The Marvellers (Marvellerverse #1) by Dhonielle Clayton

 

Ella Durand comes from a prominent New Orleans family of Conjurors and although she is only 11-years-old, she is about to make history. She will be the first Conjuror to enter the Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous and Uncanny Endeavors and Ella is beyond excited about it, even if her mother isn't. And she isn't the only one not happy about Ella attending this school. Once Ella arrives, she finds she has three roomates, two of which believe Conjurors don't belong in the school and only one of which is even remotely friendly. She is also assigned a mentor, Masterji Thakur, who will help her learn the Marvellian Way, and a guide, Jason Eugene, the youngest of an illustrious Marvelling family and the youngest of four siblings in the school. At first, Ella rejects Jason's help, determined to do everything on her own as part of her need to prove that she belongs. 

The first thing that happens is that Ella is moved from her dorm with three roomates to one she will share with unfriendly Brigit Ebsen from New York City. Unlike Ella, Brigit does not want to be in the Arcanum Training Institute and plans on running away as soon as she can. Brigit also continuously knits images onto squares, but doesn't know why, who the images are, and seems to go into a trance when she is knitting. 

It's not just students who don't want Ella at their school, some of the teachers feel the same way and she begins to get demerits for things she hasn't done. But, little by little, she and Brigit become friends, and Ella warms up to Jason enough to call him friend too. But when a prisoner, Gia Trivelino, who calls herself the Ace of Anarchy, escapes from the Cards of Deadly Fate, a prison made out of powerful conjure cards and then Masterji Thakur disappears, students and teachers are quick to point their finger at Ella. All the while, Ella keep wondering just what her Marvel is. 

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Marvels are a light within a person that is strongly linked to one of five Paragons. Paragons are similar to the five senses (vision, touch, sound, taste, smell) except smell has been replaced by spirit. At the end of the school year, there is an exam where kids find out their Paragon. Since all of the kids who are in Ella's class come from Marvelling families, they already have an idea of what their Paragon will be, with the exception of Ella and Brigit. I found myself wondering just what Ella's Paragon would be that would really work for a series. Then I thought, duh, she has at least two friends who can help with their Paragons. And then it occurred to me that wondering what will happen is part of the fun of reading The Marvellers. 

And there is a lot of fun stuff in this book because Clayton's worldbuilding is just so wonderfully imaginative. Sure, some of it may remind you of Harry Potter, but there is just so much originality that the comparisons fall away quickly until you are only left with one - they are both fantastic school stories. And astute readers will definitely chuckle at the names of some of the teachers in Ella's school.

But don't get me wrong, there is plenty of serious stuff going on. Ella is marginalized right off the bat when she must change rooms and live with Brigit, the other marginalized student. And with marginalization, comes bullying by students and collecting demerits because Conjurors are not welcomed by every teacher in the school.  

I have to admit when I first began reading The Marvellers, I had a hard time getting into it, but after a few pages, I was totally hooked. And I could go on and on about how great it is because there is just so much to this story, but maybe you should just read the book. It is well worth your time. Maybe I'll reread it.