Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Plastic Magician
    The Plastic Magician
    The Plastic Magician
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Plastic Magician

    Written by Charlie N. Holmberg

    Narrated by Sarah Zimmerman

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg returns to the enchanting world of The Paper Magician.

    Alvie Brechenmacher has arrived in London to begin her training in Polymaking—the magical discipline of bespelling plastic. Polymaking is the newest form of magic, and in a field where there is so much left to learn, every Polymaker dreams of making the next big discovery.

    Even though she is only an apprentice, Alvie is an inventor at heart, and she is determined to make as many discoveries—in as short a time frame—as she can. Luckily for her, she’s studying under the world-renowned magician Marion Praff, who is just as dedicated as Alvie is.

    Alvie’s enthusiasm reinvigorates her mentor’s work, and together they create a device that could forever change Polymaking—and the world. But when a rival learns of their plans, he conspires to steal their invention and take the credit for it himself.

    To thwart him, Alvie will need to think one step ahead. For in the high-stakes world of magical discovery, not everyone plays fair…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2018
    ISBN9781543658293
    The Plastic Magician
    Author

    Charlie N. Holmberg

    Charlie N. Holmberg is the award-winning author of the Numina series, The Fifth Doll, and many other books. Her Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Charlie’s stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

    More audiobooks from Charlie N. Holmberg

    Related to The Plastic Magician

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2020

      Cricket League
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Hound and the Hidden Homework

      Feb 1, 2019

      The Hound and the Hidden Homework
      4 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Nov 10, 2021

      Book Club
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Library Of Gromma

      Feb 10, 2021

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilt, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library. He

      22 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Jun 1, 2023

      Table Talk
      11 min read

    • Article

      Partial Truths

      Aug 6, 2020

      Partial Truths
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Library of Gromma

      Jul 10, 2023

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilled, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library.

      22 min read

    • Article

      The Glass Ceiling

      Aug 21, 2023

      ‘You’re late.” Evangeline glanced up from her workbench, neck already aching from the intricate creation before her: a hat decorated with no fewer than six hummingbirds, pinned to netting so fine it would look as though the creatures were, indeed, fl

      6 min read

    • Article

      High Ground

      Apr 23, 2020

      High Ground
      4 min read

    • Article

      Clam Down

      Apr 13, 2017

      Clam Down
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Cave Of Adventure

      Jun 10, 2021

      You walk home from work through Citadel Park. This fine October afternoon is just warm enough that you are comfortable in the light cashmere cardigan and skirt you bought for exactly this kind of weather, an elegant dark green outfit that goes well w

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Education of Mrs. R.

      Sep 6, 2022

      An adolescent shriek woke her. Cockerels, she thought, cockerels, with a wry twist to the word. She lay in the dark listening. There was no use in covering her head; the screaming still came through. The soloist was suddenly submerged in the chorus.

      13 min read

    • Article

      Happy birthday, Darling

      Dec 30, 2020

      DARLING, our English pointer, turns 127 (in dog years) this week. I am proud to report that she can still manage a definite, if slightly shaky, point. Moreover, my response, as I don’t shoot, still annoys her. She will stand, one paw raised, nose dir

      2 min read

    • Article

      Four Of A Kind

      May 3, 2023

      Four Of A Kind
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lost Children

      Aug 4, 2022

      Lost Children
      5 min read

    • Article

      Suspicious Circumstances

      Aug 10, 2022

      Suspicious Circumstances
      7 min read

    • Article

      Suspicious Circumstances

      Aug 10, 2022

      Suspicious Circumstances
      7 min read

    • Article

      Read A Sneak Peek of IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES

      Sep 6, 2023

      The murderer arrived by boat. He came gently, with a soft tread and beautifully clean hands. He strode past a group of men and women hauling in a catch of fire-fish, his knife out of sight in his pocket. They glanced round at him, but he only nodded

      4 min read

    • Article

      Come With Me

      Nov 22, 2018

      Come With Me
      23 min read

    • Article

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work

      Dec 15, 2018

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work
      6 min read

    • Article

      50 Best Kids’ Books

      Nov 27, 2022

      50 Best Kids’ Books
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Little Trip

      Aug 2, 2021

      As the first morning light peeked through the gap in the curtains, Alice left her new husband in bed. She wrapped her silk kimono around her; a present from Jeremy, it reminded her yet again just how generous he’d been since their wedding. Even this

      5 min read

    • Article

      Benjamin Nugent

      Jun 15, 2018

      Claire’s roommates threw her out on November third, for falling behind on rent and hogging the Xbox. During the next three weeks, she lived in other people’s houses. She missed the Xbox, but couch surfing was like a game. She had to not smell like co

      20 min read

    • Article

      Lay Your Burden Down

      Mar 1, 2019

      Lay Your Burden Down
      15 min read

    • Article

      Paper Princess

      Apr 1, 2023

      Paper Princess
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Plastic Magician

