Fans of magical boarding schools and mysterious pasts will find The Crowns of Croswald an absolutely magical adventure. Because Ivy is about as much in the dark as we are, we learn about the world of the scriveners at the same time she does. This helps to effectively build the world for the reader, filled with immensely inventive magical artifacts. Night's writing is unique, sucking us into Ivy's world.

Though the pacing felt a bit off at times, Night keeps her reader's interest through the forgetfulness room at the Halls of Ivy. Since Ivy is the only one who remembers, we gather more intrigue as we go further in the novel. Why is Ivy the only one who can remember? What does that mean about her past? With subtle clues throughout the text, intrigue builds, further pulling the reader into Ivy's magical world. To me, it felt a little like Harry Potter and a little like Percy Jackson. But Night puts enough of her own imagination into the story to make it also feel like something new and refreshing.

Filled with quirky characters, a magical school, and lots of mystery, avid fantasy fans will have found a fantastic new series to follow.

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