Magonia (Magonia, #1)

by Maria Dahvana Headley

"Magonia is magical. A high-?ying, refresing, and literally out-of-the-blue fantasy with great characters, emotional depth, and a unique fantasy world that I never saw coming."-Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen Aza Ray is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak-to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name. Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world-and found by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time-better, she has immense power. As she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming.
Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning, and in Aza's hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity-including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie? "Maria Davana Headley is a firecracker: she's whip smart with a heart, and she writes like a dream." Neil Gaiman, bestselling author of The Graveyard Book and Coraline

• ISBN10: 0062391674
• ISBN13: 9780062391674
• Publish Date: 4 June 2015 (first published 28 April 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 15 October 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Edition: International ed.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

Despite having a gorgeous cover and an imaginative plot, it just wasn't the story for me.

Aza Ray suffers from a rare form of lung disease. The doctors are baffled. All her life she has had trouble breathing. She is dying. However, before her death day comes, she is kidnapped and brought to a ship in the sky. She soon realizes that there are secrets hidden away that she wished were left unsaid. Taken away from the only family she thought she ever knew, she begins to understand that she belongs here—on this ship in the sky, on Magonia.

WHAT WILL YOU FIND BEHIND THE COVER

Bird people: I’m not talking Maximum Ride bird people where they were once human and now genetically engineered birds. I’m talking birds who change into people when they are high in the sky. They live on ships with sea creatures high above the clouds.

I fear we’ve gone Animal Farm. Even Aza Ray admits it. The similarities of rebelling animals that talk are definitely there. My dislike for animals talking actually stems from that book, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and if I had known this book consisted of talking animals, I would have easily skipped it.

It’s basically Happy Feet in the sky. There isn’t much tap dancing in the book, well absolutely no dancing at all that I recall. However, there is tons of singing or birdsong, depending on how you look at it. Birds get magical powers when they sing.

Pirates: For a chapter or two, pirates graced its pages. There were some pretty awesome fight scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

WHAT I LIKED

If you are still trying to wrap you’re head around what this book holds, you still probably are only getting a gist. Pirates and Happy Feet and Animal Farm and Peter Pan all rolled up into one? What would that even look like? Maria Dehvana Headley has created something truly imaginative and magical. If the plot does nothing for you, it will certainly be the surprises of infinite possibilities Headley has woven into our modern world.

Magonia is most definitely something I’ve never come across before. I don’t read much talking animal stories but the fantasy world Headley is something entirely different than ever before seen. It is both fresh and new.

Aza Ray was many things. However, my favorite was her level of sass. Her quirky comebacks and never-take-no-for-an-answer attitude was definitely an amazing side of her character.

Despite my disappointment in the characters and plot, I still found it oddly compelling. I can’t pinpoint what exactly pushes you forward. It could be the curiosity of the strange, new world which refuses to let you go. Magonia is a page-turner that you’ve never seen before.

WHAT I DISLIKED

The beginning was extremely slow. The protagonist’s narrative flows in a methodically way, slow and quiet, with the constant reminder of I’m-dying. There is no lack of sass which does grant a few laughs here and there. Otherwise, though, the introduction of the plot suffers from the narrative.

Despite being incredibly imaginative, it does get a bit out there. Fantastic world building has to consist of a base, usually in the form of realistic backstory (realistic: as in, we can see how this could happen to an extent). With Headley’s world, there is little to no backstory. There just is this world and you have to believe it exists in the realm of our own. This makes it a bit confusing. We are expected to go with the flow, rather than a world that makes a sense. This sort of world leaves for the unexpected surprises of a new creature or story but leaves readers too confused to fully appreciate it.

Headley seemed to be making a love triangle happen where I saw none. Love triangles add dramatic effect to the plot with the constant question of who is she going to choose. A forced love triangle, where they shouldn’t be, is not a good thing. Without giving too much away, Aza Ray knows two boys: an unresolved friendship (but they want something more) with the boy from back home and a stranger who becomes her singing partner. The love triangle is unnecessary and doesn’t do much for the plot in the end.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley was the not the book for me. It’s ridiculous, but imaginative and fresh, plot pulls you in and refuses to let go. However, all the pirates and sass in all the world could never save this one from sinking.

[Sam@WLABB]

From page one, I was all in with this one. I loved Aza's voice and her snarky banter. Here she was, this girl, who has been told multiple times that she would be lucky to make it to X-birthday. The latest milestone was her 16th birthday, which was rapidly approaching. So, why do the doctors keep assigning an expiration date? Because Aza had been sick her entire life; she was unable to breath properly under standard atmospheric conditions, and suffered as if she were drowning.

