Author:
Elsie Chapman
Publisher:
Scholastic Press
Date of Pub:
Sept 3, 2019
Source:
found at the local library in the red exam center for reviews.
hardcover; 336 pages
Genre:
urban fantasy, magic, YA
Synopsis:
Dude! Look at that cover, though!!?!?! I love it! I love it when covers can essentially give us everything we need to know about the book {although we don't know that until we read the book} and Caster does just this.
Avatar: The Last Airbender meets Fight Club in this action-packed fantasy about a secret, underground magic fighting tournament.
If the magic doesn't kill her, the truth just might.
Aza Wu knows that real magic is dangerous and illegal. After all, casting killed her sister, Shire. As with all magic, everything comes at a price. For Aza, it feels like everything in her life has some kind of cost attached to it. Her sister had been casting for money to pay off Saint Willow, the gang leader that oversees her sector of Lotusland. If you want to operate a business there, you have to pay your tribute. And now with Shire dead, Aza must step in to save the legacy of Wu Teas, the teahouse that has been in her family for centuries.
When Aza comes across a secret invitation, she decides she doesn't have much else to lose. She quickly realizes that she's entered herself into an underground casting tournament, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Real magic, real consequences. As she competes, Aza fights for her life against some very strong and devious competitors.
When the facts about Shire's death don't add up, the police start to investigate. When the tributes to Saint Willow aren't paid, the gang comes to collect. When Aza is caught sneaking around with fresh casting wounds, her parents are alarmed. As Aza's dangerous web of lies continues to grow, she is caught between trying to find a way out and trapping herself permanently.
My Thoughts:
Lotusland is a complicated land where full magic casters are shunned because of the damage they have caused to Earth. They are illegal and hunted down by enforcers called Scouts.
And Aza is just that -a full magic-user
The world-building in Caster is very descriptive. As Chapman described each sector, all of your senses are used to imagine each Sector. The tea sector, where Aza and her family reside, seemed to make crave all my favorite teas as I read the descriptions. The spice sector made me hungry for curry and all my favorite spicy foods.
I was thoroughly impressed with how our author could insert into the story with her use of storytelling.
I found myself relating to Aza in more ways the longer the story went on. I understood her grief and felt her pain, trying to keep her family in their home and legacy. Most of all, I mourned for her and the loneliness that she seemed to exude out to everyone. I loved that Aza was a kick-ass heroine who knew she had flaws but also learned to adapt and learn from them.
Aza was quick-witted and had loads of street smarts to get by with the gang that followed her around trying to collect " honor marks" in exchange for protection from them.
The magical tournament makes me think of Mortal Kombat. And of course, Fight Club as well. But Mortal Kombat is what really popped in my head every night she fought in the different sections of the tournament.
Caster is a wonderful read!! You will be second guessing every clue you get and you will still be shocked a few times as well. I freaking love that there isn't a love interest in this story. It was refreshing to read a YA story that wasn't about falling in love and the plot following that arc of the story. Not that I don't enjoy the YA romance; but I just really liked that Aza was the main focus of the story.
Caster was a gritty fantasy about the magic that isn't all rainbows and wands. It shows us that magic hurts. It can be painful and it can destroy even when it is trying to save. What a great way to incorporate how we treat the Earth now into a fantasy story with magic!! I can't wait to read more from Elsie Chapman and I do believe we may see more of Aza and Lotusland.
I can't wait!
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