However, before Nic can convince her dad to start teaching her magic, a series of events launch Nic and her friends on a dangerous quest. A quest to find a dangerous magical tool to save her dad from imprisonment. And hopefully to prove he didn’t commit the crime that everyone says that he did. But what really happened to land him there in the first place? Review: Nic Blake and the Remarkables Nic Blake and the Remarkables is the first children’s fantasy book from renowned YA author Angie Thomas. The book is aimed at middle-grade readers and follows Nic, her best friend JP, and Alex (no spoilers here for who he is) as they set out to help Nic’s dad and two others who have been captured by Lore – the Remarkable’s police force, by finding a precious and powerful item and return it to the Lore to prove Nic’s dad is innocent of stealing it.

There are a lot of nods of the well-known 'Chosen One' trope in this book (mainly the big one with the Golden Trio) and I liked how it flipped it on its head a bit as we are following the trio's children and see what it's like living with a heavy legacy and expectation upon one's head as well. I've seen that most people absolutely love this book, so I hope that most young readers really enjoy it as well. Maybe it just didn't work for me - and that's a good thing, because I want kids to be able to love this! I usually try to review books objectively, especially if I'm not the target audience. I wouldn't read a horror novel and give it a low rating because it was 'too scary', and similarly I don't judge MG/YA for feeling 'immature'. Still, I have to be honest about how I felt. It is finally time: Nic Blake is twelve years old, and her father promised he'd be teaching her to use her gift then. The day starts promising with a hellhound puppy who'll join the family. Alston, New York Times bestselling author of Amari and the Night Brothers”Angie Thomas at her best!The first middle grade title by author Angie Thomas – best known for her YA books – and written in response to never seeing herself reflected in the stories she read growing up, this is an astonishing piece of writing which will thrill young readers as they are transported to a world hidden from most of us and populated by those with astonishing powers: the Remarkables. Antur ffantasïol gyflym, ddiddorol, llawn hiwmor a chalon, gyda digonedd yn digwydd ac adegau dyfeisgar i gadw darllenwyr yn rhuthro drwy’r tudalennau. Mae llais naratif Nic yn taro i’r dim, ac mae JP yn gymeriad doniol tu hwnt. For a short read, the plot has been thought out well. I love that the adventures were written in a manner that made the story has its own colour and personality. It's #feelgoodfriday and I have the perfect book to put a smile on your face. Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas was such a joy to read. It was a fun, fast-paced adventure from start to finish. Hierdoor lukte het mij helaas niet om mezelf helemaal onder te dompelen in de wereld van de Buitengewonen en Onopmerkelijken. Ik bleef op afstand en was duidelijk niet gevoelig voor de magie in dit verhaal.

We have a straightforward first-person-narrator middlegrade adventure with a ton of fantasy elements, which is something I always look out for. Well, I don't care about the narrator choice that much, but fantasy?! Hell yes. And I am interested to see how it goes, as Nic will change schools and her whole life will take a different turn after the events in this one. Will we get a school of magic setting, or will she go out on adventures? We'll see. This does not go to plan when Ms Lena reaches for Nic’s hands and is badly affected by what she unexpectedly experiences. Hurrying her from the establishment, it is clear that Nic’s dad has been shaken up by what has happened and he forbids Nic from going to a book signing later that day with best friend JP. Determined not to have her special day ruined, Nic sneaks out to join JP and the two of them head to the bookstore where Nic is amazed to recognise author Mr Retro as a Manifestor and then further astonished when her furious father appears as she reaches the top of the signing queue. This pales into insignificance though when it is clear that Retro knows who she and her father are and after revealing to Nic that he is her godfather, Retro tells Mr Blake he will visit him later. Walker Books has landed Angie Thomas’ debut middle-grade book Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy in a three-book deal.Eto, pan maen nhw’n cyfarfod eu hoff awdur, mae popeth y mae Nic yn meddwl ei bod yn gwybod yn troi ben i waered, ac mae’n rhaid i’r ffrindiau frwydro i achub tad Nic. A new world is created. And I'm betting it'll make it to the screen too. While firmly of its genre, it's also a stand-out in terms of its cast and setting. Those outside of America may find references go over their head but don't lose anything of the plot if so.

