If the Magic Fits (100 Dresses, #1)

by Susan Maupin Schmid

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Initial Thoughts: This is really cute and a fun adventure. Part of me wants the plot to be a little more complex and the magic more sophisticated, but if I remember it's a middle grade novel, it's fine.

Full Review:

If the Magic Fits is a charming, feel-good adventure that takes readers through a magical castle with a bevy of secrets.  It's just the type of middle grade novel I enjoy, featuring an imaginative protagonist who's always up for a challenge and some undercover exploration.

Parts of the novel didn't entirely make sense to me on a practical level. (There's a servant in the castle who only irons the princess's clothes?  And a wardrobe attendant who is also the princesses's greatest confidante and political advisor? ) However, I was willing to ignore these oddities because they help streamline the plot and make the story fun.  Also, I don't think these would have been sticking points for me if I had read the book as a child.

However, I do still wish the magical system were a little more sophisticated.  There's so much room for this to be more fully explored and fleshed out, and it would have strengthened the novel.  I think even as a child I would have been dissatisfied to learn that there's essentially ONE magic word that controls all the magic in the castle.

The book is also a bit odd in that it's both character-driven and not. Darling has a lot of grand plans about trying to save her beloved Princess from dastardly schemes, but so much of it seems to come to naught. She runs here and there about the castle, going on mini adventures, and yet she doesn't accomplish much relating to her main objective. I guess this is realistic, in that an eleven-year-old child (and a servant) may have limited effects on the grand workings of the kingdom, but the beauty of middle grade books is often that they present children as powerful and important. Darling occasionally comes across as impotent, as weeks pass without her achieving anything.

Despite these minor gripes, however, I did find the book entertaining and charming in its simplicity.  There are magic dresses and magic animals.  There are princes and princesses and people with secrets.  There are mysteries and romances and dares.  This strikes me as a bit younger middle grade novel, I think children will love it. A lot of adults will enjoy it too.