Customer Reviews

The Magic Warble

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great book! When my elementary aged daughter saw the cover art with the faerie on it, she was immediately interested in reading it, so I let her read it first. She loved this chapter book full of wondrous adventures, and said she would like to read it again.

When it was finally my turn to read The Magic Warble, I was impressed at how well developed the characters were, and how the story draws you in. I found myself thinking of the book when I wasn't reading it, looking forward to picking up where I had had left off!

This is exactly the type of book I was drawn to in my elementary and tween years, and even now as an adult, I find The Magic Warble's timeless theme of good verses evil quite captivating. My tween age daughter is excited that it is now her turn to read the Magic Warble!

I feel that Kristina, the main character in the book is a wonderful role model for children of all ages, proving that we all hold inner strength to accomplish difficult feats that we might not have thought we were capable of.

I recommend The Magic Warble for children at chapter book reading levels, especially those who love fantasy! Moms who love fantasy books should borrow it when their kids are done reading it... it is so refreshing to be transported to another world in the middle of a busy work-filled day!

Best,
The Freebie Fairy

The Freebie Fairy ~ Blog Author
[...]

Why I read this: The author asked me to review her book and I saw that my friend Kate from The Neverending Shelf had read and enjoyed it, so I gave it a try. :)

Plot: Definitely has the epic feel of great children's fantasy - like The Chronicles of Narnia. I love the familiarity of the plot and how unique it was at the same time. Definitely wishing I read more fantasy lately after reading this one.

Characters: Kristina is an unlikely hero and one that steps up to the plate ...more Why I read this: The author asked me to review her book and I saw that my friend Kate from The Neverending Shelf had read and enjoyed it, so I gave it a try. :)

Plot: Definitely has the epic feel of great children's fantasy - like The Chronicles of Narnia. I love the familiarity of the plot and how unique it was at the same time. Definitely wishing I read more fantasy lately after reading this one.

Characters: Kristina is an unlikely hero and one that steps up to the plate without much complaining. She has her faults and isn't perfect, but tries hard enough to continue on that she succeeds.

The fairies - Clover and Looper - were great sidekicks and had bright personalities - what you would expect out of fairies. They definitely added some character spice to this book and had me cracking up more than once.

Prince Werrein - well it's not fantasy without some kind of royalty - although you wouldn't know it at first. He's been in hiding until his mother is restored to the throne until the current queen is defeated. I like that he also is very human, there are traits in him that definitely are not princely, but rather remind you of his age. Definitely fun to watch Kristina and Werrein interact throughout the book.

Relatability: Every girl's dream. It's just one of those books where a regular girl actually goes to another world and becomes strong and important. It truly is a dream come true type book. Brings me back to my days of reading Bruce Coville's Into the Land of Unicorns series.

Cover Commentary: Beautiful. Actually all of the images drawn in the book are out of this world. They look like pencil drawings and are just fantastic. Whoever did the art is a genius with that medium.

This book was amazing. I loved this book! It was action packed and I couldn't get enough of the storyline!!!!! Since the characters are fairies and goblins this book was almost like a fairytale. I loved the unfortunate twists and turns all throughout. I didn't know how it would end until the very last second, the author really added a nice touch.

This book was written in third person, as if the reader was telling the story to someone else. I love the way Victoria Simcox used clear descriptive words and the little illustrations throughout added a special touch of magic. I felt as though I was really there in the story, just standing; watching. The book was so hard to stop reading. I can't wait to read the next book!

--- 9 yr old girl

*I was asked to read and review this book by the author*

Dwarves, Faeries, talking animals, an evil queen and a handsome prince? What more could you want? All of this adds up to a delightful MG fantasy.

I was asked to read/review this by the author and I must say I really enjoyed it! While it is most certainly a MG book (the writing style was geared toward the younger group), I was very glad that I read it. A young girl, Kristina, is a given the Magic Warble by her teacher which takes her to the magical world of Bernovem. She must return the Magic Warble to its resting place in order to free this new world from its curse. Kristina is thrust into an adventure and on this journey she must learn bravery and trust. But never fear! Along the way, she makes many friends who help her on her quest.

