Book Review: Witch and Wizard

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Publication Date: 8 October 2009

I purchased this book.


Description
Everything is about to change. 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 hauled out of bed one night, separated from their parents, and thrown into a secret compound for no apparent reason. It's clear that the new government will stop at nothing to suppress Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager.

For the sister and brother, the chaos started when Whit's girlfriend, Celia, was spirited away in a black van, never to be seen or heard from again. Locked inside their cells, the two fear that they have been taken to the very same complex that swallowed Celia and realize that a daring escape is their only hope of survival.

While imprisoned together, Wisty and Whit start exhibiting strange abilities and powers they never knew they possessed. Their new talents lead them to believe that maybe there is a reason they were singled out. Can this newly minted witch and a wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?


My Review
Witch and Wizard is an entertaining book that introduces readers into the world of Wisteria (Wisty) and Whitford (Whit) Allgood, two siblings who are accused of being a witch and wizard and imprisoned.

I enjoyed reading this book, but felt there was very little character development. The action scenes are great, but I would have liked to learn more about Whit and Wisty personally. And there is virtually no background on how their society was formed. How was the totalitarian government created? What event or events made it easy for the government to subjugate the citizens? Most dystopian fiction has some starting point as to how the society changed from a democracy into what it is now. Not so with Witch and Wizard. I think the story would have had more depth if there was some explanation and greater character development.

The thing I did like was how the authors took current places and people and changed the names to fit into the idea of an alternate world. References were made to everything from books - The Pitcher in the Wheat (Catcher in the Rye) to music - The Groaning Bones (The Rolling Stones) to museums - POPA (MOMA). The humor behind some of the alternate names or places brought a smile to my face and added a little extra snark to the book.

Witch and Wizard is not a stand alone book. No conclusion was made, and in fact, it reads as more of an introduction into the Witch and Wizard series. While there was a lot of action, very little in the way of events occurred. The majority of the book details Whit and Wisty's imprisonment and subsequent jailbreak. I'm interested in seeing what occurs in the second book. I would hope that readers will learn more about Whit and Wisty, as well as the background of the society they live in. This series could have the potential to be really great if there is more of this in the second book. With the name James Patterson on the cover, I definitely expected a better story.


My Rating: 3 stars

Description and picture courtesy of Goodreads.



Witch and Wizard Book Trailer