Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows

A mysterious bookshop, quirky characters, and magic? How can I resist? This was a fun read that may have started off a bit slow for me but quickly gained momentum and took my heart along for the ride. This is the type of story that would lend itself well to the screen. A Netflix mini-series maybe? Well-written and with endearing characters, I look forward to reading more of Thomas' adventures as well as the other characters in the story, particularly my faves Prof. Reilly and Squat. And of course the biggest question is, will Thomas be reunited with his dad? I wonder if I can magically conjure a copy of book 2, Thomas Wildus and the Wizard of Sumeria? If not, I would gratefully settle for an Early Reviewer copy. Kidding aside, this was show more an enjoyable read. Thank you to LibraryThing and Elandrian Press for the signed review copy. show less

I enjoyed this book very much! Thomas Wildus, a 12 year old boy, finds out that magic is real, and that he has the talent. He is given a book which tells a story about magic crystals. The book also responds to his innate talent letting others know that he has the gift. He is recruited to help save the world, but unfortunately for him, he learns magic best when his life is on the line, so it is a bit unpleasant for him! While I found the reasons behind the extreme secrecy asked of him to be a bit unsupported, (his mom knows about this stuff anyway, and nothing bad happens when he tells his best friend), I did enjoy the suspense of wondering what was going on. At the end of the book, Thomas needs to make a decision about good and evil, show more and realizes that good vs. evil is not always so black and white as we would like to believe. I am looking forward to the next installment. show less

Move over Percy and Harry, Thomas Wildus is da house! Welcome to a new world of magic, mystery, and delight!

Join Thomas Wildus, eponymous lead of Bergen's Thomas Wildus & the Book of Sorrows, as this young boy begins the adventure of a lifetime. And it all starts with a mysterious bookshop, of course! That, and the cryptic last words Thomas’ father ever said to him.

Magic is real, Thomas. No matter what happens, always remember that. Magic is real. ~John Wildus, Thomas Wildus & the Book of Sorrows

Returning home from school one day, Thomas stumbled across a bookshop he'd never seen before. H&A Booksellers, Purveyors of Fine Books and Rare Manuscripts. It is here that Thomas finally finds a real magic book. Huxley, the proprietor, loans show more Thomas the book- giving him several rules to follow with regard to being its custodian. In return, Thomas will donate 5 hrs of his time weekly, helping out in the bookstore, until he's finished with the book.

Read it alone
Keep it secret (keep it safe, haha. True though)
Read only one chapter at a time and never more than a chapter a day.

Things begin changing almost immediately for Thomas- he gets learn real magick! At least, he hopes so. It also opens up a nice can of worms, as people begin stalking him. After confiding in his best friend, Enrique, about the book, Thomas finds himself kidnapped and whisked away. To China. Here he learns more about magick and his own family that he ever thought possible.

Oh, but I loved this story! It was so much fun! There was a lot of snarky commentary, like the Percy Jackson books. The whole aspect of having the inner potential for magic awakened/ measured using a book that told of one of the first wizards was pretty cool. The more a person reads, and the greater the potential, the faster the cover becomes illuminated, as in an old manuscript's illumination. That kinda also reminded me of The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, both the illumination and the penchant for magic.

Thomas’ best friend Enrique is hilarious! They have an ongoing 'doodle war’ at school, which often gets them in trouble. The goal is to create a drawing that makes other person laugh as quickly as possible. Enrique has a greater part to play and I'm really interested to see where his story goes. Thomas too. His last name, and its origin are pretty cool. So were the quantum physics notions underlying magic and how it works. Makes it almost seem that if we ourselves had a greater understanding of those mechanics, we might be able to do magic ourselves.

Overall, a great read, perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and related series. Highly recommended!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Elandrian Press for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review. show less

I really enjoyed the format of this book being a massive fantasy nerd. Thomas was a realistic character being a awkward teenager, and trying not to get in trouble during class. His friendships with Enrique, and Akhil increased the overall enjoyment of the book. Although I wish there was more in depth discussion of magic and training although by the ending I assume that will happen in the second book. Some interesting unique qualities in the book compared to others is the Book of Sorrows which goes over history of magic, while also showing the magic inside someone. Overall I definitely loved this book and its characters.

This is a children's fantasy about a boy who finds a magic bookshop and becomes a magician. Yes, there are lots and LOTS of elements in the story that are well-used fantasy tropes. Bergen does a nice job of updating the setting and having a diverse set of characters and I think many 12-13 year old boys may enjoy the story. However, there is not much depth to either the characters or the plot and I don't think most adult readers of children's fantasy will find much substance here.

I want to start by explaining how this is both a personally purchased title, and a title I reviewed as a complimentary copy. I was meant to receive a physical copy of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by JM Bergen in the mail, and when I didn’t, I purchased the kindle version as I still wanted to review the novel. The synopsis had be excited and I thought this might be something like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. I understood it was middle school going in, but I’ve previously read and really enjoyed others in the same age-range. Unfortunately, about twenty percent into the novel, I had to stop as I knew I would not be able to provide an appropriate review.

There are some books and stories that, while meant for younger readers, show more can still appeal to older audiences. There are others that are so clearly written for an audience you are not part of that you immediately feel like an outsider looking in. I believe that is the case for me. I think this is something that middle and older elementary school children will enjoy, but something that from the onset, will not necessarily resonate with older audiences. Myself, as an adult, I found myself wanting to get straight into the magic part and not caring about the side trips to school, to friends, especially once the magic was established. I, as an adult, found myself wondering how is this kid not angry at his mother for forcing him to raise himself or prep food, how is he not angry at his father leaving since it never once sounded like he died. I, as an adult and former educator, found myself wondering how the mother found herself grading all her papers in a night when either it’s scantrons or essay format. Scantrons/Multiple choice, easy. Essay format, there is no way a person would be able to next day it. Additionally, universities (out here in ny anyway…) rarely have classes that meet two days in a row. Schedules typically are Mon/Weds or Tues/Thurs, meaning there would be numerous days between to grade. So either this mom was really bad at planning and managing time or I have no idea. These are things my adult brain questioned that a middle schooler wouldn’t even think to think about.

If you know a middle schooler into fantasy, then I think they would enjoy Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by JM Bergen. If you’re an adult, this is likely a hard pass. Can’t put a star rating because I am very clearly not the target audience and can’t judge it accurately.

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. // show less

This book was a fun read, and I highly recommend it for pre-teens and teens (or, for the young at heart such as myself who occasionally enjoy the odd YA read).

This is the story of a teenager with a broken family -- broken, because his father disappeared and presumably died, not because of a separation -- discovering that there was much more to his past than he thought, and that he was, in fact, destined to inherit magic. To some degree, this is Harry Potter Lite, but it does a fine job of going its own direction, so that isn't a negative.

The writing was engaging, the story was fun, and I greatly look forward to future books in this series.