Alchemy

by Margaret Mahy

When Roland's teacher gives him an unusual assignment instead of punishment for shoplifting, he thinks he is home free. All he has to do is find out what he can about a classmate, Jess Ferret, and report back to his teacher. But there is something less than straightforward about this request, especially because the more Roland learns about Jess, the more confused he becomes. Her house is sinisterly tidy, her parents are never home, mysterious books line the bookshelves, and, most intriguing of all, Jess is apparently a student of alchemy.

Why is Roland's teacher so interested in Jess? Why has a shady magician from Roland's past suddenly come back into his life? What exactly are the voices in Roland's head cautioning him against? And what is the reason for Jess Ferret's knowledge about alchemy? In searching for answers Roland finds himself trapped in a mysterious web of magic, power, and greed. This is the story of a terrifying war of magic versus willpower, told only as award-winning author Margaret Mahy can.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery, Magic, Alchemy, Childrens

274 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Margaret Mahy was a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.

Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.

For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.

On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in October 2007: Roland’s teacher blackmails him into spying on his classmate, the solitary and faintly mysterious Jessica Ferret. Roland and Jess strike up an unlikely alliance that gradually shifts as Roland grows ever more dissatisfied with his pretense at a normal life. As their friendship deepens, rival magicians close in on them. It’s a slightly psychedelic YA novel that deals with teenage identities and family more than magic.

Read in October 2016: I accidentally re-read this book. Not a single thing jogged my memory, which is worrisome. This time around (while reading it for the second time but I thought it was the first), I was kinda dissatisfied with the book. Roland has a complex set of feelings about his family, in which he feels the need to be more grownup and perfect than he really is in order to make up for resembling his father, who abandoned them. And I liked his growing relationship with Jess, and the way his relations with his girlfriend and existing friends were written--it all felt quite natural. And the way magic is described is cool--both very subtle and very surreal and overwhelming by turns. But the climax came too suddenly, and too much was explained all at once in the final chapter. I think this book could've done with being at least 50 pages longer, or possibly even more.

[Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is my third reading of Alchemy and once again I am impressed by Margaret Mahy's wonderful writing which reminds me, at times, of another favourite writer (Diana Wynne Jones). Once again I pondered the odd editing problem that skews the timeline. Roland is 17 - a prefect and a licensed driver - and yet by internal maths (by working out relative ages with his brothers) he is 15. Obviousy 17 is correct, but why didn't someone fix that glitch?
Apart from that, Alchemy is a wonderful book. The reason it has four stars is (unfairly) because I think it not as good as The Changeover and The Catalogue of the Universe by the same author.

[Jes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't disappointed by the plot. I was disappointed because it was too short.



Anyway,I'm starting to like ya-fantasy-romance novels narrated in the point of view of boys.



Cause if it's by girls, it would all be dramas and like talking about her love life and all those "i wonder's". I'm getting tired of those shizz.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Roland has a recurring nightmare: he dreams that a magician locks him into a coffin, and while in the coffin, he discovers a whole new way of existing, an ability to be one with the universe and even, perhaps, to alter it. That's not the scary part of the dream. The scary part is that, when he emerges from the coffin, he knows that he is altered forever, in ways he cannot explain. When a teacher blackmails him into spying on solitary Jessica, he realizes that Jess and he have a lot in common - and that their commonality may end up destroying them both.

In general, I like Margaret Mahy's books. I like her strong, thoughtful teen characters, and I like the over-the-top problems they have to deal with. But I have firm opinions about fantasy, and one of them is that I think magic should have clearly defined rules that the author adheres to, no matter how tempting it may be to fudge them. No such rules ever emerged in "Alchemy," which, by the way, is a rather inappropriate title - no alchemy is happening in this book. I was confused throughout the book, and the denouement was messy and unconvincing - loose ends everywhere, nothing clearly explained. Mahy can do better - and HAS done better.

[Ama · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sixth book I’ve read from Mahy, probably my favorite after her legendary “The Changeover” (which I already enjoyed as a kid) and the amazing “The Tricksters”. Roland was such a delight as a main character, and his journey left me feeling inspired. Dark tower, conquered!

[Iamshadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was all right, but it never felt like it quite clicked into gear for me. I kept wishing Roland was more interesting, but I didn't ever feel like I connected with him as a person. I think because he's so passive. It took so long for him to feel strongly and be active about anything, and then, the book was over.

[Trella Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg. I loveeeeedddddd this book. Its one of my favs. I could re-read it sooo many times. It should really be made into a movie.

[بيان ريحاوي · Rating 5 out of 5]

من عادتي،
كلما شاع كاتب وكتابه ،
أحول ألا أضيع وقتي في محتوى معروف مسبقاً
ببساطة ، هذه الرواية كسرت هذه العادة.
ربما سأقرأ الأسود يليق بك , يوماً ما ! من يدري

[N Ash Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly don't know why this doesn't have a higher review. It deserves at least a 4 for imaginative story and good writing. I loved it!!!

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and well-written. Another reviewer compared Mahy favourably to Diana Wynne Jones (a longtime favourite of mine), but Mahy has a tighter grasp on language and her understanding of people, if not DWJ's colourful imagination and humour. The magic was left unexplained, quiet, yet in some sense total -- we only felt its effects and its distortions, and the people left in its wake.

Reading this I was reminded then when I read novels, my defences would be set up, I would be asking myself if I trusted this author. And this would be revealed in the way he/she handled the details. And as I coursed through the book, I believed it all, and happily surrendered.

Just look at this passage:

"And now, here he was, wave after wave of sensation rushing towards him, rearing but never quite toppling. He could hear the universe breathing. [...] Every single thing in the world out there, every single solitary thing, no matter how big, no matter how small, was somehow singing at him. It was all too much. Much too much! [...] It was as if he must from this moment forward be constantly aware of elements grappling one another in the great multiple embraces that held things together. Each statement of position and each intricate linkage sang at him. Holding up his hand once more, Roland looked experimentally at his fingers, black against the light reflecting from the stream below. There they were, ten of them, covered in skin which was always renewing itself, shedding old cells, building up new -- and he seemed to be able to trace the blood and bone that lay beneath it. It was quite different from merely reading about blood and skin in a biology text, or learning about them by studying diagrams for an exam. This is what he was: a melting, changing creature, going up and out, appearing and disappearing, in a perpetually constant-inconstant world."

[April Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alchemy is a book based on the life of a teenager named Roland who is 17. The things that happen are because of some wort of magic going around him and causing him to have these voices in his head warning him at all times. He meets Quando who was the magician who had done a magic trick on Roland when he was with his father at the age of 4. After Roland was caught for shoplifting items his English teacher Mr. Hudson doesn't give Roland a punishment for his crime but instead gives him an assignment which is to examine the life of one of his peers.
This book was great! In my opinion, it was great because it has a good mix of mystery and romance. The thing I liked about the book was how the author set up the plot to be that the only thing we know about the father is in the beginning and then we start to uncover more about the father and his family in the near end of the book. That is what made it a great mystery type book.

[coffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book back when I was younger (right now I'm 20) and all I knew was that the ending confused me. I had no idea of what actually happened. I tried to look for the book again years later but couldn't find it. I knew the title was Alchemy and the cover had a girl under a tree with some transparent, enlarged eyes.

Years later (being now) I found it! And I just had to reread it, to finally understand what was happening at the end.

I really liked this book, the idea of alchemy just always draws me in. The main character was rather interesting but I have to say that my favorite was Jess. There was something about the jittery way she was portrayed that really drew me in (is that even the right word?). She mixes up her words to make you think, she's very cautious, and she says she doesn't need anyone but then likes to be around the MC. She explains things rather...strangely, sometimes I'm like, hmmm, yeah I get it (not really).

And so I got to the end and I had to really concentrate on what I was reading. I was finally able to understand what happened but I was rather disappointed. Most of it was just the MC going up the stairs and into Jess' room and then he brought her to the kitchen. The actual 'battle' was probably a page long? Because of this I gave the book a 3/5

Also, did the MC break up with Chris? lol Yes, after all that happened I was left wondering about this.

[Anna Hepworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a novel by Margaret Mahy that I haven't liked, and this is no exception. The story of Roland, who inexplicably shoplifts something, and is then blackmailed by his teacher to make friends with one of the excluded of the class. There is a lot more to it - they both turn out to have extraordinary gifts, and there is lots of angst, but it is hard to sumarise without giving the whole thing away.

