WITCH AND WIZARD.

WITCH AND WIZARD by JAMES PATTERSON and GABRIELLE CHARBONNET (AKA Svetlana Chmakova).

Source: Ex-library stock.

THE BOOK{According to amazon.co.uk}: The world is changing - the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now kids are disappearing. For fifteen-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 reason they can comprehend. The new government is clearly trying to suppress life, liberty ... and the pursuit of being a normal teenager.

Imprisoned together and condemned to death, Wisty and Whit begin exhibiting strange abilities and powers they never dreamed of. Maybe there is a reason they were singled out. Can this newly discovered witch and a wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents - and maybe the world?

FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue: Wisty} It's overwhelming.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 159}: She was a Half-Light, I assumed, even though I'd never pictured dead girls wearing tank tops and pleated skirts ... and chewing bubble gum. And do dead girls really need glasses? Maybe it was a fashion statement.

MY THOUGHTS: Despite promising myself that unless asked to do so by an author/publisher I wouldn't begin any books that were part of a series I found myself buying this. Though in my defence despite the hardback copy (shown upper left corner) I read having 'A Brand New Series' emblazoned across the top I hadn't actually realised it was part one in what I believe is currently a four part series (with a 5th in the pipeline) until I got to the last page and saw the words 'To be continued'.

Anyway,

Despite to all intents and purposes looking like a 'grown-up' read (at least this edition did, I've seen others that I'm presuming were designed for young readers) I felt Witch And Wizard was very much suited to young teenage readers and perhaps even those who though younger are mature readers.  

A quick read made even faster by the fact that many of its 104 chapters were barely a page and a half long. Whilst on the face of it I can find very little to actually recommend it I have to admit I found it totally compelling, a novel that once begun was impossible to put down.

Told from the point of view of both the Witch (Wisty) and Wizard (her brother, Whit) of the title the story begins in the stadium in which the siblings are about to be executed by the N.O. (New Order) before drawing the reader slightly back in time to their arrest and subsequent adventure.

Featuring not only a drumstick wielding (best not to ask but all will be revealed in the book) fire starter witch and a Quarterback wizard who have yet to learn the full extent of their powers, some 'Half-Lights, some 'Erlenmeyers' and what turns out to be the cutest 'Hellhound' ever in a novel that though enjoyable in its own right will more likely than not disappoint those expecting Harry Potter does The Hunger Games.

Though arguably utter nonsense I thought it highly gratifying nonsense that will I've no doubt be adapted for the big screen.

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