic of the Boro Comet. All the while, the Minster’s people are hunting for this incense magician.

Review:

This novella is a departure from the action adventure stories I usually favor. The flavor is more of a parable. The story jumps back and forth by chapters from when Sparrow was young to Sparrow in the present day as her story reaches it’s climax. I usually find this type of story telling too jarring for my tastes. Sparrow is a heart warming character. Like the characters in the novella, it’s hard not to love her. I wouldn’t call this a page turner. It is a pleasant story of a dystopian world against the power of a young, unlicensed magician’s love.

[Hazel Went · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprising book, but one I would return to. It was beautifully written, and the story was an unexpected cross between 1984 and a fantasy novel. Switching between a point around the birth of the protagonist and now, when she is around 14, the story follows the growth of a magical child. When they are born, magical children are supposed to be taken to the Minister and used for their magical potency until they expire. This child died at birth, but following a series of events is more alive than ever and bursting with magic.
With a few twists and turns along the way, the story is one of hope and freedom. I didn't want to put the book down and spent a couple of late nights so that I could keep reading. I'd thoroughly recommend this book.