The world Grossman creates drew me in. In spite of having gotten less sleep than usual this week because of a sick baby, I stayed up until 2am to finish this book. I didn't give it five stars just because it didn't blow me away, but I did find it thoroughly enjoyable. 
 Both Harry Potter and The Magicians take place, in part, in a school for magicians, but while Harry Potter was about the battle between good and evil within the world of magic, The Magicians is about the internal struggle of those who possess magical powers to make a life for themselves in the "real world" (although there's some struggle within the magical world, too). Reading Harry Potter, I found myself craving the ability to perform magic. Even with all of the danger, it seemed like fun. Reading The Magicians, magic is revealed to take a great deal of effort and to be dangerous to even attempt to perform. Being able to perform magic just kind of scratches the surface off of a world largely hidden from our eyes, revealing a complexity beyond comprehension and a grave responsibility for those gifted with magical abilities. 
 And I love the satisfyingly nerdy tip of the hat to classics of fantasy literature.