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The Savant Trilogy #1
Misdirection
"Ning Cai is a wonder." —Neil Gaiman
The first book in an exciting new YA mystery trilogy about a teenage savant on the trail of her family's killer, from the multi-talented Ning Cai, international magic celebrity and author.
When parkour champion Maxine Schooling wakes from a three-year coma, she has no memory of how her parents and little brother were killed the night she was attacked. Using her new-found photographic memory, she covertly helps her hacker BFF with the police investigation of a savage serial killer on the loose. In her race to track down the Singapore Spectre, Max finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy involving stage illusions, a secret exposé, and a controversial megachurch headed by a powerful man.
For over a decade, Ning Cai was known as a multi-award-winning stage illusionist and escape artist. After a brief period of retirement, she returned in 2017 as the mentalist Ning: Mind Magic Mistress. Her memoir Who is Magic Babe Ning? was shortlisted for the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize.
The first book in an exciting new YA mystery trilogy about a teenage savant on the trail of her family's killer, from the multi-talented Ning Cai, international magic celebrity and author.
When parkour champion Maxine Schooling wakes from a three-year coma, she has no memory of how her parents and little brother were killed the night she was attacked. Using her new-found photographic memory, she covertly helps her hacker BFF with the police investigation of a savage serial killer on the loose. In her race to track down the Singapore Spectre, Max finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy involving stage illusions, a secret exposé, and a controversial megachurch headed by a powerful man.
For over a decade, Ning Cai was known as a multi-award-winning stage illusionist and escape artist. After a brief period of retirement, she returned in 2017 as the mentalist Ning: Mind Magic Mistress. Her memoir Who is Magic Babe Ning? was shortlisted for the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize.
- GenresMysteryYoung Adult
ebook
First published March 1, 2018
5 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Ning Cai
15 books6 followersNing Cai is the author of The Savant Trilogy—a young adult series beginning with the bestselling novel Misdirection (longlisted for the 2016 Epigram Books Fiction Prize)—as well as the Singapore Literature Prize-shortlisted memoir Who is Magic Babe Ning? She is also the co-author of three additional books: a travel account (Adventures of 2 Girls, with Pamela Ho), a middle-grade novel (Magicienne, with Don Bosco), and a creativity self-help guide (Game of Thoughts, with John Teo).
For over a decade, she was known as “Magic Babe” Ning, a multi-award-winning stage illusionist and escape artist known as “the sexiest woman in magic”. Lauded for her death-defying acts and record-setting feats, Ning performed for Middle Eastern royalty and showcased her brand of deadly sexy magic to an international audience on stage and on TV. She was also the guest entertainer for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, performing for thousands on the high seas. After a brief period of retirement, she returned in 2017 as the mentalist Ning: Mind Magic Mistress.
Besides being engaged as magic consultant for various projects, she has starred in popular Mediacorp TV shows such as Meat and Greed 2 (Channel 5), 《吃饱没？3》(Eat Already? 3) (Channel 8), Love in a Time of Change (Channel NewsAsia) & Record Breakers (Okto). A TEDx speaker and committee member of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations’s Women’s Register, Ning has led writing workshops both in person and on Zoom, and is no stranger to the annual Singapore Writers Festival. Recipient of a 2018 National Arts Council Arts Scholarship, Ning has a Masters with Distinction in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She now resides in Europe with her spouse and their little boy.
For over a decade, she was known as “Magic Babe” Ning, a multi-award-winning stage illusionist and escape artist known as “the sexiest woman in magic”. Lauded for her death-defying acts and record-setting feats, Ning performed for Middle Eastern royalty and showcased her brand of deadly sexy magic to an international audience on stage and on TV. She was also the guest entertainer for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, performing for thousands on the high seas. After a brief period of retirement, she returned in 2017 as the mentalist Ning: Mind Magic Mistress.
Besides being engaged as magic consultant for various projects, she has starred in popular Mediacorp TV shows such as Meat and Greed 2 (Channel 5), 《吃饱没？3》(Eat Already? 3) (Channel 8), Love in a Time of Change (Channel NewsAsia) & Record Breakers (Okto). A TEDx speaker and committee member of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations’s Women’s Register, Ning has led writing workshops both in person and on Zoom, and is no stranger to the annual Singapore Writers Festival. Recipient of a 2018 National Arts Council Arts Scholarship, Ning has a Masters with Distinction in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She now resides in Europe with her spouse and their little boy.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 29, 2018
See optional preamble here.