    4/5

    143 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Alvie Brechenmacher is a young woman from Ohio who has been accepted in the new magical discipline of Polymaking. She travels to England to meet her new master Marion Praff who is one of the most famous of the polymakers. Traveling through mirrors, on ferries, and on the train is makes a long hard day that isn't helped when a "helpful" stranger who introduces himself as Magician Ezzell, also a polymaker, encourages her to get off at the wrong train stop. However, she is helped by a handsome young magician's apprentice named Bennett Cooper who guides her to her correct stop.When she arrives at her master's palatial home, she is warmly welcomed and quickly immerses herself in this new magical field. Alvie is very bright and curious but she lacks self-confidence and underestimates her own assets. She wears very thick glasses because she is incredibly near-sighted which she feels makes her unattractive. When she volunteers at a local hospital, she meets a young woman named Ethel Cooper who has lost part of her left arm in an industrial accident. She also meets Ethel's younger brother Bennett who is the same young man who rescued her earlier. Bennett and Alvie begin a romantic relationship that is both sweet and awkward given that both of them are inexperienced and shy. Meeting Ethel gives Alvie the idea that polymaking could be used to create prosthetics.Alvie's master has been in a bit of a magical slump since his one major invention and quickly grabs onto Alvie's idea as a terrific new use for polymaking and a terrific new idea for the upcoming Discovery Convention where all sorts of magicians show off their latest discoveries. However, polymakers have been recently plagued with break-ins. Someone is eager to take a shortcut to fame by stealing other inventor's ideas. Between her budding courtship and her work on developing the new spells needed to make magical prosthetics, Alvie is happily busy but danger is lurking for her and her mentor. This was a fun story which blends history with magic. I liked Alvie's enthusiasm for her career choice. I also liked the magical world which had traveling by mirrors and the technological inventions that actually happened in the early 1900s. Alvie's father got rich helping Edison invent the lightbulb and Alvie has a fascination with the new internal combustion engines in the new automobiles that are becoming more common. Alvie was a great character who was coming of age and exploring her talents.
    • 2/5
      It was not as interesting as the other ones in the series. I could have been without it.
    • 4/5
      Plastic does not often appear in magic novels, so I was intrigued. I liked the magic system. The heroine was spunky. I haven't read the other books in the series (though i am sure some of the characters were referenced or had cameos), but i might.
    • 3/5
      This felt like an unnecessary continuation of the world and not the original story. With all new characters, except Bennett, it was a shock to the system after having three previous books dedicated to a specific storyline and cast of characters. I totally get the love for the world and not wanting it to end, but I probably could have done without this one. I purchased it without actually reading a description because I was adding to a series I had already begun collecting.All that being said, it wasn't a bad story. Alvie was an interesting protagonist, and it was nice seeing Bennett fleshed out, however slightly. I still find the magics of the worls fascinating and this time around it was focused on Polymaking, which is plastics, the newest of the magic disciplines. I think I find Folding more interesting, but I love the work the author out into the magic.The story had intrigue, but it was lacking the action and adventure of the previous story. It was almost like a slice-of-life with a teeny bit of shenanigans thrown in. Not to say slice-of-life isn't highly in my wheelhouse. It was just so different from the previous novels. The storytelling definitely took a left turn. The minor--and I do mean minor cameo from Ceony and Emery was almost insulting. There was just no need for it. I got so excited to see their names and then within a paragraph or two they were gone. Honestly, if I had read that it was based on new characters, I probably would have skipped it, but I don't think I have any serious regrets. I'm invested in the world if not the characters. And as much as I hate the changing of the major characters in series, I would probably read another novel based in this world. In my opinion, it's better to create a series where the world is the same and the characters might interact, but every novel stars different protagonists/antagonists. It's harder to reconcile having the main characters from several novels swapped for new ones after you've invested in them.
    • 4/5
      "After all, it wasn’t about the magic. It was about the discovery."This was by far my favorite book of the series, even though The Plastic Magician is *technically* a spin-off. While I felt obligated to read the first three books in this series (The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician) before diving in, it is not necessary to read them in order to understand the plot of this book, though there were several characters that made cameo appearances. The Plastic Magician follows Alvie Brechenmacher, an American (from Columbus, Ohio) who is doing her Polymaking apprenticeship in England under the tutelage of the well-known inventor (and nephew of the founder of the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined), Marion Praff. Polymaking – the study of plastic-based magic – is a relatively new field which, while filled with exciting new discoveries, also leads to fierce competition between the magicians within the discipline.I thought Alvie Brechenmacher was a much more relatable and intriguing heroine than Ceony Twill, who was a little too straight-laced for my taste. Both were independent and highly intelligent women but in different ways. Alvie was a passionate inventor who was strongly motivated to make the next discovery, and as a student studying chemistry, I felt that I could relate to that drive for a greater understanding of how the world works.My only real criticism of the book is that Alvie’s character still fits into the typical YA trope of a clumsy, supposedly non-pretty heroine who is also incredibly intelligent and quirky. However, despite this, I really enjoyed Alvie…as well as the intriguing field of Polymaking. I definitely wouldn’t object if the author wanted to continue this series by following Alvie through her studies (or by writing another spin-off following a student in an alternate magical discipline)!Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I loved going back to the world of the Paper Magician and focusing on new characters (or old ones that were just minor characters in the last books). Alvie is charming in her differences - some cultural (an American in England) and some just quirks of her personality. I loved that Bennet appreciated her differences, especially since he was a little bit of a jerk to Ceony when he finds out she is in love with Mg. Thane. I like to think that his interactions with Ceony allowed him to be more open to unconventional Alvie.
    • 4/5
      Alvie is a young German American woman who can't wait to learn magic. She's even chosen her field - The newly emerging study of plastics. She gets chosen for a very prestigious apprenticeship in England and sets off. Not a lot of plot going on here, but Alvie was so much fun as a character and the world was so engrossing that it didn't bother me that the villain was really obvious. I would recommend it to lovers of light fantasy.