Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found (Kingston #1)

Coded messages, characters who plainly know more than they're saying, doppelgangers, and secret schemes...all come together in a...breathlessly paced tale...should leave readers even more delighted that the stage is set for sequels.

This brisk, first-person narrative will appeal especially to readers who like puzzles and illusions... engaging plot and history of Black magician....A likable, otherworldly adventure with a bit of a mystery.

Kingston James, 12, has just moved back to his father's childhood home in Echo City, Brooklyn, after Pop's strange disappearance four years ago during a magic show gone wrong. Renovating their old three-story brownstone while fearing bank foreclosure, King's mother plans to convert the ground floor into a café, clearing out the magic shop run by King's paternal uncles. Settling into the neighborhood, King reconnects with his no-nonsense cousin Veronica and childhood friend Too Tall. The trio soon finds themselves at the Mercury Theater, where the storied magic show occurred, searching for clues that King's father may have left. Inside, they discover a mysterious box that causes King's hand to disappear--lost in the Realm, just like his father. But a menacing group of gray-skinned kids is also after the "Lost and Found" box, thus setting off a chain of events wherein King learns that every use of magic leaks through into reality, and that he's accidentally opened a rift to the Realm, which will destroy any hope of saving his father. Moses and Gangi have successfully conjured a fast-paced, magical read set in an accessible, vibrant world where Black magicians and a mainly Black cast take center stage. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jane Startz, Jane Startz Productions. (Feb.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Twelve-year-old Black boy Kingston James realizes he is reckoning with the spirits of his shattered family's former life when he spies the word magik scribbled underneath a stop sign. He and his mom are venturing back to Echo City, Brooklyn, after a four-year hiatus. Their escape from the family home coincided with the shocking and untimely disappearance of Kingston's dad, who was a well-known magician. One night, his dad entered a magic mirror while on stage at the Mercury Theater, never to be seen again. Now that they're back, it isn't long before Kingston finds himself up to his eyeballs in the mystery of his dad's disappearance. He brings along trusty sidekicks: his cousin Veronica and friend Too Tall. Intricately crafted twists at every turn keep the determined crew on their toes. The action is well paced, giving readers time to savor the myriad colorful characters who interact with the clue chasers. The rekindled friendship among Kingston, Veronica, and Too Tall is authentic, even when they make some missteps on the path to solving the crime. Readers will want to continue learning about Kingston and his friends in future installments. VERDICT An enjoyable addition to most middle school mystery collections. Come along for the ride (if you dare) as these determined sleuths discover portals, meet false realm characters, and puzzle over long-hidden clues on the path to finding the truth behind a gifted magician's untimely disappearance.—Julie Shatterly, W. A. Bess Elem. Sch., Gastonia, NC

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Praise for Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found

"Full of heart, magic, and mystery, this is the kind of book that makes you love books. Absolutely fantastic!" —Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of Catalyst 

"Inventive, authentic, and razor-sharp, Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found is at once an exhilarating fantasy and a moving tale of how far a father and son are willing to go for one another. Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi put aside familiar tropes to build something new, an underground New York City, filled with magic and secrets, that challenges readers to solve its mysteries alongside its main character. As for Kingston, we've never seen anything like him—a young Black superhero determined to put the magic back in Brooklyn. He's sharp, feisty, funny, and always a step ahead. This is a special book, the kind that you fall in love with, because beneath the fun and twists, shining through is Kingston's big, bold heart." —Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series 

"The text is zippy and animated, reading more like a screenplay than a novel, and the secondary characters are splashy . . . Kingston is a carefully balanced mix of optimistic, jaded, and grief-stricken, moving through the world with more hope than the grownups who surround him." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books