I was really excited to read this book. Parkour! Murder! Corrupt megachurches! And eh, ok less so the “savant” part—there is honestly little to be learnt from ~sudden genius~ storylines that aren’t rooted in at least an awareness of disability politics, and tbh Max’s enhanced memory added very little to this particular story.
But there are continuity issues and plot holes the size of Jurong Island. Max, waking from a coma that spanned 2015–2018, doesn’t know about Snapchat (launched in 2011) or the past five generations of iPhones (as if commercial tech cycles weren’t already going strong in the early 2010s). One page details an immense amount of Wikipedia-type research on pufferfish toxins (very much tell, not show) and then the next reveals a bizarre lack of knowledge that going to Ubin does not require clearing ICA because y’know, you’re still in the same country. And above all, the police force is the most incompetent and unprofessional one to have ever graced our shores. Without spoilers, the “cliffhanger” at the end made me want to yell WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS?! instead of WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING FOR THE NEXT TWO BOOKS?! as was probably intended.
The writing is overly flowery in a way that’s fairly typical of the way Singaporeans are taught to write. Annoying, but forgivable. Less easy to ignore, however, was the strong sense of second-hand embarrassment I felt throughout the book at a voice that was so clearly an adult unversed in contemporary teenage language and culture. Y’know how it feels like when you’re watching an adult who thinks they’re cool try to demonstrate that they’re With It? Teens do actually have their own language and culture that’s fairly sophisticated—and more importantly, constantly evolving. Writing YA doesn’t necessarily require you to embody this (after all, you can’t and probably shouldn’t escape an adult consciousness as the writer), but you need to at least demonstrate a respect for it. This means you can’t just throw in some phrases (“YOLO”, “onz”) you’ve heard your niece say at the yearly family gathering and call it a day. Also, these teenagers in the book born in the 2000s are not millennials... ironically, the author is.
The most egregious sin to me, however, was writing about Singapore in a distinctly self-exotifiying way. Chewing gum ban—check. Pulau Ubin as an unspoiled oasis of True Nature—check. Even the “Asian squat” described as just that, when 1. in Asia, it’s just a squat, and 2. “Asia”/“Asians” are useless descriptors that tell the reader little except that you’re happy to reduce a continent of diverse peoples to an orientalised monolith. At best, it betrays a lack of awareness of audience, especially for a book published locally. At worst, it signals a kind of distance (similar to the poor teen writing) that gives the impression that the author is writing about a group of people they couldn’t be bothered to get to know beyond the superficial. Writing what you (think you) know isn’t enough—you need to consider how your words come across to those who know the same, or better.
Btw, to the teens reading this book: if a boy you just met takes you on a surprise visit to a remote island, ok, maybe that’s a cute first date. But if that same boy then invites you into his beat-up van with what is essentially bondage equipment in the boot, RUN. THE FUCK. AWAY. YOLO, yes, but you want that life to be a long one. This has been a public service announcement.
I was really excited to read this book. Parkour! Murder! Corrupt megachurches! And eh, ok less so the “savant” part—there is honestly little to be learnt from ~sudden genius~ storylines that aren’t rooted in at least an awareness of disability politics, and tbh Max’s enhanced memory added very little to this particular story.
But there are continuity issues and plot holes the size of Jurong Island. Max, waking from a coma that spanned 2015–2018, doesn’t know about Snapchat (launched in 2011) or the past five generations of iPhones (as if commercial tech cycles weren’t already going strong in the early 2010s). One page details an immense amount of Wikipedia-type research on pufferfish toxins (very much tell, not show) and then the next reveals a bizarre lack of knowledge that going to Ubin does not require clearing ICA because y’know, you’re still in the same country. And above all, the police force is the most incompetent and unprofessional one to have ever graced our shores. Without spoilers, the “cliffhanger” at the end made me want to yell WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS?! instead of WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING FOR THE NEXT TWO BOOKS?! as was probably intended.
The writing is overly flowery in a way that’s fairly typical of the way Singaporeans are taught to write. Annoying, but forgivable. Less easy to ignore, however, was the strong sense of second-hand embarrassment I felt throughout the book at a voice that was so clearly an adult unversed in contemporary teenage language and culture. Y’know how it feels like when you’re watching an adult who thinks they’re cool try to demonstrate that they’re With It? Teens do actually have their own language and culture that’s fairly sophisticated—and more importantly, constantly evolving. Writing YA doesn’t necessarily require you to embody this (after all, you can’t and probably shouldn’t escape an adult consciousness as the writer), but you need to at least demonstrate a respect for it. This means you can’t just throw in some phrases (“YOLO”, “onz”) you’ve heard your niece say at the yearly family gathering and call it a day. Also, these teenagers in the book born in the 2000s are not millennials... ironically, the author is.
