The Magicians of Elephant County: A Spooky and Hilarious Middle Grade Adventure for Kids (Ages 8-12) About Friendship and Witches

by Adam Perry

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris meets Disney’s Hocus Pocus in this rollicking illustrated middle grade novel about two aspiring magicians who stumble upon real magic in their small town.

Best friends Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert want to be as great as Harry Houdini someday. But when they discover that their neighborhood witch is more than just a local legend, their dreams of stardom quickly turn into a nightmare.

After they (accidentally) steal the witch’s magic wand, the duo uses it to put on an impossible new act—which draws even more dangerous foes to town in search of their secret. How are these two friends supposed to defeat the powerful dark forces threatening their town? Well, it may just take some sleight-of-hand, a bit of magic…and (allegedly) a little destruction of public property.

The Magicians of Elephant County is told through alternating chapters of Duncan’s and Emma’s hilarious witness testimony—and is paired with full-page artwork of evidence—as local police try to expose the truth about what really happened in Elephant County.

Perfect for fans of Natalie Lloyd, Tom Angleberger, and Chris Grabenstein, this debut novel is sure to dazzle young readers and deliver one surprise after another like only the best magic tricks can!

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Witches

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2018

About the author

Adam Perry is the author of The Magicians of Elephant County and The Thieving Collectors of Fine Children's Books. The son of an elementary school librarian, he discovered a love of stories at an early age. He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife, children, and a growing collection of children’s books. To the best of his knowledge, none of them are stolen. Find out more at adamperrybooks.com.

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ARC for my honest review.

Fans of HOCUS POCUS and A SNICKER OF MAGIC will be utterly enchanted by this debut novel! Told in alternating POV chapters of main characters/young magicians Duncan and Emma, the reader follows a a series of magical events that occurred in Elephant county. Hilarious, witty, and unreliable, these narrators won me over in the first few pages! Duncan and Emma are amateur magicians that encounter REAL magic when they encounter the strange and misunderstood neighborhood witch, Ms. Bunchwick. She can transform into terrifying creatures, create scary illusions like firestorms and walking skeletons, and even fly and teleport. Her powers are linked to a magical wand with a long, dark, and complicated history, and soon Duncan, Emma, and Ms. Bunchwick are catapulted into an adventure to protect the wand from elite magicians who wish to harness its magic for dark purposes.

This book is an entertaining roller coaster of surprises, illusions, enchantments, scares and... lots of destruction of property. I know I'll be buying several copies for the young readers in my life (and for myself too). Highly recommend!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! I plan to share with my nieces and nephews. I didn't expect this to be a page turner given my age, but I had trouble putting it down. Was honestly late getting myself out the door for work because I wanted to read just one more chapter! Well done, Adam Perry!

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly enjoyable ride. It is full of unexpected twists and turns with surprises all along the way. The dual narrators are engaging and they play off of each other well, creating some of the humor in the book. It is fantasy because it involves magic, but takes place in our world. It revolves around slight of hand and "real" magic.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun book. Couldn't put it down. Even though it's billed as for kids, I think even adults will enjoy it. Highly recommended!

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magicians of Elephant County, written by Adam Perry, is a book about two young magicians, Duncan Reyes and Emma Gilbert, and how they protect a wand from magicians who wish to use its magic for their own selfish reasons. Always passed down to another trustful magician, it can do whatever the owner wishes, so when it landed in the wrong hands, Duncan and Emma were determined to give it to its rightful owner (s). Fans of "Hocus Pocus" and other books relating to magic and witches will be spellbound by it. This book made me laugh all the way! Perry has a good sense of humor and understands the everyday life of middle schoolers. Something I disliked at first was that the solution was a bit confusing, but they eventually explained it a little, so I'd have to say there was nothing I disliked about this book. The Magicians of Elephant County is the definition of a five-star masterpiece, and I'd suggest it to anyone that can read without trouble!

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first third of this, and then it got ridiculous and unbelievable. It felt like the climax dragged on for half the book. As soon as Duncan was kidnapped at the show, it the action didn’t stop. But not in a good way. In an exhausting way. It just dragged.

So much of the plot was ridiculous, I had a hard time caring about anything. The stakes felt fake, almost? Like not enough info was given before the bad guys showed up for me to care about what happened to the kids or Edna.

