I entered this series on book 3, when I was looking for books that had main characters who play violin. Naturally, I went back and put the rest of the books on hold, and we really loved them! But it does help to know there's four books in the series, each one following a different main character in the core squad of Magic Misfits. Izzy and Ozzy haven't gotten their own book. :-(
Twelve-year-old Carter is used to hopping trains, sleeping in doorways and helping his Uncle Sly con folks on the street out of their hard-earned cash with the shell game or by performing minor magic tricks and distracting them while his uncle pickpockets them.
But he draws the line at stealing from them, himself. So when his uncle steals a diamond from the woman who runs the boarding house where they've stayed, of late, that's the final straw. He runs.
His uncle chases him to the rail yard, but Carter hops a train to Mineral Wells and Sly doesn't quite make it. When Carter gets off, he immediately enters B.B. Bosso's Carnival. He's hungry, tired and emotionally spent, but notices an amazing magician, Mr. Vernon, in his tux and top hat. Mr. Vernon offers Carter his card, an invitation to come to his magic shop, and a warning: steer clear of Bosso.
Carter gets caught rummaging around in a garbage can for food at the carnival, and Bosso offers him a place with the carnies. But Bosso has the same con-man feel as his Uncle Sly, and he wants none of that. He sleeps in the park and in the morning goes to Mr. Vernon's magic shop.
There he meets Leila, Mr. Vernon's adopted daughter, who's an escape artist dreaming of doing Houdini-esque feats. She introduces him to Theo, a private school kid who plays the violin and wears a tux all the time (and can levitate objects with his special violin bow) and Riley, who uses a wheelchair, and can perform feats of magic using color and words and all kinds of neat things.
Mr. Vernon is married to the Other Mr. Vernon, who's a chef at the Grand Oak Resort. They meet Izzy and Ozzy, who join the Magic Misfits. Bosso and his crew of clowns are staying at the hotel, and it's not long before the Magic Misfits catch -- and stop -- their nefarious goons pilfering from the Mineral Wells citizenry.
Then it's Bosso vs. Magic Misfits, and I won't spoil how they defeat him, but they do, although his clown goons get away.
This was a delightful start to the series and nicely sets up the rest of the books. Read it especially close as a foundation for the last book, which brings everything full circle.
This book is told from the point-of-view of Leila, Mr. Vernon's adopted daughter and the escape artist in training.
A psychic with a secret comes to Mineral Wells, and it's not long before the Magic Misfits figure out something about her act is not right.
Leila is usually very happy being the daughter of the Misters Vernon, but still she wonders about who her parents, particularly her mother, is.
First, B.B. Bosso's monkey tries to steal Mr. Vernon's ledger, and the kids learn it's written in a cipher, the Atbash cipher, to be exact.
Then, one of Mr. Vernon's old magic-gang arrives on his doorstep, Sandra Santos. She's a psychic, a clairvoyant, who receives messages from spirits who've passed on. She's supposedly inherited a house from her deceased mother and moves back to Mineral Wells.
Of course it's not long before she's foretelling the futures of the Magic Misfits, specifically Leila's, reminding her of a very special key that was attached to a ribbon and Leila, when she was left on the orphanage doorstep. She tells Leila to "keep it close."
Izzy and Ozzy adopt two "magic mice" and begin training them, and the Resort's ancient, grumpy bellhop, Dean, steers the kids in the direction of some recent ghost sightings in the Resort's abandoned wing, the one that burned down so many years ago.
Sandra helps the ghosts "move on" and gains a gig at the Grand Oak Resort for her efforts. But the kids aren't convinced she's genuine, and start their own investigation of what happened in the fire, who's been in the wing lately, and they learn about Mr. Vernon's group of magicians, back when he was a teen. This is how they learn about mesmerist and Mr. Vernon's nemesis, Kilroy Kalagan, a dark, mysterious figure who's pulling all the strings in Mineral Wells.
I won't spoil the heart-breaking twist at the end, with Sandra's performance, so I'll stop here. It's a great second installment in the series!
So this is the book I read originally, then went back to read book 1, etc. And yes, I read for the character, Theo, who plays a violin and has a "magic," collapsible bow that can levitate objects when he points it at them. There are truly so very few violin or string playing main characters in middle grade lit that it's like finding the needle in a haystack to find a character like Theo, and I thank Mr. Harris for writing him!
Theo Stein-Meyer is the youngest in a family of accomplished musicians and his parents have set the expectations bar high. But magic is what pulls at his soul, that and being a vital part of the Magic Misfits, and he's let his violin practicing go by the wayside. This doesn't go unnoticed by his family, and they tug at him to come back into the fold.
We loved this characterization and how it was lovingly portrayed. It resonated with us, as it didn't fall into the "pushy musical parents" stereotype and ultimately doesn't cast the family's expectations as being unrealistic or unforgiving.
At the same time, the Magic Misfits are on the look out for Mr. Vernon's nemesis, mesmerist and arch-villain, Kalagan.
When a new act rolls into Mineral Wells, a ventriloquist with a creepy doll and the ability to throw his voice to and from nearly anywhere, the Misfits are immediately on high-alert. Then dolls with pull-string messages, advertising the act at the Grand Oak Resort, show up all over town.
It's not long before Riley takes one apart and discovers a radio transceiver listening to the townspeople's personal lives! To what end? Why would he want to do this unless...he works for Kalagan!
And the Misfits start infighting. It's not typical of them, but someone says something that hurts feelings and soon they're on barely speaking terms...and you know it's a ploy to break them up, so they're not a threat to Kalagan any longer. But I guarantee, you don't know by who!
At this point, I can't say much more, or I'll spoil it. But know, in the end, Theo plays a significant role in sending a message to Kalagan that the Misfits aren't afraid of him, and still manages to play in the talent show with his family.
We loved the way this one wrapped up but left the door open for the finale!
The fourth and final book is written from Riley's point-of-view. She's worried she's too much trouble for her mother, who she's secretly afraid loves her work (writing books!) more than her.
Kalagan will use this deep seated fear against her, as he'll use all the Misfits' fears and petty jealousies against them in his final play to discredit Mr. Vernon in the kids' eyes, once and for all, and bring them over to his side.
Except he's underestimated the kids' love for Mr. Vernon and deep-rooted friendships. I can't say much more or I'll ruin the twists, but just know, this book brings the Misfits' and Mr. Vernon's story full-circle to Carter's arrival in Mineral Wells in book 1 (hint-hint!).