The most egregious sin to me, however, was writing about Singapore in a distinctly self-exotifiying way. Chewing gum ban—check. Pulau Ubin as an unspoiled oasis of True Nature—check. Even the “Asian squat” described as just that, when 1. in Asia, it’s just a squat, and 2. “Asia”/“Asians” are useless descriptors that tell the reader little except that you’re happy to reduce a continent of diverse peoples to an orientalised monolith. At best, it betrays a lack of awareness of audience, especially for a book published locally. At worst, it signals a kind of distance (similar to the poor teen writing) that gives the impression that the author is writing about a group of people they couldn’t be bothered to get to know beyond the superficial. Writing what you (think you) know isn’t enough—you need to consider how your words come across to those who know the same, or better.
Btw, to the teens reading this book: if a boy you just met takes you on a surprise visit to a remote island, ok, maybe that’s a cute first date. But if that same boy then invites you into his beat-up van with what is essentially bondage equipment in the boot, RUN. THE FUCK. AWAY. YOLO, yes, but you want that life to be a long one. This has been a public service announcement.
June 25, 2021
Let me say this from the outset: I've never given any book five stars, mostly because I've never read any book THAT good that it doesn't have any faults. I originally read this book when it was first published and now I'm revisiting it again to jog my memory while I wait for the 2nd book which is slated to be out soon. Also, I'm not the intended audience of this book (I assume to be young teens and up), being a lot older.
I have read quite a bit of YA books, from the Run/Hide/Seek series to The Giver to Harry Potter to The Single Shard, mostly because I want to keep up with what my kids are reading, but some of them are entertaining. Like this one.
As the liner notes on the back cover state, this is a YA mystery trilogy. The set-up is quickly established: Maxine Schooling awakens from a three-year coma to find that her immediate family has been killed. She cannot recall what happened that night, and she wants to find the killer.
(NOTE: this is book 1 of a trilogy, so the events of this book may or may not affect later events in the other books, so I'm treating any major outcome in this book as a spoiler, whether it is or not)
As the story goes on, we learn that she has a photographic memory (which she didn't before she went into a coma). She uses this to good effect when she + friends + police track down a serial killer called The Spectre. To avoid spoilers, well, things happen and she ends up realising at the end of the book that her quest has only yielded more questions to answer (possibly in books 2 and 3).
As a mystery/action/thriller for YA, this one works well. I believe there is just about enough of everything to keep younger readers entertained. Was I entertained? Yes, I was. This is the sort of book that you can whip out on a dreary day. Also, I got through this quite easily.
That's not to say that this book was perfect. Some people have told me about the anachronisms, the detailing (or lack thereof) and other bits which they found irritating. I understand where some of them are coming from: eg, the mention of getting a ride on Uber, which now isn't a thing here, made me raise an eyebrow and was one of the first bumps on my reading road. I can only assume that it was a thing when the author first started writing this book. Maybe it could have been removed.
But to me, such minor details - like when a character's actions may not reflect what real people do - rarely hamper me on my reading journey. Why, because it's a story. A work of fiction. It not real, yah? If I wanted real, I'd read non-fiction.
Yes, I know others do carp about such things, like, these details have really done them in and they cannot enjoy a story unless everything is up to their idea of what a good story is. I mean, a lot of people thought The Last Jedi sucked and that's true from their certain point of view. (Personally, I thought it was brilliant, even though that Canto Bight scene was a tad superfluous. For the record, I do not like the JJ Abrams sequels.)
But you do you, I guess.
As for me, I still do like this story upon re-reading, and no, I do not feel that I wasted those two hours over the weekend. (The Rise of Skywalker - that's a big waste of time. lol)
In the meantime, I'll be waiting for Book 2, which is slated to be out in the coming weeks.
I have read quite a bit of YA books, from the Run/Hide/Seek series to The Giver to Harry Potter to The Single Shard, mostly because I want to keep up with what my kids are reading, but some of them are entertaining. Like this one.
As the liner notes on the back cover state, this is a YA mystery trilogy. The set-up is quickly established: Maxine Schooling awakens from a three-year coma to find that her immediate family has been killed. She cannot recall what happened that night, and she wants to find the killer.
(NOTE: this is book 1 of a trilogy, so the events of this book may or may not affect later events in the other books, so I'm treating any major outcome in this book as a spoiler, whether it is or not)
As the story goes on, we learn that she has a photographic memory (which she didn't before she went into a coma). She uses this to good effect when she + friends + police track down a serial killer called The Spectre. To avoid spoilers, well, things happen and she ends up realising at the end of the book that her quest has only yielded more questions to answer (possibly in books 2 and 3).
