Book Review: Magic Beyond the Mark

Reviewed by Samantha Hui

A young girl gains the voice to speak up and the courage to save her town

Broken promises sprinkled into tea. Creatures that feed on fleeting thoughts. Curse eating eels. Magic Beyond the Mark invites audiences into a world in which our feelings and fears are made tangible.

“‘Magic can be very specific, mostly because people believe what they want. Magic just pushes us along.’”

In the world of Emily Swiers’ Magic Beyond the Mark, people develop soul marks above their heads typically at the young age of three or four. These soul marks are usually nature based such as sand, clouds, or branches. Accompanying the soul marks are quirks, which are subtle supernatural abilities such as making pastries that always taste like the eater’s favorite flavor or the ability to keep plants alive for longer than other people possibly could. 5th grade is hard enough on its own, but when Dorianne remains the only 5th grader without a soul mark or a quirk, she enlists the help of the mysterious boy in her class, Silis Madden, to bring out her soul mark. 

“She had never heard of anyone having a soul mark resembling the moon. Marks were typically nature-based, like flowers, plants, rocks, and weather patterns.”

While Dorianne initially reached out to Silis with the hopes of no longer feeling like the weird kid without a mark, she quickly changes her motivations when seemingly out of nowhere she begins seeing odd creatures and objects that no one else can see. Additionally, her mother’s controlling boyfriend has become increasingly hostile. In speaking more with Silis and his parents, she learns that there exists an alternate world, Eram, that has developed a crack where creatures are sneaking or yanked over to the other side. With the help of Silis and her best friend, Celia, Dorianne is on the mission to fix the darkness that has taken over her town. 

“‘It’s easier that way.’ Easier because the Maddens didn’t need to explain the existence of another world, easier because people conjured their own stories and beliefs, what was the point in trying to explain what no one could see?”

While the story is fantastical and much time is spent worldbuilding, the magical elements are used thoughtfully to teach a younger audience about loneliness, individuality, and abuse. For example, Dorianne’s mother’s boyfriend, Benjamin seems obviously controlling and judgmental, yet Dorianne’s mother doesn’t seem to notice any of these behaviors. This can be confusing for children, but this book uses magic to explain the complex concept that sometimes people believe what they want to believe, and that it then becomes their truth.

“His sand at that moment was erratic, pulsing static beats, stabbed through the sand around his head. She had never seen someone’s mark react so unsteadily with curved eyes and a smile. The sand wasn’t happy so why did he wear a happy mask?”

Magic Beyond the Mark begins as a magical realism narrative and transitions into a fully fledged fantasy adventure story. Young audiences are sure to relate to the common problems that distress the 5th graders in this story while also enjoying the worldbuilding it has to offer. Be prepared to be charmed by a cottage core house that expands and shrinks based on the needs of the inhabitants while also frightened by the hidden intentions some people bear in this imaginative book. 

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Thank you for reading Samantha Hui’s book review of Magic Beyond the Mark by Emily Swiers! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.