As an adult reader who loves well-written young adult fantasy novels, I found Witch and Wizard devoid of any original thought. It is trite and uninteresting, filled with cookie-cutter characters and tired clichés. I literally rolled my eyes at the first mention of “The Prophecy,” and heard myself scoff aloud a number of times (for example, when the phrase “tricks are for kids” was shortly followed by “gone with the wind” and then by “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”). It’s repetitive and contains a lot of action that doesn’t seem to move the story forward. The repressive government and colorless bad guys have no standout characteristic to make them the least bit interesting. Unfortunately, neither do the good guys. The attempts at humor are lame and uninspired.
I listened to the audio version, and while the voice actors (Elijah Wood and Spencer Locke) were excellent, I found myself longing for the book to end. The book opens with a cliffhanger but ends well before the moment of the cliff. I will not be carrying forward to book two to find out what happens. There is clearly an audience for this series, but I am not it.
P.J. O'Rourke advises "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
Let Galesburg Public Library staff and friends guide you in finding those books.
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