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Forcing the Ace
De Erin Thomas
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Alex wants to enter the Silver Stage magic competition, but he needs a sponsor. Jack, a veteran card wizard, is willing to take on the role, but only if Alex agrees to team up with Zoe, another young magician and Alex’s rival. Working with Jack and sharing the spotlight with Zoe, Alex comes to see that there are other ways to be a magician besides competing, and that magic is about entertaining people, not fooling them.
Ações de livro
Comece a lerDados do livro
Forcing the Ace
De Erin Thomas
Descrição
Alex wants to enter the Silver Stage magic competition, but he needs a sponsor. Jack, a veteran card wizard, is willing to take on the role, but only if Alex agrees to team up with Zoe, another young magician and Alex’s rival. Working with Jack and sharing the spotlight with Zoe, Alex comes to see that there are other ways to be a magician besides competing, and that magic is about entertaining people, not fooling them.
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I really liked this book. It moves at a nice pace, teaches an excellent lesson for young and older readers alike. Alex discovered the world of magic and magicians when he received a magic set for his 6th birthday. He was hooked immediately and bloomed. It changed his life. His parents weren't too thrilled that he wanted to be a magician as his calling. It strains his relationship with them even further when his schoolwork suffers after he decides to try out for the prestigious Silver Stage magic competition.Alex is only happy when he is alone on stage and can't understand why the magician who agrees to sponsor him insists he needs a partner, not an assistant but a partner, for his act. A partner who is also his rival for the competition. I could empathize with Alex, but I also felt like he could use a good thump upside the noggin from time to time. He could be a bit selfish and self-centered, but he wanted to improve. Thankfully he has the guidance of several people whose opinion he respected who help him along the way.Very well written and highly enjoyable. Well-drawn characters with an engaging premise. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5I know I had a highly advanced reading level when I was younger but I cringe when I see other reviews suggesting this book for young adults and teens as it seems to be strictly children's literature to me. There's nothing wrong with Forcing the Ace, it's just very, very slight. There's nothing wrong with the story and it plays out in logical fashion but there's absolutely no depth, problems occur and are nearly instantly resolved with no tension. For example, Alex is a jerk and tries to drive his partner out of the act so he'll have the stage to himself; well she calls him out and he knocks it off. Or he fails English and is banned from performing magic so he starts trying in English and turns his grades around. All in all it's a suitable read for a young audience but the older tween/teen set should probably be reading something with at least some modicum of tension and more important subject matter.And you never force an ace; people are more likely to think an ace is forced rather than an innocuous card like the three of clubs.
Rating: 3As a kid, when asked "what do you want to be when you grow up," one of my answers was always "Magician." I had a collection of books on magic, magic props and often performed magic tricks in my elementary class talent shows. My goal never came to fruition but it did make the premise of "Forcing the Ace" appealing to me.In Forcing the Ace, we follow the life of Alex, a teenage boy with aspirations of becoming a professional magician. He has significant enthusiasm and talent for magic but has less devotion or skills for the other elements in his life, particularly his schoolwork, much to the chagrin of his surgeon father. In the first chapter of the book, Alex is performing in a local magic show with the hope of attracting the attention of a sponsor for a professional magician competition. Unfortunately, his act ends with a significant injury to his hand and it looks like his hopes for the prestigious competition are shattered. His luck changes when he is noticed by Jack, a retired magician who tells Alex that he'll sponsor him but only if he pairs up with Zoe, another teenage magician from the town. Alex has always been a solo act and has no desire to share the glory with anyone but he reluctantly agrees and they begin training.Jack, Alex and Zoe make an intriguing trio as they try to work together to come up with an award winning act while also trying to figure out one another. Each of the three has their own baggage and prejudices but they also have fun motivations which make for some interesting scenes.Clocking in at just over 150 pages, this short novel doesn't have a lot of time for in-depth character or plot development. Still, I was hoping for a bit more. A lot of the characters and scenes felt a little flat or forced while others seemed obligatory or predictable. I especially had a hard time truly liking or rooting for Alex as a character. His goal was intriguing to me but his character and actions felt unbalanced and sometimes contradicted one another. Part of this I could chalk up to the unpredictability and inconsistency of teenagers working out their emotions. Other times it felt like his actions were created to further the desired story arc even though they didn't feel entirely realistic or genuine given the situation.In spite of the points that felt a little choppy or less fleshed out, I did enjoy the general premise of the story. Had it been a longer book I think I would have demanded more cohesion but for its size I was able to work through the story even though I wanted more. To some extent, this felt like an "after school special" complete with some of the expected tropes and morals. In the end, I did enjoy the book and would be willing to look out future work by this author to see if there is more depth. For a middle grade reader this simple read and fun story would be a fun way to spend an afternoon or two and the reader may even inadvertently learn a thing or two about life and relationships.***3 out of 5 stars
Rating: 3This definitely will not win a Pulitzer Prize for literature but it will hold the attention of a teen/young adult easily. The story isn't really anything to write home about, but it does have a good lesson once you get past the lack of depth to the story line. I have already passed it on to a few young patrons at the library I work at so it was noteworthy in they enjoyed it so there ya go!
Rating: 3Got this as an early review copy from Library Thing and the publisher. In a few words I loved it. Read it in just a couple of hours. Who doesn't love magic. Granted I'm a bit old for the target audience for this book, but loved it just the same. A 17 year old wants to be a magician. He and a young woman are taken under the wing of a formerly famous magician after a local talent competition. The two young people at first don't like each other, they each wanted to do their own thing. But as they work together they come to a truce and work on their routine together.
Rating: 5I received this book as an Early Reviewer selection. This book is a good one for young adults, particularly middle school teens. Many of my students seem to have an interest in performing arts, so this would be a good one for them. It is not difficult to read and includes engaging characters and life situations. Themes include friendship, perseverance, performance, and family. This seems like a good "boy book" also.
Rating: 4