Kristina is a outcast in her world with pretty much no friends. On her adventure, however, she meets many who become her true friends. Kristina really grows throughout this book, going from an average girl, to a girl fighting off monsters and an evil queen. She becomes one tough cookie and I absolutely loved it! Prince Werrien may not have been exactly kind to Kristina at first, but he soon becomes her best friend that would do anything for her. I really look forward to seeing their relationship blossom in the next book. All of the secondary characters really added to this book. They all helped (or hindered) Kristina on her journey and I hope to see them again.

The plot was really intriguing. For a light book, there is still plenty of action! Not to mention a few twists and turns that keep you guessing!

To be honest, this book gave off a Narnia vibe and that's a good thing! While this has the basic aspects of a fairy tale, it is still unique in its own way. This book has fantasy and adventure, and I think that people of all ages will truly enjoy this. For the younger readers, this is an epic fantasy that takes them to a new world and gives them relatable characters. For the older audience, although it is clearly for MG readers, I still think you will enjoy this. It is a nice read for a rainy day, if you want a light fantasy read. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will recommend it to others.

Thank you Mrs. Simcox for allowing me to read and review your book!

When I was first contacted by Victoria Simcox to review her book The Magic Warble, I'll admit I was a bit hesitant. You see, I don't read Harry Potter type fantasy books, and this is exactly what this book sounded like. I actually dislike those types of books. But after reading what it was about, it really got my attention.

The Magic Warble is a story about a 12 year old girl named Kristina Kingsly who does not have many friends, other than her pet rat Raymond. She is constantly being teased by the kids at her school and never fits in with them. That right there, I immediately related to. I was not very popular in school, and I felt that this would actually be a cute story that many kids would relate to. I was right!

On her last day of school before Christmas break, Kristina's teacher gives her a present. Excited about what it could be, Kristina takes it home and once she opens it, she finds the Magic Warble. She is then transported to the land of Bernovem where her adventure begins.

Bernovem is a land controlled by the evil Queen Sentiz. It has been under her control for many years. Kristina, however, has been chosen to release the land from the evil queen's rule. In Bernovem, she not only fits in completely, but she now has everyone relying on her to make it the place it used to be by placing the Magic Warble in its resting place. But the task alone is quite difficult and one she will need help with.

At Bernovem, Kristina meets Prince Werrien whose mother is the real queen of Bernovem but is being held prisoner by Queen Sentiz. Kristina also meets fairies, gnomes, and even talking animals who all become her friends and try to help her in some way during this adventure.

I really enjoyed this book. I was completely fascinated by how Simcox described the whole adventure. I actually felt like I was right there with the characters. I pictured every single scene and really felt what Kristina was feeling and going through.

What obstacles does she encounter? How does it all end?

The Magic Warble is a great book for children ages 9 and older, and for those people who love fantasy books. It's easy to read, and it really takes you on a great adventure. Kristina is someone I feel a lot of kids can relate to. The line I absolutely love the most from this book was one her father told her. In the beginning of the book, we learn that he would always tell her, "Don't worry about it, if you don't have many friends at school, you're a unique girl and if you find a few unique friends in life, be grateful for that." I loved this line because I felt it really described what this whole book was truly about, friendship.

The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox is quite the fun and exciting adventure and one I enjoyed. This book is rated for ages 9-12 but we all know I am way past that and I found it a great tale even for an adult to escape into. It takes you on a journey to another world filled with gnomes, fairies, dwarfs, an evil queen and even animals that can talk.

