Toxic Mentorship and Fantasy: Craig Kofi Farmer Discusses A Method for Magic and Misfortune

You know, when I originally agreed to this interview with Craig Kofi Farmer, I hadn’t even read his latest middle grade fantasy A Method for Magic and Misfortune (out September 9th) yet. I just knew that the guy had pretty much hit it out of the park last year with Kwame Crashes the Underworld, so he seemed like a pretty safe good-interview-bet. It was only later that I actually sat down and read his new book and… holy moly. I was expecting more Kwame-esque hijinks and goofs. Instead, I got a face full of trauma, red flags, and horrendously realistic manipulative behavior. Was it good? Of course it was! But tonally you’d swear these two books were written by two entirely different authors.

So naturally, now I had questions.

To give you a sense of the book first, though, I’d like to run you through the plot a little. Or, as the publisher says:

“Twelve-year-old Marcus Pennrider feels far from magical. He’s trying his best to balance school, a part-time job, and looking after his little sister. On top of that, his aunt has moved in with them to be their new caretaker.

But one day, Marcus discovers a secret magic flows through the streets of Grand Park — magic that can make money out of thin air, or control the weather — and everything seems to start changing for the better. Marcus even catches the attention of Mr. O, local corner store owner and beloved leader in the community, who takes Marcus under his wing and teaches him how to use magic.

As Marcus delves into the strange world of Divination, he becomes entrenched in a rigorous magical training program…and discovers that Mr. O may not be who he seems. It’ll be up to Marcus to decide who his true family is, and that perhaps the real magic of Grand Park lies much closer to home.”

Questions. Abound.

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BB: Craig! I can’t thank you enough for talking with me about your latest. And it’s such an interesting direction to go too. Again you’ve a boy with magic, but no one would say that A METHOD FOR MAGIC AND MISFORTUNE was anything but its own singular title. I might even call it Realistic Fiction Fantasy. Let’s get the origin story on this one. Where did you get the idea for it?

Craig Kofi Farmer: Betsy! So great to connect with you. First off, thank you for all you do in the library space and thank you for all the support you’ve given KWAME CRASHES THE UNDERWORLD. It meant so much to me as a debut author, and I appreciate you so very much. I’m more than happy to talk with you about A METHOD FOR MAGIC AND MISFORTUNE!

Regarding METHOD, the inspiration came from my own personal life. Like KWAME, this story started with a seed of my own life, which sprouted into an entire fantasy book. Growing up, I saw so many kids fall into toxic relationships with mentors, whether those mentors were parents, coaches, or community leaders. Those relationships were especially nuanced, given the age difference, the power imbalances, and the, “Because I said so/I know better” dynamic that were at play.

I’ve seen, firsthand, how these relationships can pull kids away from the things that they should be focused on, like school, family, and friends. I’ve seen adults tell kids things like: “Look at all the kids out here that are winning chess tournaments, leading Hollywood productions, and playing in youth world series games. Why can’t that be you? What are you going to do, that’s on that level?” This kind of pressure can really get in a kid’s head and can put them under the wrong adult’s wing.  

This is only compounded with social media; sometimes, it’s not an adult that’s making kids feel like they’re not enough. Sometimes, it’s the internet. In a world where child influencers make millions of dollars by turning on their camera, many kids find themselves tempted by the prospect of being more than just a kid who goes to school, does chores, and watches television. After all, what fun is there in just being a kid when there’s someone out there who’s a kid and gets to hang out with movie stars on stream?

The main character in METHOD, Marcus, wrestles with this pressure to contribute to his community in a larger way, to be one of those kids who are—in his eyes—more special, more valuable, and more useful than he is. He doesn’t just want to be a kid…he wants to be more, for the sake of his family and his community. And Mr. O, his mentor and father figure, notices this and uses it. Throughout the story, Marcus realizes that this relationship is not very healthy…and realizes that he needs to figure out who his real family is before he’s too far gone.

BB: Well, and let’s talk tone too! In KWAME it was upbeat, action-packed, go go go go go!! In METHOD you’ve a deeper fantasy with psychological underpinnings and even more serious themes like abuse and misplaced trust in authority figures. Even though you’re working in the same genre for the same age range, you’re doing something significantly different with your latest book. How easy was it for you to tap into this different kind of fictional writing? Was this book easier for you or harder than KWAME?

Craig: This is a great question. KWAME and METHOD are very different, but both were the products of me trying something new. The way I see it, if I’m blessed with the opportunity to put a real-life book on real-life shelves, why not take a big swing and do something that hasn’t been done very often?

With KWAME, I hadn’t seen many middle-grade Ghanaian mythology novels in the kidlit space besides Roseanne Brown’s excellent SERWA BOATENG series. So, I tried to do something new and write a middle-grade adventure that centered grief and Ghanaian mythology. For this second book, I didn’t want to copy what was done in KWAME. I did, however, want to accomplish the same goal of making kids feel seen by representing their experience, in a way that was still accessible and magical.