Also, I do recommend listening to the audiobook whilst reading as well. The audiobook was so well-done (like all Angie Thomas’s books) and it gives the story more depth. Reflecting on the presents that her peers have received for their twelfth birthdays, Nic Blake’s anticipated gift tops the lot, for she is expecting to be taught how to use the Gift by her father so that she can finally become a Manifestor, a type of Remarkable. Ahead of this though, home-educated Nic firstly has to catch a hellhound puppy, another gift, which she swiftly names Cocoa. After a couple of hours of learning on topics other than the Gift, Nic’s father takes to her juke joint Ms Lena’s – a place for Remarkables to hang out together. Receiving a warm welcome and many birthday wishes, Nic is surprised when owner and Visionary Ms Lena offers to fetch a vision for her as a gift. Mae Nic Blake yn un o’r grŵp Manifestor – pobl Ddu sydd â’r Ddawn o’u mewn – ac sy’n gallu gweld fampirod, bleidd-ddynion a phob math o fodau hynod. Mae ei ffrind gorau anhynod JP yn byw drws nesaf – ond mae e yn hynod oherwydd ei frwdfrydedd dros lyfrau ffantasi TJ Retro a thros gadw cwmni i Nic. I am glad that this is the first in a series - supposedly a trilogy but I read too much fantasy to believe what is said at the beginning of a series, so often they aim for trilogy and realise they need more space - as it means there will be more.I highly recommend this one, especially for classroom libraries and anyone who loves stories that include: The characters in Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy are well-developed and interesting. Nic is a likable and relatable protagonist who readers will root for. His journey of self-discovery and growth is inspiring and heartwarming. Het is een verhaal over dapper en moedig zijn. Over familie en vriendschap. En belangrijke thema's, zoals racisme en slavernij, worden aangehaald. Nic Blake is 12 years old which means it's finally time for her dad to show her how to use The Gift, the type of magic that people like her (Remarkables) wield to make life a little better than if you were an Unremarkable (normal humans like her best friend JP). But things take a turn when Nic meets her godfather, and finds out some things her father has been hiding from her - mainly her mother, and her twin brother Alex - and suddenly she has to find something really special to save her dad.

De world building is sterk, maar voor mijn gevoel kwam er nét iets te veel informatie op mij af. Er werd veel beschreven, veel details, alleen was er daardoor nog maar weinig ruimte over om Nic en haar vrienden écht te leren kennen. The tensions in the novel between who has the Gift and who is just plain ordinary go to the heart of questions kids ask about themselves: Am I special? Do I matter? Is it OK to feel fear? How do I keep going when I’m so afraid? mention of slavery, racism, mention of cancer, grief, mention of child death, kidnapping, mention of memory loss The Manifestor Prophecy ends with a sense that Nic’s greatest challenges may still lie ahead of her… which is great news for us readers! I can’t wait for the next in this series.With her dad being accused of a crime she can't believe he committed, Nic is plunged into a terrifying and dangerous quest. To prove her dad's innocence she must hunt for a magical tool she's never heard of in a remarkable world she knows very little about. But with some very dodgy characters on her tail, does she have any chance of finding it in time? And what is Nic's role destined to be in this remarkable world? But today is also the day she get to go with JP (her best friend and neighbour) to meet TJ Retro their favourite author,. He writes stories about three children who live in a magical world, and fight evil. Only something happens when she holds Ms Lena's hands and her Dad gets freaked out and says she can't go. After a fight Dad goes to get pizza, and Nic sneaks out. She and JP see the author as he arrives, he has an aura - he's a Manifestor too! Dad arrives at the bookshop, he's not happy! It's then that TJ Retro greets her father, turns out they were best friends as children and TJ Retro (or Tyran J Porter) is her Godfather. However, Dad doesn't seem all that happy to see him. Nic’s world turns upside down at a Stevie James book signing when the series’ author, TJ Retro, reveals to her that the books are actually based on his childhood, with two characters inspired by Nic’s parents. The revelation sets off a chain of events that leads to Calvin making a number of his own confessions, including that he’s actually been on the run for the past decade. Nic, JP and a newly revealed relative are thrown into a quest for an immensely powerful weapon called the Msaidizi that offers the only way to clear Calvin’s name. The book was adapted into a movie, starring Amandla Stenberg and released by 20th Century Fox. The movie of Thomas’ second novel, On The Come Up, is set to première on Paramount+ this autumn, directed by Sanaa Lathan and starring Jamila C Gray. So, it’s perfectly normal for her to receive a hellhound for her twelfth birthday; what’s less normal is for her to discover that there is a deadly prophecy surrounding her birth," the synopsis reads. "Now, Nic must find the missing artefact that will reveal the truth about her past—and save her dad, who has been arrested for stealing it. All in a day’s work for a young Remarkable."