Nic Blake And The Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy, is a middle grade fantasy novel, unlike the author’s previous novels have all been contemporary fictional. Even the characters who are (supposed to be) antagonists are well-developed, and their (back)story is layered enough to make the reader think about them and the choices that led them to that path. What happens after is a whirlwind of adventure and great dialogue, along with a very cute demon puppy.

It feels as though the author doesn't trust the readers to build the necessary connections to understand the intent or purpose of the story. It’s a story that feels familiar (we’ve got the chosen one, missing parents, kids saving the day etc. T]he freshness of the story and characters, along with Thomas's control of a multilayered, nuanced plot, makes everything feel brand new. The Manifestor Prophecy is a remarkable (pun intended), superbly written book with a wonderfully nuanced, diverse, and developed cast of characters. I could clearly see the Percy Jackson and H*rry P*tter inspiration in this book, but it didn't reach the depths that made those books so successful.Then again, Nic’s father earns a living by capturing horrid beasts like ‘ haints, demons and ghouls‘ and disposing of them, although he’s officially a handyman. Character development will encourage questions from middle-grade readers and will be a topic of discussion. Angie Thomas' writing always achieves the difficult thing of feeling relevant and authentic, whatever the genre or age group. This is so important, especially for young readers, I can see this being a great lesson in empathy and fighting for Black kids as well as other marginalized people. 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.

One of the best things I liked about this book as well is that I could tell Angie Thomas had a lot of fun writing this book, you could really feel it in the pages and with every new magical mishap that happens to our group of friends. Overall, this is another take on the middle-grade magical fantasy genre that has exploded over the last twenty years.Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first.