Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads Die Schule der Magischen Tiere #1: Die Schule der Magischen Tiere.
I have reviewed the movies...why not give the book a look. Spoilers ahead.
Benni is a bit of an awkward young boy. Ida is the new kid in town, who attends the same school as Benni. Here, she and him quickly befriend one another. They are also each given a magical animal: a companion throughout life who will look out for them and help them. Benni is given the wise turtle Henrietta, and Ida is given Rabbat the friendly fox. When the school starts to become vandalized, both children set out on a mission to find the culprit.
While I don't dislike this book, much like with the first movie I simply prefer the concept of the magical animals to what is actually done with them and the characters and the story. I love the idea of this secret society that matches children to magical talking animals who help them in need and are their best friends throughout their lives. That's a fun concept and a ton can be done with it! But the execution, at least in book one, is just a bit so-and-so.
The characters for one I'm not super into. I was surprised to see that the book focuses largely on Benni (who in the movie is more of a deuteragonist in favor of Ida), and while I do like him I still find him and Ida to just be okay characters. Jo is kind of interesting because he's troubled youth, but at the same time I don't find him that great or likable, either. Maybe in future books the cast will be more rounded, but I'm not super enthused with what they did with our main characters here, including the titular magical animals.
The plot of the mystery of who is vandalizing the school also doesn't come into play until quite a bit late into the book, which honestly I think could've been earlier. I get that in the early chapters they want to set up the whole magical animals lore and characters, but still I think the real meat of the plot could've gotten started a bit sooner.
Still, it's not a bad book. Just a bit bland and forgettable. I think children will love this, though. Maybe future installments (if I ever read those) will be more interesting, but this one didn't do it for me personally. The concept is definitely interesting and lends itself to a lot of potential, so we'll see how things play out.
Rating: 3/5
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