The Tarnished Garden - (Gilded Magic) by Alyssa Colman (Paperback)

New Characters And Expansion On House Dragons

Alyssa Colman has such a magical way with words. Even as an adult reading this middle grade novel, I am pulled in from the start. I adore how we go through the story from different perspectives and even more how she weaves it all together. Highly recommend!!

I loved The Gilded Girl and eagerly awaited Alyssa Colman’s sequel, The Tarnished Garden. Colman does not disappoint and, in fact, surpasses expectations with navigating complicated themes in a child-centered and delightful way. In The Tarnished Garden, we are reacquainted with Izzy and Emma, two strong characters from the first book and we learn so much more about Maeve, Izzy’s younger sister, who is a novice in the magical world of her new home at the Manhattan School for Magic. Colman adeptly weaves in themes of trust, and self-discovery through Maeve, that is, learning to trust others, but also looking inward and learning to trust oneself in times of self-doubt. Maeve learns to embrace her own unique, individual “magic” and realizes that with comparing herself to others, she is only limiting herself. Within the walls of the invisible and wondrous garden, Maeve discovers her strengths and uses them to identify and overcome destruction of the world that means the most to her. The suspense that builds as Maeve uncovers unsuspected truths and wrongdoing will have the reader rooting for justice, a continuing theme from The Gilded Girl. Colman has a gift for creating a magical world in the framework of historical accuracy. Her attention to historical and imaginative detail grants readers with magical powers of their own, that is to create delightful mental pictures as the story unfolds. A gem of a book with echoes of bravery, friendship, family and triumph of good over evil with marvelous magic woven throughout.