The story is about Kristina, who when we first meet her, we find that she is a lonely twelve-year old girl who is an outcast at school. The kids tease her and she just can't seem to fit in no matter how hard she tries. At Christmas time her teacher gives her an old dusty hatbox and tells her that it's time for it to be passed on. She awakens one night to a strange noise that just won't go away and she discovers it's coming from the hatbox. Kristina finally gets into the box and finds a ball inside that when dropped in her hand, turns hot. Next thing she knows, she wakes up in the land of Bernovem and her adventure begins.

The thing is in Bernovem, Kristina is important. It turns out she is `the chosen one'. The one who can save Bernovem from the evil Queen Sentiz. All she has to do is get the Magic Warble to it's final resting place. Thankfully to help her along she has Prince Werrien, a young and handsome boy who is the rightful Prince of Bernovem. His mother has been imprisoned on Treachery Island since Queen Sentiz came to rule over Bernovem.

So begins the journey that Kristina and Werrien embark on. There is also the small matter of three kids from Kristina's school that have happened to land in Bernovem as well. Even though though these kids have been cruel to Kristina, she just can't leave them behind to the wiles of Queen Sentiz. Together Kristina and Werrien, with the help of a whole host of other characters, battle zelbocks (the Queen's army), the weather, and even people they thought they could trust.

The Magic Warble is much more than just your average adventure story. We see Kristina grow stronger in her confidence as the story goes on and we see just how loyal the bonds of friendship can be. There is no offensive language or scenes in the book and would be perfectly readable for the 9-12 age group and maybe younger depending on a child's reading skill. In the world of exciting adventures and unique characters, The Magic Warble is the perfect reading choice. Spending this magical time in Bernovem was just what I needed right now - a little escape to a magical other world.

My 10 year old son really doesn't "love" to read but absolutely loves this book. We bought it while on a trip to Seattle last year when Victoria was doing a book signing at the airport bookstore. My son read the book for a 4th grade book report and loved it. It's the only book he wants to read again and he keeps asking if she has written a sequel or any more books! Looking forward to the next one!

We loved this book. I would read to the boys a little each night until bedtime until the book was finished. We loved Clover and Looper the most, those cheeky fairies! The book is reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland, but not a copy. The writing is impeccable and the artwork throughout really adds to the story. We will be reading this book again and again over the years.

I am happy I had the opportunity to review this book. I love fantasy books with fairy's, talking animals, adventure so I was really hoping this was going to be a really good book. Boy was I right it was a wonderful book to sit down and read.

My family loves these types of books so this was our family book we picked to read. We always pick out a book they might like and spend an hour at night every night reading it. This ended up being one of those we choose. This book was enjoyed by my whole family they really got into it wanting to know what happens next. It was hard for me not to read on outside of our family reading time because I really didn't want to wait to find out what happens next but I was a good mom and waited just like they did.

They like that the hero in this book (Kristina) started out being bullied and not very popular to being the chosen one. My middle daughter thought it was cool that the main character was the same age as her Twelve. They told me it was poetic justice for the main character and that it made them feel really good to see the main character go from a so called no body to the most important part of Bernovem.

This was an enjoyable book for my family. If you like fantasy books with evil queens, talking animals, dwarfs, gnomes, fairy's will this had them all.....

* I have been provided a complimentary signed copy of The Magic Warble for review by the Author Victoria Simcox. By receiving a complimentary copy it in no way obligates me to write a good or bad review. I am an honest reviewer and my reviews are based on my families and my own opinion and written only by me.*

Kristina is an unpopular grade school girl that can't seem to find anyone to like her, except for her pet rat. She is the recepient of a very special gift from her teacher, but it doesn't seem like much to begin with. A small ball that seems to make a funny little noise. But this is no oridinary trinket. Getting this to the right place could mean the life or death of all the magical creatures in the fairy tale world Kristina finds herself in.

The reader is introduced to gnomes, dwarves, fairies, and talking animals. There is betrayal, intrigue, sabatoge, and new friendship. This is an amazing book for young readers (my daughter is currently reading through it at 8 yrs old and loves it).

4/5