Review of ‘The Fascinators’

Synopsis

A magic-infused YA novel about friendship, first love, and feeling out of place that will bewitch fans of Rainbow Rowell and Maggie Stiefvater.

Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia--and their time together in their school's magic club--to see him through to graduation.

But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs.

With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart--and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix.

Review

The Fascinators is a thoughtful novel, blending in fantasy and realism, bringing magic to a small town in Georgia. There is great-world-building, grounding the reader in this small town of Georgia.

Eliopulos did a remarkable job creating this world and grounding the reader into the world here. The Fascinators offers a wonderfully realistic interpretation of magic. In this small town, magic is everywhere, in everyone. It is a part of life, and some people are better at it than others while others simply ignore it.

It is a thoughtful way to blend magic and realism to make the story incredibly compelling. There is a cult named True Light hunting this group of friends. James got into some trouble during the summer, and this trouble involved a powerful spellbook. Moreover, now this spellbook has started to drive a wedge between them.

Character Dynamics

As much as this novel is about magic, it is mostly about first loves and friendship and the struggle to grow up, even if that means outgrowing your friends. Sam is the main protagonist, but the story does shift points of view to show the full scope of their friendship. Sam is dealing with his feelings for his best friend James while James struggles with his unstable home and Delia struggles with being forgotten, believing that power is the only thing she has.

It is a compelling exploration of friendship and growing up, and in the end, it was quite beautiful. It was great to see Sam move on from James and let himself grow into a different person than he was. He sees how his friendship with Delia and James has not always been the best for him, so he starts to let go of them. This is important because James is completely undeserving of Sam and his friendship at times, and the person Delia has become is also underserving. However, Delia’s shift would make an interesting sequel. Eliopulos has set up a great villainous origin story with her.

Final Thoughts

Overall, The Fascinators flows beautifully; it tackles identity, sexuality, and friendship, while also captivating readers with the use of magic and how it connects people.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband and son and their two cats, Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx.