[.ca] Midnight Magic (ISBN 0590360353)

From Amazon.com:
A nervous king, an exasperatingly playful princess, a diabolical count, an oddly ubiquitous kitchen boy, a magician who doesn't believe in magic, and a servant who knows far too much for his own good. When this motley crew embarks on a medieval ghost hunt, destiny throws plenty of twists and turns their way. Fabrizio, meddlesome but loyal servant of Mangus the ex-magician, feels horribly guilty. Though forbidden to do so, he secretly continues to practice sleights of hand and metaphysics. Casting his tarot cards one stormy night, Fabrizio fears he has unleashed terrible powers that will determine his master's fate. Sure enough, moments later, Mangus and Fabrizio are summoned to the court of the king, who expects Mangus to use his recently outlawed mystical ability to rid his daughter of a ghost that haunts her. The plot is soon thick as oatmeal, with threats of death or promises of reward behind every hidden corner. This thrilling tale of intrigue and mystery could be written by none other than Avi. Versatile author of over three dozen books for young people in many genres, including the Newbery Honor historical novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi creates compelling adventure that very few can resist. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

The Magic of the Book:
I read this book last year and even though it has been such a long time since I've read it, the story stuck on my mind. An epic story about a servent who was trick by his "mental" friend, the Princess, who well talks to her brother, a ghost. Confused? Read the book and you'll know want I mean, but carefull, it gets addicting!

Reading Until "Midnight"/By:KLG (grade 5):
On a cold,rainy night in an imaginary land called Pergamentio, Fabrizio, the servent-boy, sits on the chili floor by the door. Sudenly a loud knock at the door startles Fabrizio. It is a knight form The Kings Castello calling upon Fabrizios master, Mangus The Magicain. The Princess claims she is seeing the ghost of her brother everynight in the same niche. Is The Princess lying about the ghost and trying to get her way out of something or is she telling the truth? I absolutely loved this book because it has action and adventure packed in every page. Avi realy put his effort into Midnight Magic.

Midnight Magic:
The book I read all starts in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. There is a twelve yaer old boy named Fabrizio. He goes to answer the door and there is a soldier standing there saying that Mangus the Magician is under house arrest. Then he goes to the king and the king says he wants Mangus to save his daughter, Princess Teresina, from a ghost that haunts her.So Mangus decides to go,but he takes Fabrizio, his servant, with him. they go through many obstucles. Then Fabrizio goes out and gets lost,the princess helps him get back to Mangus. \othats how Fabrizio and the princess become friends.\c Then Mangus and Fabrizio go through a secret passage that only the king and queen are allowed to go through. Its very dark. Then the soldier comes through the opposite way with the princess and asks what are you doing here. Then the soldier says that Fabrizio was spying and listening to their plans. then the princess told the soldier the same thing. So Fabrizio got put in the dungen. the princess only did this for his safety. after a while she goes to get him, leads him through a secret passage to Mangus. she had told Mangus that the ghost that haunts her could possibly be her brother.he looks suprised.then it is her brother in the end, he haunts because of his wrongful death. if you would like to know what happens then i recomend this book for anyone.

Medieval Intrigue--Concocting Mystery:
Set in medieval times in a fictitious kingdom, this story reads easily, with a pace that moves as swiftly as superstition in a dank castle. Despite the young protagonist's distinct lack of sleep, this tale is characterized by an abundance of dialogue and many plot twists. Elementary readers will delight in guessing who is to be trusted and who is not, as conspiracies abound concerning the throne. Ten-year-old Fabrizio is the devoted servant of an old and respected magician named Mangus, who was previously forced to recant his sorcery and is now living under house arrest. Summoned to the castle under dark and stormy circumstances both master and boy immediately feel dread in the presence of the King's most influential minister, Count Scarazoni. The nervous King commands Mangus to use his dark arts to free the young princess from the cursed haunting of a ghost. The midnight apearance of this wispy spectre has been seen by others as well--causing the superstitious King to demand an end to these ghostly visitations. But Mangus has sincerely given up all dabbling in Magic, despite the King's recent order. How can a man who does not believe in ghosts confront one and lay him to rest? What does this spectre want of the Princess anyway--this slender girl who seems to have two personalities? Should Fabrizio trust the princess or the friendly kitchen boy? Or No One, since spies are lurking everywhere? How many hoaxes are being perpetrated in the castello? A delightful Castle Who-Dunnit, MIDNIGHT MAGIC stresses the true magic of friendship and loyalty. A fun read for kids of all ages.