There was too much screaming. So many times a character was said to have screamed something, but the situation didn't warrant it, or it didn't read that way. Screaming is different to yelling in my opinion, and there are other words the author could have used to get his emphasis across.

It wasn't a shock that Penfold was involved, I thought for sure Zug was going to be bad in some way. That would have been a bigger reveal/turning point for Duncan and Emma.

The story seemed to make Duncan the main character, even when it flipped back and forth between the kids, but Emma was truly the star. She was more well rounded, had a better written personality, and literally was the one who saved the day. Revealing at the end that Emma was a triplet was annoying. It kept referring to her sisters as being "other" than her, I thought they were twins or something. Felt too convenient. I don't understand why Duncan was given the star billing. He was boring and useless. All we knew about him was that he liked magic, was shitty to Emma, and I guess idolized the Penfold guy.

I didn't enjoy the way this was written with the back and forth, as a lot of things were repeated for both of their POV's but it didn't add anything to the story or move it forward. It felt repetitive and like we would take two steps forward, one step back in the action.

The adults were all way too quick to accept the magic. I have been thinking I'd like to read a book where it's magic known about by kids and grown ups, but this wasn't it. They knew about it and were still essentially useless to the story. Why bring them into the action they don't do much?

It also wasn't really spooky, but that might be my own fault. I saw it included a witch and thought it would be good for spooky season reading, but it wasn't.

The more I write about this the less I think I liked it. Might change the rating to be lower. It said it's a mix between Hocus Pocus and the Neil Patrick Harris books (which I haven't read) but it was nothing like Hocus Pocus. It dragged on and on.

I considered DNF'ing it around the 200 page mark, but I pushed through because I had already read so much. It set itself up for a sequel, which I will not be reading. Overall this was a disappointment. It had poor world building, and too much going on without much really happening for almost 200 pages. Do not recommend.

Changed from 2.5 stars to one.

[Ben Orner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun ride through the eyes of two young magicians. Told from alternating perspectives you get a narrative explanation of their recent escapades. The narrative keeps you reading and it is an easy, fast paced read that leaves you satisfied. Highly recommended for the target audience.

[Kyle Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great, engaging book that is enjoyable for both kids and adults. The way the chapters are set up is unique, and one gets to experience the main characters in their own voices. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories where fantasy meets real life.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story told in alternating chapters by Duncan & Emma (the Magicians of the title) who get into trouble when their magic act is supplemented by the discovery of a real witches wand. Cute & fun story that also hits on some deeper themes.

[Melinda Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duncan is dared to knock on the door of the meanest old lady in town who is known as a witch to all the kids. Turns out she really is! This story has magic, suspense and adventure. There is action all the way to the very end. Highly recommended to read.

[Donna Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun gift to pass on to my grandchild!
Entertaining.
Well written.
You'll learn a lot about magic, yet this is woven into the story in such a way, you don't realize how much history and how-to you receive.
Good vs evil is the theme and is done well.

[Adam Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading this. Decent.

[Jeanne Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action-packed middle grade novel filled with magic, humor, and heart. Highly recommended!

[Amy Glendinning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Duncan and his assistant Emma - or Emma and her co-magician Duncan, depending on which you ask - are preparing to wow their classmates with their magic routine at the school talent show. Then Duncan accidentally acquires a wand that can do...real magic! Now the local witch is after him to get it back, and she may not be the only person they need to worry about.

This book alternates perspectives between Duncan and Emma in a cute if confusing way. It quickly becomes evident that one or both of them is an unreliable element, and this adds a fun kick to the story. Unfortunately, it can be hard to remember which narrator you’re reading at any given moment. The rapid pace is sustained by lots of magic tricks, secret identities, wobbly broomstick flights, magicians shooting bolts of magic, and a fun friendship. Both Duncan and Emma have great narrative voices, and they sound just like the funny, witty middle schoolers they are.

Mrs. Bunchwick, the kids’ mentor, carried out a lot of the action. While I loved her as a character, I would have enjoyed the book more if Duncan and Emma had done more of the work themselves. The final resolution also felt a bit disconnected from the plot. But I finished it rapidly and while biting my lip!

