So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane (Book Review)

So You Want to Be a Wizard

by Diane Duane

400 pages

Harcourt, 1996 (reprint)

fantasy

Finished in 7 days

Rating: ★★★★

Amazon | BN

"Part of the problem, Nita thought as she tore desperately down Rose Avenue, is that I can't keep my mouth shut."

Review: Let me start by saying this book (series) was recommended to me by Heather of Between the Covers. She one of the first book bloggers I came across who I reached out to and has been more than willing to help me and guide me into making this blog what it is today. So yeah, when she recommends a book to me I'm not about to ignore it. With that said, here's what I thought:

Diane Duane surely has a hit on her hands. As I was reading this book I decided to do a little checking on my own about the series. I was surprised to discover this first book was published before I was even born! Why it never became a hit like the other series of today (namely Harry Potter) I'll never know. The vocabulary is adult, the story line is more than interesting, and the two main characters are believable. Who couldn't relate to being bullied in school for reasons they have no control over? I know I could.

The story basically revolves around Nita and Kit who both come across a book that teaches about magic and becoming a wizard through different lessons and spells. Both bond with each other and assist their mystical white hole of a friend named Fred. That's what they call him for short.

Nita is picked on by a group of girls who just don't like her smartaleck answers for everything. She has a bit of a sarcastic nature to her which I can relate to. Kit is Hispanic and gets picked on because of his accent. One thing I liked was all the lessons both of them learned as they did or didn't use magic to make their lives better. It goes to show that magic doesn't solve everything but letting life play out on its own just might. There will always be bullies, it's how you stand up to them on your own that counts in the end.

Summary: Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a... books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist . . . a Writer. But his one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard.

I don't believe this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious--and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't . . . ?

To learn more about Diane Duane, visit her site here.