[Zosma Leonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I knew I had read it before, but I couldn't remember a single thing about it, as opposed to The Changeover, also by Mahy, about which I can remember much of the plot, but never the name of the book (although I suppose I've fixed that now, haven't I?). That I found this book completely forgettable the first time around, and not much better the second, probably tells you everything you need to know.

[Chris Haigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread of a book I last remember pouring over in my high school library and only just recalled thanks to a Reddit post. The magical realism and writing is so much fun and I'm glad I have a copy in my little 'books I loved as a kid, forgot all about, and now am acquiring as a financially reckless adult' nook. RIP to the incredible author who passed fairly recently.

[Pomme de Terre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looooove the way Mahy writes. To be honest, the supernatural element of the story was interesting, but this book would have been equally great if it was just Mahy writing about the daily lives of her characters.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it about 15 years ago and still remember being enchanted by the marvellous storytelling and simply the story itself. It drew me right in and I was enthralled by the discovery of Jess' power and Roland's rite of passage so to speak.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning Margaret Mahy, takes every day words and worlds and juggles them , turns them inside out until the magic within sings.

[Mez Mer Ize · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh... It was okay.

[Aelvana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Roland is a prefect, a popular guy, and a responsible son. Even he isn't sure why he decided to shoplift a few minor items, but the deed allows one of his teachers, Mr. Hudson, to blackmail him into getting close to Jess, one of his classmates. Jess is a quiet kid, overlooked by everyone. Roland has no idea why Mr. Hudson cares so much. But as he gets drawn deeper into the mystery, he realizes there's more to Jess than meets the eye---and more to himself than he ever thought.

This is mostly a literary story, with some trappings of fantasy. Roland is the cool kid who has it all together: looks, girlfriend, grades, and the respect of his mom (but not his little brothers). But he's troubled by a reoccurring dream, a sense sometimes that the world is singing to him, and the notion sometimes that he might be falling apart.

I did like the descriptions of the singing world, but as a magic system it just sucks. There's no rhyme or reason to what can be done with it, other than "whatever the plot needs to happen." There's no boundaries or restrictions on the power. Most of the book I thought it was just going to be a listening/seeing kind of thing, except then some characters actually do use it: one of them basically a vampire, one casting spells that distort time and space, one using telepathy, one manipulating physical objects. And so on. And nothing gets explained because it's all just mysteries of the universe stuff. I don't need the laws and rules spelled out, but it would be nice to get a better handle on what the limits of this is supposed to be.

I also wasn't fond of the make-out sessions. It really didn't add anything to the story and just put a bit to skim past.

Overall this isn't all that great as a fantasy, but it might not be too bad as more of a lit novel about family and relationships. I rate this book Neutral.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

[AriBa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine you've written a story about a popular school boy called Roland who discovers he has a supernatural talent when he befriends Jess, the school "weirdo". That is this story in a nutshell. But once you've finished the story you realise that it's a little light on words to be a full blown book, so you split it in half, add a few thousand more words but get carried away in this part of your writing process, so that by the end you've doubled or tripled the number of words you had initially written. That is this book in the hard, fibrous coating of the previously mentioned nutshell.

The story starts off well enough, but the middle reads like filler, and reads awkwardly as a result. It's as if for this part Roland is rewriting his personal diary in third-person, talking about things he did, places he went and feelings he felt. It adds some atmosphere to the narrative but made reaching the conclusion more laborious than it probably could have been. And because it preceeded the "filler", the conclusion felt short and a bit underwhelming, which is a shame because the last part of the book is the most interesting and held my attention more than the drudgery of the middle. The conclusion should really be the middle of the book and a new ending should be created to expand on the themes and ideas that were introduced but cut short in the original one. If this was a DVD, there would be an alternate ending. The middle would be deleted scenes on the bonus disc.

