Weekly Reader: Fearghus Academy: October Jewels by I.O. Scheffer; Strange Blend of Witch School Fantasy, Intergalactic Science Fiction, Supernatural Mystery, and Victorian Historical Fiction Makes For A Surprisingly Unique and Imaginative Novel
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: You don't always have to be the first or even the most famous to come up with an idea to make it good. Sometimes you just have to give it your own perspective.
Take I.O. Scheffer's Fearghus Academy series and its first volume, October Jewels, for example. In the tradition of witches and wizards of legend using various sources and ingredients to make a potion, Scheffer did the same with this series. Fearghus Academy has a pound of Harry Potter, a pinch of A Wrinkle in Time, two cups of Avatar The Last Airbender, a spoonful of Oliver Twist, and a whiff of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for that distinct aroma. The result is a strange concoction that blends these sources and makes a unique, imaginative, and spellbinding series.
In 19th century London, Anna Addison is forced to work in a grubby factory for pennies. She hates her job but she can't do anything about it. One day, a strange wealthy woman named Nichole gives her two options: quit or get fired. No one else but Anna can see Nichole and even though she isn't sure if she's going crazy, Anna decides to get herself fired. Now that's taken care of, Nichole makes herself visible and goes through the necessary paperwork to adopt the young girl. She raises some eyebrows since people question a black woman like Nichole choosing to adopt a white girl like Anna but she is kind if a bit eccentric and no one else is interested in Anna.
Nichole has ulterior motives for adopting Anna. She sees another person like her who possesses magical abilities. One of the signs of a magical person are the colorful streaks in their hair and glint in their eyes. Anna has brown hair and orange streaks (She assumed one of her late parents had red hair). Nichole has green streaks in her black hair. Nichole explains that these are signs that they possess certain magical powers: Fire Magic for Anna and Earth Magic for Nichole.
There is a place called Fearghus Academy that has been scouting potential magic users and where Nichole is going to take Anna. It's a school that's out of this world. No really. Fearghus is literally on another planet outside of time and space. The school trains young people around the universe to use, harness, and control their magical abilities.
So yes it is the fourth "Young Woman Travels to a Magical World" book that I read this year along with The Thorn Princess by Bekah Harris, Ela Green and The Kingdom of Abud by Sylvia Greif, and Lakshmi and The River of Truth by Paul Chasman, not counting the ones I read last year. (Not that I'm complaining. I love the subgenre.)
Once Anna arrives at Domhan, the planet that Fearghus Academy resides, she is amazed by the green grass, blue skies, and crisp clean air. For a girl growing up in filthy smog filled polluted London, it's quite a delightful shock. The castle building that Fearghus is located in leaves her speechless.
She also gets some rudimentary training from Nichole on how to make fire emerge from her fingertips and a new name. She says goodbye to her old life as Anna, the girl from London on Earth and reemerges as Artesia, the Fire Magic User and Fearghus student.
The book's structure is similar to that of Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross and A Spell in the Country by Heide Goody and Iain Grant. Many of the chapters involve various tests and assignments in which Artesia and her new classmates learn to use their powers, work as a team, and bring out their best and sometimes worst qualities in each other.
Along the way while they are searching for valuable objects, exploring the world around them, and studying the progression of their powers as well as other regular subjects like history, science, and literature, they become aware that there are darker forces abound. As some of the students are attacked and one viciously murdered, it becomes apparent that Fearghus is the target of greater darker spirits and people who use magic for less altruistic means. It takes all of their strength, natural and magical, to fight these deadly enemies and get to the heart of a conspiracy which could cost many lives.
There are a few things that make Fearghus Academy stand out from other school stories. So far, we don't have a School Bully/Mean Girl. Nor does the main girl, Artesia, get thrown into a romance with a potential love interest.
The characters have personality clashes and disagreements but there are no one dimensional prepubescent villains. In fact, they start on the same page as allies who work closely together and become friends.
The students are a pretty likeable bunch. Besides Artesia we have: Antonia, a flamboyant Fire Mage from Spain; Evelyn, an overachieving Light User from Canada; Lulu, a dizzy religious American girl with the power of Air; Eilam, a sweet Ice Mage who is from Domhan and has a disturbing family secret; Telemachus, also from Domhan and is a Fire Mage and Eilam's close friend; Betel, an Irish girl who has the uncomfortable power of spreading pain and illness and is protected by her sister, Gretel; Jun, another Fire User from Ceithre a small town in Domhan who gains a crush on a certain transplanted Londoner, and Marnie, a sarcastic Scottish Water Mage who is discovering her own sexuality. Since Domhan is on another planet, it would be interesting to see if future Fearghus students look more alien in appearance, perhaps looking instead like Earth witches and wizards and more like Jedi.
The characters are a fascinating group where everyone has their moments to shine and become part of an ensemble. Even Nichole develops a strong maternal bond with Artesia which she begins to reciprocate.
There isn't a single character in the group who isn't likeable and fully developed. Authors don't always have to fit school age kids into known tropes and cliques and have them vie with each other. They can still make them meaningful and understandable as individuals and part of a larger network of students and friends.
It is also nice that Scheffer does not force a romance between Artesia and the male character that she is usually paired with, Eilam. Artesia and Eilam form a close friendship in which the secretive Eilam reveals some painful things about his past. The two also combine their powers to save each other and are one another's emotional support when they lose a close friend. But platonic friendship is as close as it gets and with good reason.
Eilam is gay and is romantically involved with Telemachus. In other books, the two young men would just be buddies and their flirtatious moments might by played for laughs. In this book, it's clear that they are a couple and a sweet one at that. Because of Eilam's personal issues, he finds it difficult to reach out to others. With Telemachus, he feels more open to express a more outgoing playful side. Telemachus becomes a rock for Eilam to cling to when he needs it.
As for Artesia, she isn't exactly suffering in the romance department. Jun develops a crush on her and she becomes interested in him. She also inspires romantic stirrings within Marnie which she may feel the same. To hers, and Scheffer's, credit Artesia treats Jun and Marnie the same way. There is no indication whether she is straight, bisexual, or a lesbian. Perhaps like Artesia's experience with magic and living in Domhan, this is a new chapter in her life that is waiting to be discovered.
In fact that's what this book is all about: discovering one's potential, life path, hidden talents, relationships, and placement in a larger world. In doing so the first Fearghus Academy book, October Jewels, is already a crown jewel in the series.
