Best of the Month: July 2015: Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

A world in the sky
Aug 3, 2015
2 min read

Aza Ray suffers from a strange lung disease. A medical miracle, Aza has lived longer than anyone expected, but nobody knows how much longer she can hold on. And it is to horror, but no surprise, when Aza succumbs to her illness. Lost to the human world, Aza enters another, wilder world in the sky, a sea of flying ships that, in the modern age, struggle to feed themselves. Aza is torn between captains as she is fought over, each side claiming to be doing the right thing as she struggles to become familiar with the new world of Magonia and learn more about what she has become.

Aza is strong, clever, and independent with an attitude about death that reminds me of Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars. She doesn't want to be coddled just because she's sick and wants to show others that she can take care of herself. Aza also is unwilling to accept failure. She's a kind and empathetic girl who wants to help those in need and can't stand the sight of an animal in pain. I love her attitude and can't wait to see her develop.

Magoia makes use of interesting mythology. According to medieval myths, ships would fly through the sky and steal crops. There were documented sightings of these ships, and some people would sometimes claim to live on them. I've never come across these stories before, and they were very interesting! The idea to use them to write a story is so creative!

I adored Magonia. Aza is s fierce, beautiful heroine, and the whimsical setting was amazing to read about. I loved the plot twists and characters, and the idea is so original! From the ending, which left me hungry for more, I can guess that this will become a series, and I can't wait to read the next books. Magonia was simply breathtaking. This is exactly the fresh new book I was hoping to read, and I loved it, loved it, loved it! There is nothing quite like Magonia out there, and I highly recommend it to any fan of fantasy looking for a good read! 5/5 stars, easy!