"Aza Ray," he says. "You hold no horrors for me."

With all this death talk, one would imagine Aza to be a sullen mess, but she was unapologetically sassy, and still tried to embrace and experience life as much as she could. Her partner for these escapades was her best friend Jason. Oh, how I loved Jason. He was a quirky genius and a veritable Wikipedia. The interactions between Jason and Aza were some of my favorite parts. One can only hope to have a friend with a fraction of the dedication of Jason. Their's was a beautiful friendship.

I'm a dying man looking at the bouncing sunlight, but no, because sunlight just rang my doorbell and pounded on my front door. Sunlight is staring at me and pursing her lips.

Aza also had a wonderful family. My heart went out to these people, who had to be ready for Aza's death at any time. They had their letters of love and apology ready for when the end was near. Yes! So sad! But, Headley tempered all this sad by sharing so many sweet and fun memories of the family with us.

But it doesn't matter. I can't imagine a universe in which I try to unlove her.

The fantasy aspect was a little odd. A sea faring type bird people who live in the clouds. It was strange, but it was interesting too. According to mythology, Magonia is a "cloud realm", where the denizens work with magical creatures, who can manipulate the weather in order for them to steal crops from earthbound farmers. I thought Headley did a great job building this world for the reader to enjoy. It was quite vivid and well illustrated. I also thought the bits of social commentary, though not in your face, were provoking.

Overall: I really enjoyed this romp in the clouds. The writing style was a definite plus for me, and the introduction to a mythology I was unfamiliar with kept me interested.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

3.5
Weird, but in a pretty good way. Unlike anything I've ever read.

[reveriesociety_]

I had mixed feelings about how Magonia started out. It was all a lot of telling, and explaining, and thoughts, and really, no action at all. On the other hand, it was entertaining. I wish all those quirky thoughts about Aza's 'sickness' had been saved for later scenes.

Now that I think about, the whole book was a mixed feelings fest.

Let's start with,

The Characters

Aza is likable enough, and so are the rest of the crew characters. But her character arc was somewhat blurry. I still don't have clear what exactly wanted to be achieved with her.

Jason is a sweetheart, even though sometimes he bordered on the cardboard cut-out line. He has two moms, which totally rocks because it was written like nothing out of the ordinary. We don't dwell too much on the social aspects, he just... has two moms and that's it. And t works.

The Plot

The thing with the plot is, most of the time I had no idea of what was happening. There is a balance between keeping the reader guessing, and leaving him completely out of the loop. I was right there with Aza as she had these revelations and stuff happened to her. Normally, that'd be totally okay, but unfortunately, not for this story.

Speaking of stuff and revelations, one's suspension of disbelief can only go so far. And, this book was constantly defying that limit.

I mean, a bird flew into Aza's mouth and settled in her lung. IN HER FREAKING LUNG. Later, I understood the why, and how it made sense within the world the author created, but at the same time, it was difficult to swallow when the world I'd been introduced to was a normal one in which Aza goes to highschool, is constantly depressed, but managed to get through. I couldn't wrap around my head the bird-in-her-lung event.

What I really liked is that it was very orginal.

The World-Building

You mean, just the ship, right? Because I have no idea of how Magonia actually is like. I just know about the ship. Maybe the book should be just called Amina Pennarum, like the ship.

The Love Triangle  The Romance

This is not a romance book. But it does have romance. And it's not very good, honestly. It also contains a wannabe love triangle. But pay no mind to it, because it's obvious in a way only Twilight can rival.

 

I know it sounds like I didn't enjoy this story, but actually, I think it's pretty cool. Not what I was hoping for, though.

[ayla_abbott]

I got halfway through before I saw the sticker on the spine and realized it was YA; normally the writing screams it from page one. But this was solid all the way through, young adult or not. It was a quick read with a great premise. Presumably there will be a series of it, though I may not continue on.

So this book. I hate when something starts out so unbelievably amazing and then dissolves into complete mediocrity. The 1/3 of MAGONIA was awesome. I had all these wonderful John Green vibes and I actually cried at one scene. The voice was so intoxicating.

But then...not so much.

As soon as Aza goes up, the amazing voice gets strangled in a complicated world full of rules and history and just strangeness that failed to captivate me. One of the big problems with this book (and others like it) is that Aza is thrust into this sky world with a million questions (rightfully so), but guess how many get answered? Not many. And instead of demanding answers, Aza just lets people dismiss her and literally put her to work swabbing the deck. It was extremely frustrating. Worst of all though, is that the plot and worldbuilding is so complicated and unique in the sky that Aza's character fades into generic girl in a fantasy novel. Maybe if she hadn't be so dynamic and alive in the first 1/3 of the book, I wouldn't have noticed as much, but she was so I did.

