Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For is My Name Is Magic by Xan Van Rooyen!
Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary or Urban Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MC
Published on: 27th September 2022
Goodreads
Taika Turunen has no magic.
Despite coming from a long line of powerful Finnish mages, and their name literally meaning magic, Taika can’t perform the simplest of spells.
Forced to attend Myrskyjärvi International School for the Magically Gifted on account of their mom being principal, Taika has a hard time fitting in. Sometimes, they wonder if not having magic has something to do with the fact they’re neither a girl nor a boy and if they’re fated to be Taika the Talentless forever.
Life goes from bad to worse when Taika sees a liekkiö and recognizes the spirit's voice begging for help as that of their former BFF and major crush, Natalie Khumalo, whose recent absence from class hadn’t gone unnoticed. When more students go missing, Taika must take the lead in a race against time to save friends old and new before a powerful cabal of chaos mages can unleash the legendary Sampo, an artifact capable of either renewing the world’s waning magic or destroying everything Taika holds dear.
To rescue Natalie, Taika will have to journey to the liminal space between worlds where they’ll be forced to battle mythical monsters and their own flagging self-esteem. In doing so, Taika might just discover that magic—and love—comes in many different forms.
For fans of witchcraft and wizardry looking for a new, inclusive story, My Name Is Magic is a story about finding strength from within and potential where you least expected it.
How could I NOT be excited for a magic school story set in Finland?! I’ve been interested in Finnish folklore and magic for years now, and I can’t BELIEVE our luck in actually getting a Finnish magic school story!!! And it does sound like, from the description, Rooyen intends to draw on Finnish mythology and influences, which potentially means introducing readers to magic systems and beasties they’ve never seen before. YAYNESS!
Also??? The Finnish schooling system is dramatically different from the typical global model of education, so I have my fingers crossed that Rooyen might draw from that as well. That would be extremely cool.
So I would be swooning for this book anyway – but we get a nonbinary MC as well?! Who is literally named Magic?!
DOES ANYONE HAVE A TIME MACHINE I COULD BORROW TO SKIP TO SEPTEMBER???
Also-also, don’t think I missed the anarchist symbol on the cover! How is that going to be worked into the story? I don’t know, but I am VIBRATING with excitement!
You can preorder My Name Is Magic now, and you absolutely should!
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