It actually wasn’t too hard to tap into this kind of writing; I’ve grown up around these experiences, so I’ve seen this up close. I’ve seen coaches throw things at kids in frustration. I’ve seen community leaders scream at kids and shame them. I’ve seen parents hit their kids and then justify it afterwards with a slew of reasonings. And I’ve seen these things hurt kids’ self-esteem, their worldview, and their ability to make friends.

There are real-life kids dealing with this kind of pain, but when they open the books made for their age range, they might not see their experiences reflected on the page. They might see a young-chosen-one fighting an evil wizard that’s trying to kill them, but they might not see a young magical boy fighting his magical mentor that’s trying to use his trauma to manipulate him. I understand the value of escapism for kids, but I also understand the value of representation. What if there was a story that centered a kid’s experiences with abuse and toxic mentorship? What if it was told in a way that all kids could engage with, through a lens of magic and wonder? What if I showed how a kid can untangle themselves from a destructive relationship…and showed how to recognize a healthy relationship?

In these ways, METHOD was a little more difficult to write than KWAME—the subject matter and experiences are definitely very sensitive topics—but I think the challenge was worth it. If even one kid reads this book and decides to quit that team…or decides to tell their parents what’s been going on at that camp…or decides to just enjoy being a kid rather than striving for more…then this book has done its job.

BB: I’m curious about some of the influences you’ve appreciated that may have inspired aspects of this book. This could be actual people in real life, books you’ve loved, movies, anything. What are the inspirations for METHOD here?

Craig: I know I’ve mentioned that I’ve seen real-life people engage in some of these toxic and abusive behaviors, but there are also things that I’ve seen in media that reflect these as well. Adult movies like Whiplash (2014), or children’s shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005 – 2008)show how the wrong mentor can lead young people astray. Books like Neal Shusterman’s SCYTHE (2016) tell stories of young people being led into a scary new world that is morally grey and questionable—and raise questions of whether such young people should be engaging in such nuanced activities. All these stories, and more, gave me models for how these stories can be told for a larger audience, including for those that may not have had these experiences.

BB: Just quickly noting that I LOVE that you mentioned both Whiplash and Avatar in the same breath. Now I don’t often ask authors this, but with your books you’ve this singular ability to create likeable main characters. This is almost more of a question about craft, but when you write, do you consciously insert elements to make the reader like your protagonist or does it come naturally for you? And how do you make your readership fall in love with your hero?

Craig: I appreciate that very much! I chalk that up to the “voice” of my books, and I give my team credit for pushing me to punch up the voice of my writing. When I’m working on voice, I try to combine the voice of my inner child and the voice of young people today. My school visits allow me to engage with elementary and middle school kids. My writing mentorship opportunities give me the chance to connect with high schoolers. My full-time job is working with college students. I have so much access to what “youth” is, and it’s helped me conclude that young people are messy, chaotic, funny, energized, tired, awkward, dramatic, and likeable. And they’re generally clueless about what a credit score is. But they have such a deep capacity for empathy, and I think that’s something that a lot of people lose as they grow older.

I try to make sure my main characters keep that deep sense of empathy, without having them come off as twelve-year-old psychologists. It’s important that I write my characters to be all the things that kids are, while still using them to teach young readers some valuable lessons.

BB: How closely does the final form of METHOD resemble its first draft? Did you have to make any significant changes along the way? Anything you were sorry to lose?

Craig: Another great question. METHOD is actually pretty close to what it was in its first draft; I’m still kind of surprised that my team was so open to this kind of story. You don’t see many of these kinds of stories in the middle-grade space. But since day one, my publishing team agreed that there are kids out there who are experiencing this very thing…so why not tell a story that makes them feel seen? I think that unity in vision really helped facilitate the writing process for METHOD.

To your other question, there were a few times in the writing process when I wanted to go a little further regarding certain behaviors. I just had so many experiences and examples of how mentorship and societal pressure involving children could go wrong, that there was an instinct to project all of them onto Mr. O in the story. But my publishing team (gently) pointed out that we already had enough to show young readers that Mr. O is suspect…maybe we don’t also need x, y, or z in the story.

BB: Finally, what else are you working on these days?

Craig: As I mentioned before, I love taking big swings. Any time I get the opportunity to write more books, I will try something new. My next story is set to be a spooky middle-grade novel that may or may not center a young friend group trapped in a Louisiana haunted house with a spirit that wants to keep one of them forever. And that story may or may not explore themes of shame, inheritance, and generational (and institutional) racism. (See? I told you it would be a big swing!)

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Many thanks to Craig for taking the time to answer my questions today. And if he just keeps on making those big swings then I think we’ll all benefit. A Method for Magic and Misfortune is out September 9th, so you won’t have to wait too too long for it. Thanks to Kelsey Marrujo and the team at Macmillan for helping to put this all together.

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2025, Interviews