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.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Book Review)

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

512 pages

Anchor Books, 2011

fiction

Read in 4 days

Another Review

My Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon.com | BN.com

"The man billed as Prospero the Enchanter receives a fair amount of correspondence via the theater office, but this is the first envelope addressed to him that contains a suicide note, and it is also the first to arrive carefully pinned to the coat of a five year old girl."

Review: Join me as I step inside Le Cirque des Rêves, or the Circus of Dreams, one of the best books I've read this year. I only wish I had read it sooner. To say it's a story about a circus that only opens once the sun goes down is true but an understatement. Yes, this circus only opens once the sun goes down, and appears in the dead of night without any notice from anyone who might reside near it, but this story is much more than the circus. It was created solely to give Marco and Celia a venue to conduct and carry out a battle started by their respective care-takers. The circus grows and changes as the game continues to be played by Marco and Celia.

Neither of them begin to realize the consequences their game has until they begin to have strong feelings for each other beyond just trying to beat each other. There are, of course, other circus acts that we are introduced to and grow to enjoy as their performances are explained in such poetic and descriptive details. I felt as if I was there, walking amongst the many visitors of this night circus.

What I liked most was how each chapter could almost stand on its own and how the little "vignettes" as I started calling them, give the point of view of the reader as we first encounter the circus then walk through the various tents and performances until we ultimately have to leave circus when the sun is about to rise again and we feel a sudden emptiness coupled with exhaustion.

There are many people involved with the upkeep and maintenance of the circus but what matters most, towards the end, is how, once and if this game should ever end between Marco and Celia, will the circus ever hope to continue and survive? A solution is found but can it ultimately be carried out to magical perfection? Some might find the ending a bit on the sappy side, but for me it was actually pretty tame considering this story is just as much a love story about Marco and Celia as it is a love story about a circus and I think Erin did a great job giving both stories of love and equal playing field. I even appreciated her inference that no matter how strong and deep love is for another person, place or thing, it is fragile, it can be broken, but it can always be cherished, sustained, and remembered, through the stories we tell.

This book is definitely a page turner that if exhaustion hadn't overcome me so often I could easily have foreseen myself losing sleep to finish it. And it wasn't until I finished it that I realized I have never been to a circus. Then it hit me as I read the last line of the book, how sad a life I must have had to never have visited such a magical and wondrous place in my childhood.

Summary: Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.

To learn more about Erin Morgenstern, visit her site here.

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (Book Review)

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

by Chris Colfer

438 pages

Little Brown Books, July 2012

fairy tale/fantasy/magic

Read In: 3 ½ days

Another Review…

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com or BN.com

My Review: Even though this book is geared towards young adults ranging from 8 - 12 years old, I read this 400+ page book for two reasons: 1. Chris Colfer wrote it & 2. Who doesn’t like a good fairy tale? You’re never too old to read fairy tales.

I found this book to be rather inventive. How he was able to intertwine all those fairy tales and still manage to leave himself room for several follow-up books in this made-for trilogy opener. While I feel the editing could have gone a bit deeper than I imagine it did considering it was left at over 400 pages! Then again, after Harry Potter I suppose there is no reason to shorten a book meant to be read by a younger audience. These kids devour books so quickly now!

The twins and main characters of the story are believable in their dialogue, except for the range of emotions the female character, Alex, goes through. I can’t say I remember what it was like when I was 12 but this girl would tear up over the littlest thing! The brother - sister relationship was spot on and I found a little bit of myself in each other them. There were lessons to be learned, as with any good fairy tale, and morals to be remembered. All in all, it’s a book any parent could and should read with their child and discuss as they go along.

I hear rumors of a possible movie being made out of this book? If so, I hope it’s completely animated. Some things are better depicted drawn and come off too corny when you take a children’s book and portray it with real people. Or if not completely then let it start with real people and when they fall into the book they become animated, like The Page Master or Rock-a-doodle.

Synopsis: Alex and Conner Bailey’s world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.

The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.