Also the introduction of a love triangle was so anemic as to be pointless. And yet it looks like it might develop more in the sequel. Bleh.

Overall, this would have been one of my favorite books if the last 2/3 of the book (the fantasy) had lived up to the 1/3 (the contemporary). I love fantasy YA, but this just didn't work on that level. I will anxiously await this authors next contemporary offering, but I won't be returning to Magonia.

[Stephanie]

This is everything the Girl at Midnight should have been. What are the chances that I would read two books that had bird-people back-to-back?

[Kelly]

I'm utterly giddy. Magonia, without a doubt is one of the most lovely, imaginative and simply beautiful read. It's bizarre, delicious and a blend of a emotional contemporary and divinely magical fantasy. There is truly no words that can do Magonia justice. I loved it deeply.



It's not often that a book comes along that is utterly perfect, and Magonia is immaculate. Aza is a spunky, clever and quick witted protagonist. She's suffered from a mystery illness since she was young and had never known how to live as a normal teen. She's been friends with Jason ever since she can remember, their banter only fueling their natural spark between the two. He understands that Aza is living on borrowed time, but doesn't dwell on what should have been but rather celebrate his time left with Aza. He's in love with her. He sees beyond the pale skin and need to protect her. He talks in riddles, placing his faith in facts. So when Aza believes she's seeing skyships that call to her, he believes he has the answers she's looking for. Their friendship was easy, simplistic and just so lovely. He believes her, and believes in her and will do anything to bring her back.

The world of Magonia was simply magical and took my breath away. Steamships in the sky, a race of cloud dwellers that travel the Earth gathering food and supplies to sustain their people. They're not human, but eerie yet beautiful bird hybrids. Inside their chest, each holds a small bird that joins each Magonian in song. Songs that have the power to change the world. It was glorious. Yes, I swooned.

On board, it's Dai's responsibility to teach Aza how to reach her potential, bonded to one another while Aza refuses to forget the boy who stole her heart. As the storyline of lies, deception and the pending war unravels, Aza finds herself torn between head and heart.

But the most remarkable aspect of Magonia is the writing. It was so impeccably beautiful that my heart ached.

Heroes die young. Would you choose to be less than a hero? Here, the sky will light with fire for you. Our funerals are their sunsets.

I fell in love with the written word all over again.

Maria Dahvana Headley is phenomenal. She's crafted a unique and vividly stunning storyline, a whimsical world of mythology and characters you'll fall in love with. My goodness how I adored it, my heart is still fluttering.

[shannonmiz]

Well, crap. Here I am again, black sheeping my way through a book that everyone and their mom seems to love. I think this is most likely a case of me being the problem as opposed to the book being the problem. I really just didn't get it.

There were good parts, don't get me wrong. There was even a time when I was really getting into it! Here's how it went down:

The Beginning

So, Aza has some mystery illness that no doctor can figure out and that causes her to have breathing issues. That has to be very difficult. Also difficult is Aza's attitude. But her friend Jason was pretty great, so I stuck with it, even though I was a bit bored. Then I actually started to enjoy their friendship, and the "will they or won't they?" thing, and it started tugging on my feels. There were points that I was in tears over Aza and Jason and her sickness, and other spoilery stuff that I won't mention. Suffice it to say, I was really starting to enjoy the book.

And Then....

Bird people. With giant ships in the sky. The hell?! I just.... couldn't. First of all, I was confused. So, so confused. What are bird people exactly? I was basically picturing a team mascot.

Things in the beginning had moved slow, and then suddenly Aza is a bird person, in this whole new world, and I simply couldn't keep up. And also, it was kind of too weird and I stopped caring.

There were a few things I enjoyed, though. The writing was very pretty, and Jason was fantastic as a character (even though some of the stuff about him was highly unrealistic, his character itself was great). And, some of the stuff at the end was pretty enjoyable, so there's that.

But it seemed rushed in general. There was a lot of stuff crammed into 320 pages, which is probably why I had a hard time connecting to the bird stuff (well, that and the fact that it was bird people flying through the damn sky on big old ships). And I don't know if this was an intended outcome, but as the book wore on, I felt pretty sure that I was being given an environmental lecture? I could be completely off base here, but that's how some things came off.

Bottom Line: This was just not for me, but a lot of people absolutely adored it. There's apparently a sequel, but I don't think I will be partaking. I was fine with how this one ended, and honestly, I can't do anymore bird people.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight