The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow – Book Review

Audrey is an American from Georgia, whose family move to London to get away from the problems back home. Audrey is put into a boarding school, Illumen Hall. She tries her best to fit in and make friends, especially with her new roommate Ivy. Ivy makes it clear from day one that she doesn’t like Audrey all that much.

Ivy, dealing with the loss of a friend she moves into Lola’s old room, she was supposed to have a room alone and isn’t impressed by the rich American taking space in her room.

At the beginning of the book, I did not like Ivy all that much. I found that she was being way too harsh on Audrey, it was not her fault, but her character started to grow on me as the book went on.

I found this book very interesting; it was a good idea but badly executed. From the beginning of the book, you are given about a million questions and as the book goes on instead of answering some of the questions, we were just given a million more.

For example, the identity of the Voice Unknown, the person behind the podcast. Not even halfway through the book, they reveal the identity. I felt they should have at least waited for two-thirds of the book before revealing who it was.

The thing I disliked about this book was that there was so much happening but at the same time there were so many things that made zero sense to me. Here is a list of things that made no sense:

The no phones thing. Are you telling me that the students went to a party and turned off their phones? Yeah right! As a teen, I know my mother would murder me if I did that and she had no way of commutating with me. Besides, when do teens ever turn their phones off?

The letter that Audrey just randomly found and then keeps to herself until it’s needed.

Ivy wanting to be in Lola’s old room, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but that would be the last place I would want to be. I found that weird.

The groundskeeper, Mr Tavistock, inviting the students in for tea?

Mr Tavistock’s son, Ed, getting super mad at Ivy for having tea with his father, and there was never any answer as to why it was that Ed got so mad at Ivy.

Mr Wills said that it was Lola that was obsessed with him, that does not explain the photo, why would they have a photo together like that if she was making it up and being overdramatic?

The building that you can only see when looking through that certain window that no one has clearly ever looked out of.

The person who was living on the school grounds who had Lola’s earing.

The sheets in the Laundry room.  There were never any answers as to why it was there.

How there are a whole bunch of people in masks storming a room and not one person freaks out.

How the podcast was uploaded when it wasn’t live, did the kidnapers allow Voice Unknown to upload the podcast before kidnapping her?

However, I must say the authors did an amazing job with the whole Teddy and Theodore thing, I did not see that coming.

Even though the book left me confused, I enjoy it, it was a page-turner, I couldn’t put it down. So if you feel like being left with a million questions, I would defiantly recommend it.

I am looking forward to the next book!