Rating: 
Summary: Trickster Transformations
Review: Surprisingly well written teen-type paranormal novel with an intriguing take on coming of age. The 17-year-old protagonist, Harry (a middle child who feels she doesn't live up to her real name, Ariadne), somehow conjures the two villains of her fantasy writings into reality, though they split into three parts, each representing different facets of the spirit of a young man who died on the property and has been somewhat mythologized. Some unique ideas, a sexy undercurrent and a satisfying transformation of the heroine.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: The first Margaret Mahy book I read was The Haunting. I must have been about eight years old. That book has since earned a permanent place on my bookshelf, so when I spotted The Tricksters on the "New Books" shelf at the Phoenix Public Library 20 years later, I didn't hesitate to pick it up.
This is a rich, complex, multilayered book. I particularly love it for summer reading because, although the story takes place during Christmas, it is also set in New Zealand, so Christmas falls during the height of summer. A large family and their assorted friends and guests make their annual holiday retreat to a remote seaside house with a history of its own. This summer, however, will alter everything, as Harry -- teenage girl, oft-neglected middle child, and keeper of various secrets -- sets into motion a chain of events which forces her entire family to confront not only the house and their dark fascination with its past, but themselves as well.
For me, this is primarily a ghost story full of psychological twists, tricks and turns (not to mention real menace at times) but it is equally a story about family and the way the past can hang over the present, particularly in the sets of siblings involved: why is it that some members of a family seem destined to blaze forever, no matter what their fate, while their brothers or sisters inevitably sink unnoticed into the background? And how do you measure the damage when one girl feels her family's preoccupation with a man presumed drowned and gone for a century outweighs its interest in her? I also find irresistible any story that presents a house as practically a breathing entity, as restless and yearning to resolve and put to rest what happened inside its walls as the people.
I admit Mahy's style isn't for everyone. I find it evocative, foreboding and frankly addictive, and her descriptions of the natural landscape -- often captured in only a few words -- put you right there; still it may be unsatisfying and frustrating to have the stories of the two families -- Harry's family and the Carnivals, the builders and earlier occupants of their house -- so entwined that only by peeling back layer after layer throughout the book is the crux of their respective secrets revealed. This isn't a classic ghost story, and it isn't a classic teen-coming-of-age book. But I think it deserves to find a wide, varied audience.
(And adults, don't be snootily put off by the "Teen" or "Young Adult" recommended age group. This is as skillfully-written and demanding as anything written for adults out there.)
Incidentally, if you like The Tricksters, may I recommend another novel with many similar themes: Grange House by Sarah Blake. This too has an ominous air of the supernatural; the resentment engendered by one sibling constantly being the center of attention; the past exerting an unbreakable hold on the present; the significance of writing and stories to a main character; and not least of all, beautiful, haunting descriptions of the natural landscape and a grand house as much a character as any of the people in the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Tricksters, By Margret Mahy
Review: The Tricksters is an intriguing and challenging novel. It is good for ages 11- adult. You will love this book if you like compelling, thrilling and suspenseful novels. The book began at the family's vacation home, Carnival's Hide, where many years ago the tragic death of Teddy Carnival had taken place. Harry, 17, feels out of place in her family. She is not as beautiful, like Christobel. She isn't the youngest, like Benny and Serena, nor the oldest, like Charlie. Harry, is tired of being known as docile and simple. In her attic bedroom she writes a romantic novel of a hero named Belen. When early one morning she finds three brothers, the Tricksters, in their human form. The three brothers hold a threat to the family, but the only one who knows is Harry. The Tricksters are the three parts of Teddy Carnival. Harry finds herself in love with the "best part". The other two parts of Teddy Carnival are the real threats. The two parts have all the power between them. When the third part's strong emotions for Harry overcome the other's powers, the 'reality and supernatural' comes together in one horrible moment.
Rating:
Summary: The Tricksters, By Margret Mahy
Review: The Tricksters is an intriguing and challenging novel. It is good for ages 11- adult. You will love this book if you like compelling, thrilling and suspenseful novels. The book began at the family's vacation home, Carnival's Hide, where many years ago the tragic death of Teddy Carnival had taken place. Harry, 17, feels out of place in her family. She is not as beautiful, like Christobel. She isn't the youngest, like Benny and Serena, nor the oldest, like Charlie. Harry, is tired of being known as docile and simple. In her attic bedroom she writes a romantic novel of a hero named Belen. When early one morning she finds three brothers, the Tricksters, in their human form. The three brothers hold a threat to the family, but the only one who knows is Harry. The Tricksters are the three parts of Teddy Carnival. Harry finds herself in love with the "best part". The other two parts of Teddy Carnival are the real threats. The two parts have all the power between them. When the third part's strong emotions for Harry overcome the other's powers, the 'reality and supernatural' comes together in one horrible moment.
Rating:
Summary: A Mixture of Reality and Fantasy
Review: The Tricksters is an intriguing and challenging novel. It is good for ages 11- adult. You will love this book if you like compelling, thrilling and suspenseful novels. The book begins at the family's vacation home, Carnival's Hide, where many years ago the tragic death of Teddy Carnival had taken place. Harry, 17, feels out of place in her family. She is not beautiful, like Christobel, her sister. She isn't the youngest, like Benny and Serena, nor the oldest, like Charlie. Harry, is tired of being known as docile and simple. In her attic bedroom, she writes a romantic novel of a hero named Belen. Early one morning, while out jogging, she finds three brothers, the Tricksters, in their human form. The three brothers hold a threat to the family, but the only one who realizes this fact is Harry. The Tricksters are the three parts of Teddy Carnival. Harry finds herself in love with the "best part". The other two parts of Teddy Carnival are the real threats. The two parts have the power of all three. When the third part's strong emotions for Harry overcome the other's powers, reality and the supernatural come together in one horrible moment.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite of Mahy's books
Review: This book deals with the family conflicts of a New Zealand family, and with the supernatural world that impinges on their lives. Harry, the third child of four, knows a secret that could tear the family apart. She has no temptation to reveal it until the Christmas when her own conflicting needs and the catalyst of three mysterious strangers uncover an older secret and force her to look at the world in a different light. An excellent coming of age book which weaves the supernatural and the natural worlds together with Mahy's deft touch.
Rating:
Summary: A Magic Trio
Review: This books is one of my favourites. Bookish Harry (or Ariadne) really captures the reader`s sympathy from the start. The plot is wonderfully prepared and the blend of past, present; family life and magic is really good. The romance doesn`t hurt either!
Rating: 
Summary: Look what walked out of the water...
Review: When a family does their annual retreat to their summer cabin on the ocean, they find a surprise in the form of three strangers who appear, literarally out of the ocean. The mystery behind these three men, all seemingly identitical brothers, reaches its climax when it is discovered that the three have a mysterious contection with the house and a murder mystery involving the son of the former occupant. While not as griping as some of Mahy's other works, it's still worth perusing
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