Hey, guys!!! Isabelle Knight here again with… a book review!!! Ta-da! But yeah. So, as some of you will know, I am now an ARC reader for several books thanks to Carol Baldwin (hi!), which is eeeek, so exciting!!! And one of the books I got to read was a middle-grade fantasy from debut author Elle McFadzean, and eeek, I loved it!!!
And it’s also the book I will be reviewing today!!! The Potion Experiment by Elle McFadzean!!!
I loved this book. I will just say that straight away. I loved it so much that I just could not put it down, and I finished it at breakfast a few days ago!! And then went back to re-read!
So, The Potion Experiment is a middle-grade fantasy about two girls. Well… it’s complicated. But it starts with thirteen-year-old scientist, Ange, who is suddenly whisked from her home into a magical forest and then suddenly starts hearing Eva’s voice in her head, talking about all kinds of stuff like spells and potions gone wrong. It turns out that because of that ‘potion-gone-wrong’, Ange is now stuck in Eva’s body, in a world of magic where no one’s heard of physics and all that other scientific stuff, and Eva is in Ange’s world. Now they need to find a way to swap back before they’re found out.
This is definitely one of the best middle-grade fantasy books I’ve ever read!!! It’s fun, fast-paced, and humorous, and I am so glad I got an free copy of this!!! I loved everything about it – the characters, the world, the plot, and the writing!! They’re all just so fun!
The writing for this book was definitely amazing! As I’ve said, it was really fast-paced, humorous, and exciting, and I could not put this book down! It really brought me straight into the world and straight into the characters minds, and I got to see the world through their eyes! The plot itself is super exciting and there were always so many twists and turns that made the book super enjoyable!!
I also loved the characters here – they’re just so much fun, and it’s super fun to see their relationships grow and change. And since Eve and Ange can talk to each other in their minds… It makes for incredibly humourous bickering! Now, normally, if I read something that was kind of like just bickering back and forth between two characters (and while they’re talking to each other in their heads!!! Which means a lot of italics), this was incredibly fun to read, because I really got to see their relationship grow and change and it’s just so much fun!
Another thing I loved was seeing how those two girls navigated these different worlds. As I’ve said, Ange is a scientist, but now all of a sudden, she’s placed in this different world full of magic, where no one’s heard of physics, the laws of science, and all that. Meanwhile, Eva comes from a world full of magic and spells, and now she’s suddenly placed into this modern world where, at school, you’re taught really different things. The scene where Eva had to ride in the car was pretty interesting too. Cars don’t really exist in her world. So I’m sure you can imagine all the shock. 😅
I also really loved how in this book… Well, you kind of see that these two different worlds might not be as different as you thought. Because in this book, and in the way magic works in this book, you can also really see that it’s not that different from science – there are a lot of similarities, like wavelengths and all that! Which was very interesting to read about, and it really gives you a different perspective on the world and how things work, and I think lots of kids will love it!
My favorite scene in this book….. Ohhhh my goodness, how can I pick??! I suppose I don’t have a favorite scene exactly. But I do have a favorite part of the book – all of Ange and Eva’s conversations. It’s just so much fun to read their conversations, especially when they’re bickering!!!
The only thing I didn’t like about this book… Well, to be honest, I didn’t exactly not like anything, and it’s nothing against the book. It’s just the potion-collecting. Because apparently, they also need a toad for the potion. And so, Ange must head to the swamps to catch one. And it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just… TOADS!!! Eeep! Get away from me! 😅😅 So uh… yeah. But it waaaas kind of funny to see Ange trying to catch the toads, so… 🙂
But yeah! Overall, I absolutely LOVED this book! It’s a fun, thrilling, humorous middle-grade fantasy full of magic, friendship, and humor!! An excellent debut novel! Five stars out of five! I definitely recommend this book to any middle-grader who’s in for a magical, humorous read, and I also think that this book will also appeal to those reluctant readers – how could it not, with all the humor, fun writing, and magic?! A must-read for fans of Harry Potter and Katrina Kahler’s fantasy novels!
And of course, the exciting news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I promised exciting news, and here I am to deliver it!! So. I read and loved this book so much that I reached out to Elle McFadzean to do an author interview!!!!! AND SHE SAID YES!!! EEEEP!!!! EEEK!!!! (squeals and does happy dance) Woohoo!!!
So, I get to speak with her on video call to discuss all things writing, reading, and magic!!! Hurrah! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! Keep an eye out for the announcement either on my blog or my YT channel!!!! ;D
And that wraps up this post!!! Thank you guys so much for coming, and I hope you enjoyed reading this book review!!!! I also hope that you’ll check out her book! IT’S AMAZING!!! Adios, for now!
Isabelle
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