Towards the end I learned that this book is aimed at the young adult audience, or "teens" in less flowery English. Do teens really read this kind of stuff? Maybe I'm too old and weathered to understand the appeal but I think if I read this as a teen I'd still be thinking the same thing about this story as I do now.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Margaret Mahy's novels - they are about teenagers and strange things happen to them - sort of young adult contemportary fantasy. Seventeen year old Roland is a popular young man - prefect at Ault Academy, dating the prettiest girl in school, smart, good-looking and has a good relationship with most of his teachers. But underneath it all, throughout his life Roland has felt that something inside him is warning him to be "careful", that he has to keep up his wholesome, normal image. He thinks it is because his father left when he was 10 and Roland must be a good, strong person that his mother can rely on. Things begin to change for him when one day one of Roland's teachers asks Roland to make friends with and keep an eye out for Jess Ferret, a quiet, unnoticable girl in Roland's classes. Jess is hiding something and Roland wants to know what it is. In this story almost everyone is more than they initially seem. Roland finds out that he has supressed something from his past that is the key to what is going on and who he is.

More of my thoughts on this book are at my book blog (http://janicu.livejournal.com/6607.html)

[JM · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA fantasy. When charming, intelligent highschool student Roland inexplicably commits a petty crime, he finds himself blackmailed by a favourite teacher into befriending misfit Jess Ferret. But Jess has her own problems, and they're bigger and darker than Roland could have imagined.

I loved this book. I knew I loved it from the first page. It opened with a dream sequence, and I still loved it. There are things about Mahy's style that don't work for me: in particular, the dialogue, although it's spirited and interesting, doesn't quite have a natural rhythm. I buy into it, though, to gain entry to Mahy's world. Her use of magic, of character motivation, the way she describes what happens to Jess's house ... just fantastic.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantasy meanders a bit at first, but finds its footing as the story goes on. I like how Mahy tends to eschew epic plots in favor of tighter family-based dramas. Overall, Alchemy was perhaps not quite as wonderful as a The Tricksters and The Changeover, but it still left me thinking that I want to write like Mahy when I grow up! Ha!

[Nada · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Childe Roland to the dark tower came”

Why was this one of my favorite reads of this year? This book had me only 10 pages in which is pretty rare. The idea is so interesting, I can’t believe this was written in 2002!

I loved every second of the book but I will say that the climax could’ve been written better or longer even; the build up to it was very good tho. I just wish the last 2 chapters didn’t feel rushed? Despite that, I would totally recommend this book to anyone that reads fantasy.


I can’t believe this isn’t one of the most popular books ever? I can’t believe it only has 400 ish ratings. This book is basically the OA x stranger things for anyone wondering.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library solely because of this sentence in the book jacket description that cracked me up:

"Why has a shady magician from Roland's past suddenly come back into his life?"

Turned out to be a pretty good book, as far as YA goes, one of those "realizing one's magical powers of being in extreme harmony with the universe whilst realizing girl you never talked to in school who's all into books about alchemy is actually sort of hot in her own intelligent-and-intriguing way, who knew, so let's simultaneously make out and take down the evil magician" books. Nice.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up for research, both on alchemy and for the young adult book I'm writing. I thoroughly enjoyed the book for its interesting structure of short scenes with their own titles, like chapters, but breaking at interesting points in the action. I liked the slow build of the action and the interesting characters. I do wonder, however, if teenagers actually talk or act the way they do in some young adult novels. I'll have to look at other reviews of this book and see what the "kids" thought of it. I recommend it for its unique premise and surprising twists.

[Belmanoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this...I love the trend I'm seeing in young adult novels to show accurately the hidden nastiness and irrationality that is so much a part of being a teenager AND a person. When I was a kid it seemed like YA novels were much more...G-rated, I guess, in terms of character motivation. Anyway. I liked this book and I am excited for Maddigan's Fantasia when it finally comes out (is reissued?) in the US.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I knew I had read it before, but I couldn't remember a single thing about it, as opposed to The Changeover, also by Mahy, about which I can remember much of the plot, but never the name of the book (although I suppose I've fixed that now, haven't I?). That I found this book completely forgettable the first time around, and not much better the second, probably tells you everything you need to know.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I got this book by accident. A couple of people recommended The Alchemist to me, and I forgot the exact title and so reserved a copy of this book instead. And I read it and wasn't that impressed, but figured out I had the wrong book. This book is a magic teenage genre that's fun, but not deserving the rave reviews other people had given it (or so I thought).