Magic Street, by Orson Scott Card, just confirms what a brilliant writer he is. I have read several series by Card: the Homecoming saga, Ender saga, and the Women of Genesis series. So when I saw previews on Magic Street, I was excited to read it.
In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, Card gives credit to his friend who encouraged him to write a story with a black hero. There is a lot of African-American slang throughout the book, and Card said that his friend is the one who helped him with this different point of view, because he didn’t want it to come off silly. He wanted to get it right.
Magic Street is about how a middle class, African-American community in LA is caught in the middle of a battle between the king and queen of the fairies. There are many references to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And that’s the best way to describe the book without giving too much away.
Mack Street was abandoned by a drainpipe as a baby, and the book follows his life, his strange powers, and his affect on his community. There are quite a few twists in this modern-day fairy tale. And while reading the first chapter, I thought Card must have been smoking something while writing this; Card managed to weave together a fun, magical tale that was surprisingly heart-warming.
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