Witch and Wizard

WITCH AND WIZARD

By:  James Patterson and

Gabrielle Charbonnet

FIRST SENTENCE

“Sometimes you wake up and the world is just plain different.”

SUMMARY
from goodreads

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing.  For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend.  The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager.  But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they never dreamed of.  Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skill in time to save themselves, their parents – and maybe the world?

REVIEW

I went into this book with no real expectations.  I have only read one other James Patterson book, and I had not read any reviews.  All I had to go by was the book’s summary (and cool big flaming “W” cover) and it really hooked me. 

The New Order was nothing short of pure evil.  It set the tone for how utterly depressing life was for the kids in the story.  My gosh it would be awful if this were all true. 

The main characters, brother and sister duo Whit and Wisty, got a real surprise when they found out that they were a wizard and a witch.  Other than Wisty being the queen of sarcasm, these two were nearly interchangeable.  If the chapters didn’t tell me the point-of-view, I may have mixed them up.  Can you imagine being a teen when you find out that you have special powers?  I wish I knew WHY it was that their powers surfaced once they were captured.  Why? 

Things move very quickly in Witch and Wizard.  Perhaps a little too quickly at times, particularly at the end.  The sequel, The Gift, releases on December 13, 2010.  In this book, James Patterson is co-writing with Ned Rust.  Hopefully this new writing team will focus more on the details and move the plot more slowly.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for sending this book for me to review.

RATING

4        Plot

3        Characters

4        Attention Grabbing

3        Girlie Meter

3        Ending

17      TOTAL

4        STARS