Review: Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandanna

Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic
by Sangu Mandanna
artwork by Pablo Ballesteros

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Middle Grade

Blurb:
When you’ve dreamed of getting into the Seven Schools of Magic your whole life, what do you do when it turns out to be the worst thing ever? This heartwarming graphic novel adventure is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Okay Witch, and City of Dragons!

For all of her twelve years, Jupiter Nettle has wanted to attend one of the Seven Schools of Magic. When she finally gets the call to take the entrance exam, she shocks everyone with her magic skills . . . but not in the way she’d hoped. Failing spectacularly in one test after another, Jupiter goes home dejected and confused. What will she do now?

That night, Jupiter gets an unexpected visitor and, amazingly, another chance at the Seven Schools! But learning magic isn’t what she expected it to be . . . the School of Earth Magic is looked down upon by others, it doesn’t involve cool spells, and her teacher, Professor Grim, certainly lives up to his name. Jupiter works hard, but the doubts in her mind shake her confidence until she’s ready to give up. Then an age-old enemy returns to exact revenge on the Seven Schools, leaving Jupiter to finally find the courage and magic that’s been within her all along.

This inclusive, beautifully illustrated graphic novel from the author of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom is packed with action, heart, and plenty of magic.

My Review

I Picked this one up after enjoying The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by author Sangu Mandanna earlier this year. And this one fit nicely with my goals to read more graphics novels and more Middle Grade books this year.

I had a great time reading this one. It’s such a fun read. I liked reading about Jupiter, seeing her get accepted in the seven Schools of Magic and then the reality being different than her dreams. It deals with her feeling like an outsider and eventually finding her place. I liked the characters and seeing Jupiter find her way and make friends Her cat Lilith is a fun addition to and is always close to her. No big surprises when it comes to the plot, but it was fun seeing it all play out.

I really liked the artwork of this one. The art just looked awesome. The characters expressions are all done really well and I like how much is conveyed through the art. It was a joy to look at the artwork and I felt it really was a part of the story.

To summarize: I had a great time reading this one. I liked reading about Jupiter, seeing her get accepted at the Seven Schools of Magic and find her place after some struggles. I appreciated how it deals with feeling like an outsider and finding her place at the school. There are some fun characters like Jupiter and her cat Lilith as well as some teachers and students. I really liked the art style, it looked great and the characters expression were really well done. The art really adds to the story and is a big part of the experience of reading this book.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.