Name: Gaia Marino's review of The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One) by Morgan Rice
Item: The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One)
Rating: 2
Author: Gaia Marino

Morgan Rice

“A powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.” --Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan) (re A Throne for Sisters) “Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless!” --Books and Movie Reviews (re A Throne for Sisters) From USA Today and #1 bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a new fantasy series for teens and adults. THE MAGIC FACTORY: OLIVER BLUE AND THE SCHOOL FOR SEERS (BOOK ONE) tells the story of one very special boy, Oliver Blue, different than those around him and unloved by his hateful family. Obsessed with inventions, Oliver is determined to escape his horrible life and make his mark on the world. When Oliver’s family moves again, to another awful house and school, he is bullied and excluded, and sees no way out. But when he stumbles across an abandoned invention factory, he wonders if this could be his way out. Who is the mysterious old inventor hiding in the factory? What is his secret invention? And might this factory be a portal to somewhere else? An inspiring fantasy, THE MAGIC FACTORY is book #1 in a riveting new series filled with magic, love, humor, heartbreak, tragedy, destiny, and a series of shocking twists. It will make you fall in love with Oliver Blue, and keep you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the series (THE ORB OF KANDRA) and Book #3 (THE OBSIDIANS) are now also available! “The beginnings of something remarkable are there.” --San Francisco Book Review (re A Quest of Heroes)

The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One)

Gaia Marino

I usually never give less than 3 stars to any book I review - mainly because I drop any book that I feel would deserve under 3 stars. And yet, I wanted to see where this one was heading, because I found it had potential and some interesting plot points in the middle of a lot of chaos.
First of all, the fact that Morgan Rice rejects traditional publishing is brave, but in this case I feel like she could have used a good editor with a stern voice. Oliver Blue immediately reads too much like a Harry Potter fanfiction, with a dash of Percy Jackson and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but not in a good way.

(view spoiler)[
Adding some science to the magic core of the book was another great point, although I wish she would have done a bit more research. The points brought up were interesting, as were the different specializations and types the kids could have, but ultimately they all seemed to work the same. It spent way too much time building up Oliver's awful home life and not enough to build up towards the climax of the story instead. His time at the factory is also written in detail, which was needed in certain moments, and way less in others. Oliver being able to access his powers for the first time willingly is exciting, but the tedious tasks he mulls over for pages aren't.
And then, he finally reaches the school. The procedure is quick, and the fact that they send another child to pick him up instead of an adult is questionable at best.
And finally, the school for seers: Oliver spends, what? A total of three days there? And yet he seems immediately able to access to his powers and do incredible things with them after an odd initial struggle in class. He has a nightmare, and is absolutely sure it's a premonition (which would make sense, since he's a Seer after all), but for some reason none of his friends think that telling the Headmaster would be wise, because why would anyone have a nightmare that is a premonition? (Which doesn't make sense, since they're literally all Seers. That's what they're supposed to do). So what does he do? He ups and goes.
And what was the nightmare about? Hitler destroying the world.
Off he goes, and he finds himself in Nazi Germany in 1944. He manages to keep Hitler from destroying the world by rearranging the bomb's atoms to make sure it wouldn't work. The Headmaster seems to arrive to save the day just when Oliver's out of energy, hallelujah! But no, he does nothing, and instead he drops a bunch of 11 year olds into the battlefield to make sure they'll be the ones to save the day. The same kids who seemed to have a hard time changing the color of a mouse in class manage to save the entire world by dismantling some kind of universe-destroying bomb and stop all the Nazis. 

Also, why is an 11 year old boy talking about dating so much?

If my review sounded just like a chaotic rant, it's because the entire plot is chaotic. The villain and his evil plans are so big and ingrained in our history that they sound ridiculous instead of relatable. Oliver is able to pull off something that's never happened in the entire history of the school after spending three days there.
 (hide spoiler)]

Again, good base idea (the science behind the magic is very interesting), but terrible execution. I'm curious to know if more will explained better in the sequels of the saga, but not enough to continue reading it.

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The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One) by Morgan Rice

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The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One) by Morgan Rice