ABOUT THE BOOK
When he’s accidentally transformed into a wizard, a young misfit boy is called upon to save the town he’s been desperately trying to escape in this spooky, whimsical tale of magic and mayhem.
By age thirteen, the list of nasty foster homes Goff had lived in was longer than he was old. He’d given up on having friends long ago. He survived by keeping his head down, hiding from bullies, ignoring teasing morons, and pouring himself into earning a Scholarship to Amworth Academy, a place he hoped he could finally call home. When transferred to Spraksville, a town with a history of witchcraft, it was just more of the same to him — until the stone gargoyles started talking to him. That changed everything.
With the help of a few unexpected friends, he discovers that ending up in Spraksville wasn’t accidental. Thirteen generations back, Goff’s ancestor stopped a maniacal dark wizard from performing an ancient ritual to become invincible. Now, due to magical laws, Goff is the one who must stop the present-day counterpart living in Spraksville from performing the same ritual on Halloween night. The problem is that the Mathers clan placed a diabolical curse on Goff’s family tree to make them as magical as broken kitchen appliances. Basically, Goff opposing Mathers is like a box turtle taking on a T-Rex.
​ As Halloween approaches, Mathers magically seals Spraksville off to escape and transforms the adults into an army of soul-sucking ghouls. Stopping the ritual seems impossible as the sky boils crimson at sunset. No one in town will survive, and the rest of the world will fall into darkness. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and for Goff, the odds couldn’t be worse. Basically, he doesn’t stand a chance.
| Publisher | Bisket Press, LLC |
|---|---|
| Author | Fred Gracely |
| Narrator | Colin Watts |
| Time | 11 hours and 38 minutes |
| Age Group | YA / MG 12+ |
It’s hard for me to rate an audiobook since I’m always trying to consider how much the narrator might have enhanced or weakened my thoughts toward the story. Hard to know. But as I listened to this spooky tale I was quickly drawn in by a wonderful British accent. Colin Watts, the narrator, did a terrific job of bringing this story to life.
It was refreshing for me to learn that Goff, a boy who was being bullied, ended up having the ability to save the town from a disaster. And our potential hero definitely didn’t fit the superhero mold. He was an orphan, a loner at school, and was continually bullied. You might say he better fit the mold of . . . a misfit?
Things really start to get exciting when our misfit accidentally becomes a wizard. Then, in time, he starts to figure out what’s going on around town.
But will anyone listen to his warnings?
Okay, I’m going out on a limb here, but the whole time I listened to this audiobook I kept comparing it to Harry Potter. It was good. Really good. Just like Harry Potter.
The characters, both magical and human, were unique and well-developed. The story was captivating.
My Concerns
I loved the narrator’s British accent, but it may not work for everyone.
Final Thoughts
Would I have liked the book quite as well if it wasn’t narrated in such an incredible manner? Who’s to say? But I think I would have.
The underlying theme of bullying, friendship, teamwork, and courage was handled beautifully. No didactic message was attached, but rather the story itself stood for the message. I will be completely surprised if kids don’t love everything about Misfits Magic.
Fred Gracely is an author I’ll definitely be putting on my radar.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ability to listen to the audiobook and post my opinion, whatever that might be.
About The Author
I grew up in Pennsylvania in the sixties/seventies/eighties and now reside just outside Boston Massachusetts. After attending six different colleges and studying many different subjects (art, electronics, computer science, psychology), I earned a B.S. in Psychology from Framingham State University and later in life, an M.A. in Human Relations, Specializing in Holistic Counseling Psychology, from Lesley University (psychology is one of my passions).
I discovered my love for writing and storytelling as I read books to my children. On a whim, I started telling them ad-hoc stories, and that lead to me writing premeditated ones (they liked those better). I work as a software engineer, which I love, but there are few things I love as much as sitting down to craft language and bring my characters and their world to life.
I’ve written a number of other novels, but Misfit’s Magic holds a special place in my heart — I’ve been somewhat of a misfit all my life.
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