While I didn’t love this book, many middle schoolers may. This book is for lovers of magic (the stage kind) and Magic (the supernatural kind). It is for kids who like to giggle at funny quips or who like to watch houses fly through the air and explode. Most of all, it is for people who love a good story about friendship.

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was quite entertaining and well-done. It was a fun, magical, interesting adventure. I really liked the element of magic. The plot was intriguing and full of surprises, but I didn't like the direction that the plot took. I didn't think that Quinton was going to be as important as he was, and I didn't really like how the magic was viewed as real at the end because I couldn't imagine it in my head. To make the idea of magic being real, the author should execute it in a way that the readers can imagine it in their heads. I can imagine Hogwarts and Ketterdam in my head but not this. It just seemed too fantastical.
As for the main characters, I preferred Emma over Duncan and I wish that there had been more chapters in her POV than Duncan's. Or at least an equal length/amount of chapters.
This book was definitely more plot-driven than character-driven. I felt like Adam Perry didn't do a great job writing his characters or maybe it's because they're much younger than me because I didn't really root or sympathise or really feel for them at all. As someone whose favourite part of reading is diving into the characters, let's just say that this book is not going to be remembered as one of my favourites.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adult rating: 3 stars
Kid rating: 4 stars

Duncan and Emma are 12-year-old magicians. Together they make an impressive team. Obviously, they don't believe in magic. Then the bully incident happens and Duncan ends up on the front porch of the "witch's" house. No one truly believes a witch lives there, but after one encounter with her, Duncan is a believer. His interaction with her sets off a series of disastrous events. He accidentally breaks her wand in half and the piece he is left with gives him real magical powers. He can levitate, teleport and transform into other things. When he performs an impossible magic routine at the talent show, he gains the attention of some famous people who aren't who they claim to be. That's when all H E double hockey sticks breaks loose.

This is a fun book. The characters have a sarcastic edge which I find highly entertaining. My only criticism is that Duncan and Emma's characters are not well defined. The chapters alternate between Duncan and Emma's perspective of what happened, but the two personalities are exactly the same. If the character's name didn't appear at the beginning of each chapter, I would not automatically known which character was narrating that chapter. Otherwise a good debut novel.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable middle grade mystery, perfect for spooky season. While this book seems to be about our main magician Duncan, it's really more about his co-magician (don't call her an assistant!), Emma. The stage magicians find out that magic really does exist but unfortunately that brings them unwanted attention from some magicians interested in using dark magic. The story addresses misconceptions about how we view others to how we view ourselves. The characters also touch on struggles of being part of a big family and being part of a divorced family so there's opportunities for young readers to connect with these characters even if they haven't found a magical wand.

Spoilers:

With the understanding that the intended audience for this book is much more interested in the two younger characters, I wish we would have dug a little more into how the witch character felt about being reunited with her son she thought was dead!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book aloud to Jacob and enjoyed the Emma/Duncan back and forth--also the character looked a bit like Jacob:). Thought this was a good kid's book, with some helpful character development and like the twist at the end...Jacob still needs to read/be read the last few sections. Interesting to think about magic from the kids perspective--but liked some of the drawings related to the book--nicely done!

[Ms. Hartmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a weird one for me. I really disliked both main characters. They didn't have a ton of redeeming qualities, and the author made a few fat jokes to distinguish between the main characters and the bully at the school.

Despite this, the book pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to be such an entertaining fantasy. I thought it would have a touch of fantasy, but there was full-on witchcraft and magic. Very fun!

[Ben Gartner · Rating 5 out of 5]

“One more chapter!” That’s what I heard every night when I tried to stop reading this to my son. With non-stop action, magic, highly descriptive writing, and strong main characters, I was happy to oblige the request for more!

[Sunny Summers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading it out loud with our kids made it hard with the back and forth of the narrators.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a roller coaster - some highs, some slows but good story

[Michael Jantze · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, fast-paced first novel told from two points of view.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, entertaining to the end

I really enjoyed this book and how fun it was the whole time. Perry is creative, inventive, and certainly brilliant.

[Abigael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story is unrealistic & feels like a small set of truths abounding in lies to the point that it's impossible to tell what the real story is. Extremely disappointed.

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Valerie Ruggieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not give it any better of a review than the description of the book. A fun book for children and adults.