An Awkward, But Yet Excellent Book:
Midnight Magic By: Avi Reviewed by:D. Patel Period: 6 This is an excellent book, even though there are many twists and turns. There is a servant, who's name is Fabrizio. He likes to do magic tricks. His master's name is Mangus, who is also called Mangus the Magician. He was summoned to the castello for a consultation with the king. Fabrizio wanted to go, but Mangus told him that he wasn't allowed to go. After a lot of convincing, Mangus allowed Fabrizio to come along, but only as a servant. Mangus knew that Fabrizio would do some magic, so he told Fabrizio not to do any magic. After they got there, the count, Scarazoni, said that there is a ghost who is haunting the princess. Mangus' job was to get rid of the ghost, but the problem was that he did not believe in ghosts. No matter what, Mangus would have to accomplish this goal, or else it would lead to death. One night, Fabrizio was asked to fetch water for his master. Not knowing where the kitchen was, Fabrizio was walking along, hoping to find it. Instead of going to the kitchen, he wandered off into the niche, which was near the king and his families' rooms were. As he was looking around, he saw the princess , and she was trying to get away from the ghost! Fabrizio had to do something, or else something might happen to the princess. As he was yelling to the ghost, it started to go away. The princess, Terisina, and Fabrizio got to know each other and they became good friends, and they decided not to tell anyone about them meeting each other. The princess thought that the ghost was her brother, but she couldn't say for sure. After a while, the two met a couple of times, before Mangus saw the ghost himself. One day, Fabrizio overheard a conversation, and Scarazoni was talking about a marriage of him and Terisina, due to the disappearance of the prince. The marriage was to be held in two days, or else the they wouldn't be able to get married fro another two years. After seeing and hearing the ghost a couple of times, Mangus started to figure things out. He found out that the ghost wasn't real, and someone was after this. Scarazoni didn't think that the ghost was real. Terisina didn't want to get married to him, because he was going to bring evil to the palace once he would become king. Mangus and Fabrizio found out that the ghost was being done by the queen and the princess. All four of them together planned a way to make Scarazoni believe that there is a ghost, so they all decided to make to ghost appear in front of him, and they planned to have the ghost tell Scarazoni that it was he who mudered the prince. This was done all in the night and none of them got any sleep for a few days. It was Fabrizio's job to help with the ghost. Extremely tired, Fabrizio fell asleep, accidently. When he woke up, he didn't know what time it was, but all he new was that the candle burned out, which made it obvious that he had been sleeping for a couple of hours. As he was rushing to get to the niche, where the ghost was to be seen, he was going through the secret doors. When he figured that he was almost there, he ws going through the last door, when someone started groaning in pain, and it was the prince! He was supposed to say the part of the ghost. Prince Lorenzo couldn't do the part because of his broken leg, so Fabrizio said the part, and made Scarazoni confess that he murdered the prince. Now he was put in the dungeon, and Teresina married Prince Lorenzo. Fabrizio was asked to be the servant, and he accepted it. Now everything was fine, and all the things went the way they were supposed to go. I really liked this book, because it was like a mystery book. The book made twists and turns in the end of the book, and all the important things happened really quickly, probably because I kept reading the book. You wouldn't want to put this book down, because it would keep you attached. That made me actually want to read the book. "In a glance he saw who lay upon the floor: It was Mangus." This quote was important, because if Mangus was dead, then there would be no one to help with the ghost. "I did order the murder of the prince." This was said when Scarazoni was forced to confess that he murdered the prince. My favorite part of the book was when Fabrizio and Teresina met at the niche in the night, and kept it a secret, until later. It is fun to read a book that is very different from other books. I think this book is like the "Harry Potter" books, because those have a lot of magic, and there is a lot of solving to do. I hope to read many other books, just like this.