T. Kingfisher

Oliver was a very minor mage. His familiar reminded him of this several times a day. He only knew three spells, and one of them was to control his allergy to armadillo dander. He was a very minor mage. Unfortunately, he was all they had.

Minor Mage

Sarah Sammis

Oliver is a lot like Tiffany Aching. 

Oliver is a minor mage in both senses of the word. He's a child and he's a mage of rather limited capacity. He has an armadillo as a familiar and a very short list of spells.

He, though, is his village's last hope for stopping the drought. In the past, heroes have gone through the woods and up into the mountains to bring home the rains. But now he's the only wizard in the town.

FF9933 - orphan wildlands blue highway

Amani Zaha

The armadillo leaned against him. Oliver reached out blindly and rubbed his familiar behind the ears. The gesture was so normal, so much like what they did every day, that it helped steady him. His next breath didn't catch quite so hard in his throat, and he scrubbed at his face with his sleeve and wiped tears and blood away.

T. Kingfisher has done chilling horror, whimsical fantasy, mature, passionate romance. Now in Minor Mage, we get a melancholic story about a twelve year old boy sent out to fend for himself on a mission meant for far more experienced wizards, abandoned by adults who should have known better than to let fear decide for them.

Armed with the only three spells he knows and his trusted armadillo, Oliver sets out on the road after the adults of his village demand he put an end to the weeks-long draught. It all leaves Oliver experiencing some conflicting feelings:

Oliver was already on his knees, but he bowed his head, feeling complicated things he didn't know how to deal with. When kindness came from murdered ghosts and lost pigs, and the adults that were supposed to help you were monsters that walked like men... What was he supposed to do? It wasn't right. He wanted the world to be different.
Minor Mage has Kingfisher's distinct narrative voice and snappy dialogue, owing mostly to the biting sarcasm of Oliver's friend and companion, the armadillo. The story also touches on the phenomenon of mob mentality. There is a sense of melancholy as we follow this twelve year old boy who terribly misses his mother, but tries to convince himself that this is what he must do, no matter how hopeless he feels — but it also has a big heart and, eventually, warmth. Oliver and his armadillo are both very lovable characters, and we meet several interesting personalities through their journey.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. My only wish is that the book had been a little longer: slowed down a little, let Oliver develop even more, and not ended so abruptly (although I think I understand why it did). It's a mark of a good book, generally, when my only complaint is that I want more of it.

Aditi

** spoiler alert **
           2.5.

Things only really happen in the last 3rd of the book, so the first 2/3rds is a bit of a drudge. I'd love to know much more about the Cloud Herders now, and it would be great to see Oliver there again, but all in all, this could have been much shorter.

Aditi Verma

Ben Nathan

Another 4+ star YA nominee. This is the perfect book for my nephew. Just dark enough to interest him and just light and friendly enough to not scare him. The characters are marvelous and I want to meet them. Can we get more in this world please?

Minor Mage

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