Cosentino emerged seemingly out of nowhere as a fully fledged star and Australia's premier illusionist and escapologist, with an act as distinct and as wild as his Johnny Depp-meets-Al Capone look. The LA Times has said of him that 'Cosentino mirrors the legendary Harry Houdini' - and like Houdini, his blockbuster stunts are truly mind-blowing: getting out of a locked Perspex sphere plunged 10 metres underwater; straitjacketed and suspended above a flaming set of steel jaws; or escaping from shackles just in time to avoid his head being sliced open by 18 chef's knives. But Cosentino's greatest trick of all? Well, that's something completely different. It was learning how to read.
He was a twelve year old boy with learning difficulties, teased and isolated, who struggled with schoolwork and could barely read. But one day, in a library, he found an illustrated book about magic - and that unlocked something in him. That magic book not only taught him how to read, it propelled him on an extraordinary journey - from a shy boy with low self-esteem to the international star that he is today - and that journey is the core of this inspirational memoir. This is a story for anyone who ever dreamed of achieving the impossible.
