Kingston
and the Magician’s
Lost and Found
by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021.

ISBN 978-0525516866.

Read from library copy.

Kingston hasn’t been back to Brooklyn since the night his father disappeared, right in the middle of his magic act, before a fire burned down the legendary theater where he was performing.  Everyone else, including his mother, believes that his father is now dead.  Kingston, though, saw his father walk into the mirror and is sure he’s alive but trapped.  Together with his cousin and best friend, he sets out to rescue him.  But whoever trapped his father in the mirror is still out there – both dangerous and a necessary source of information.

This story mixes both sleight-of-hand and real magic involving travel to another dimension through mirrors and paintings.  The excitement of developing magic and close escapes is mixed with Kingston getting reacquainted with the cousin and friend he hasn’t seen in several years, and learning about the real, mostly forgotten legacy of Black magicians.  

Fans of stage magic and of fantasy books set in the real world should both enjoy this book.  It definitely ends without everything wrapped up, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.  Stage magic also plays an important role in The Magic Misfits series by Neil Patrick Harris, as well as Stowaway by John David Anderson.  And though Kingston has higher-stakes and faster-paced action, it also reminded me of The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson, which also involves the legacy of Black performing artists.