I have to say, sometimes compelling cover art is all it takes. Well, that and the two other books I was looking for at my local library weren’t on the shelves. Thus, Kiersten White’s latest novel, Mister Magic, with it’s hot pink sleeve and rainbow static television was tempting enough to pick up an read the blurb. And then that blurb sounded creepy as hell, so I was all in!
I will say, over the past several years I’ve come to the conclusion that kid’s programming, especially the live action ones, are kind of creepy. Not that I was ever a huge watcher of either of these shows, but when I stop to think about Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street too much, it gives me the willies. Maybe it’s because now as an adult I know more of what goes on behind the scenes? Maybe it’s also unsettling that full-grown adults run this kind of programming? Who’s to say. And I know I am likely the minority with that opinion, but I can’t help it. Much like dolls frighten me, the fact that people are maneuvering puppets and teaching life lessons is kind of messed up. Again, I say that knowing I was a huge Barney fan. But I’m not looking deeper into the programs I liked growing up, so it’s easier this way.
All of that leads into the premise of this book, where thirty years after a kid’s show, called Mister Magic, went off the air, a new podcast aims to get the last cast together. Back in the early 90s, the show ended abruptly, and from there nothing regarding the show was ever able to be found anywhere. All people had were their memories, and those aren’t always the most reliable thing. Take Val for example. She was apparently the leader of this last group of kids on the Mister Magic show, but in the present day she has no recollection of that show or ever being a part of it. That is, until her dad passes away and her old castmates manage to finally find her.
They trigger a familiarity in Val that’s she’s desperate to get more answers to. All of her old friends start revealing pieces of her past, but Val never quite gets the whole story. She can’t tell if she’s being deliberately lied to, or if some things they are as in the dark as she is. It’s once they get back to the remote Utah town where the show has always been filmed, that things start to take a turn for the extra creepy. From here, I don’t really know exactly what I was hoping for, but it took an interesting turn. Though I can’t say that I was totally satisfied with it. In fact, the way it ended up still seems a bit fucked up to me, but maybe I’m approaching it from the wrong angle.
Ultimately, I wasn’t a huge fan of this novel. Yes, it had the appeal of those creepy kid shows I’ve come to look back on as an adult, but it took some promising ideas and just kind of went in blah place with them. Luckily this was a shorter read, so it wasn’t all-consuming, but I’d say don’t waste your time. If you want to experience something similar, I say check out the Jim Carrey show, Kidding, that kind of mocked that whole Mr. Rogers‘ world. I would love to read something else that explores this topic, but hopefully with a different approach. Let me know if there are any out there!