Spellhacker: A High-Stakes YA Heist Through Magic, Friendship, and Saving the World

Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop

What a fantastic novel. The thing that worked out best for this novel was how reminiscent it was of Final Fantasy VII. The idea and concept behind the novel, of magic being this thing that exists all around the planet, it is the source of life and a gift to some people. While Spellhacker seems familiar, the modernity of the novel, the characterization, and world-building give it a fresh edge.

The pacing here is also magnificent. The story opens with such a rush, introducing the characters and the world. It is a little jarring to be thrust in the middle of a character on the run from the police, but it offsets the tension and hooks the reader. Moreover, as the story progresses, it gives the reader an idea of the type of magic in this world, and the type of character Diz is.

After sucking the reader into the story with a fast-paced opening, the reader gets to know the dynamics between the characters. They have a strong family dynamic, being there for one another, and for Diz, this is hard to reconcile with the pain she has from losing her family years ago. It makes it tough for her to break down her barriers, and the entire story is not just about undermining an evil corporation that is threatening the entire planet, but it is also about finding a way to feel again.

Spellhacker is more than just an Oceans 11 type story with a Final Fantasy atmosphere; it is about the characters learning to open themselves up to the type of love that also means risking pain as well. It is about moving on from the grief of the past and those chains that way a person down. True, Diz does come off as selfish at times, but she is still an understandable and relatable character. Her fears, anxieties, her love and devotion to her friends, it makes her a grounded character and highlights her growth as a character.

Overall, a great fun, fast-paced read with diverse characters and an action-packed plot. (★★★★☆)

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For such a beautifully built world with an intricately woven magic system that plays alongside futuristic tech in all its sci-fi glory; it's a real shame that this book was so difficult to get through. There are two cardinal sins a book can make- being boring and making a main character so completely insufferable that reading the book feels like a self-inflicted punishment. This book has one of those two problems to an extreme degree. Dizzy is so utterly emotionally constipated for seventy-five percent of the book that they are beyond frustrating to follow. The fact that they are intentionally written to be completely intolerable, to the point it is directly called out by another character over halfway through is baffling to me. When another character complains "We can't hang in limbo until you decide you're ready to actually have an emotion," and then the lack of self-awareness to realize that despite being in Diz's head, the reader likely feels the same way, and then to leave it unaddressed until the last fourth of the book when you realize your main character is intended to actually have an arc of growth is a confusing choice. The last quarter of this book delivers wonderfully, the magic system is beautifully written and descriptive, the way tech is incorporated manages to be seamless and feel natural, and the world is fantastic in the way it is built. However, it's a shame that none of these things make this any less of a frustrating story to read. It feels as if the world and magic came far before the plot or characters written. I wish we had gotten more of the heists promised and less of its only conflict for half of the book being "character refuses to use their grown-up words".