As a mystery/action/thriller for YA, this one works well. I believe there is just about enough of everything to keep younger readers entertained. Was I entertained? Yes, I was. This is the sort of book that you can whip out on a dreary day. Also, I got through this quite easily.
That's not to say that this book was perfect. Some people have told me about the anachronisms, the detailing (or lack thereof) and other bits which they found irritating. I understand where some of them are coming from: eg, the mention of getting a ride on Uber, which now isn't a thing here, made me raise an eyebrow and was one of the first bumps on my reading road. I can only assume that it was a thing when the author first started writing this book. Maybe it could have been removed.
But to me, such minor details - like when a character's actions may not reflect what real people do - rarely hamper me on my reading journey. Why, because it's a story. A work of fiction. It not real, yah? If I wanted real, I'd read non-fiction.
Yes, I know others do carp about such things, like, these details have really done them in and they cannot enjoy a story unless everything is up to their idea of what a good story is. I mean, a lot of people thought The Last Jedi sucked and that's true from their certain point of view. (Personally, I thought it was brilliant, even though that Canto Bight scene was a tad superfluous. For the record, I do not like the JJ Abrams sequels.)
But you do you, I guess.
As for me, I still do like this story upon re-reading, and no, I do not feel that I wasted those two hours over the weekend. (The Rise of Skywalker - that's a big waste of time. lol)
In the meantime, I'll be waiting for Book 2, which is slated to be out in the coming weeks.
August 6, 2023
While I admire any and all authors that come from the SEA region, this book was not it for me. Personally, I felt the writing was a bit too clunky in many spots while, in the action scenes and especially towards the last 2 chapters, the writing felt as tight as it should be. This inconsistency was one of the reasons why the book was finished only now.
The main characters all definitely feel a little too much like they came out of a Singaporean's wet dreams. That is to say that they feel a bit too perfect. All of them are just too fan fiction for my liking. Maybe this perception will change with the other two books, but I am unsure if I plan to continue reading this series.
The story itself, in terms of what the author was trying to paint, was an interesting idea. I like the concept of Singapore being used as the backdrop for a conspiracy of this extent. Full of mystery and intrigue, that's what tipped me to give it two stars.
I feel the side characters definitely are more dynamic and more interesting, as well. But, overall, I would say 2 stars is as high as I can personally rank it. I would have much preferred a grittier storyline with maybe some more noir themes but I understand that was probably not the authors vision for this book. I do hope Ning Chai does foray into the world of more adult, nor fiction because I feel she would have a knack for it.
The main characters all definitely feel a little too much like they came out of a Singaporean's wet dreams. That is to say that they feel a bit too perfect. All of them are just too fan fiction for my liking. Maybe this perception will change with the other two books, but I am unsure if I plan to continue reading this series.
The story itself, in terms of what the author was trying to paint, was an interesting idea. I like the concept of Singapore being used as the backdrop for a conspiracy of this extent. Full of mystery and intrigue, that's what tipped me to give it two stars.
I feel the side characters definitely are more dynamic and more interesting, as well. But, overall, I would say 2 stars is as high as I can personally rank it. I would have much preferred a grittier storyline with maybe some more noir themes but I understand that was probably not the authors vision for this book. I do hope Ning Chai does foray into the world of more adult, nor fiction because I feel she would have a knack for it.
April 28, 2018
A great and intriguing and suspenseful book. A beautiful author with a beautiful book . Love it . Hugs hugs hugs
May 11, 2018
A great YA novel. I believe its sales will strengthen in the coming months. Many Congrats!
September 19, 2018
A wonderful YA novel, from my favourite writer Ning Cai. With lots of hugs and love. Cheers!
dnf
August 3, 2020dnf @ 37%
i could push through, i was even mildly enjoying myself despite how not good this is. but, on second thought, why, you know.
i could push through, i was even mildly enjoying myself despite how not good this is. but, on second thought, why, you know.
November 19, 2021
A delightful read. The author has a light, bubbly voice, with a spark of magic in it. I hear book 2 is even better. I suspect a good many people that read this book, will struggle to see the twists coming.
I am impressed at how the author managed to reinvent herself after a very successful career in magic. Her life experiences shine through the book, and she makes good use of them.
I am impressed at how the author managed to reinvent herself after a very successful career in magic. Her life experiences shine through the book, and she makes good use of them.
September 16, 2019
Great enjoyable reAd
This a a great book. One that was relaxing and enjoyable. Looking forward to part two. Hope its out soon
This a a great book. One that was relaxing and enjoyable. Looking forward to part two. Hope its out soon
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews