So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane

The 2nd book of this series randomly appeared on my shelf (and with the nature of how books work in this series should I take that as coincidence or not?).  Of course I couldn't start at the 2nd book, so instead I started here.  And I have to say, I really wasn't that taken with this book.

Nita is an outcast girl that is frequently bullied.  One day, while hiding from said bullies in the library, she discovers a new book on the shelf "So You Want To Be A Wizard."  But it's not an ordinary book, and after taking the oath contained within, she becomes a wizard.  Along this journey she meets Kip, another wizard who has a book as well and they manage to get themselves in all sorts of trouble as they attempt to get back Nita's special pen and also a very important book to the wizarding community.

Nita and Kip don't really intrigue me at all.  I just didn't find them that interesting.  Although I did find it rather upsetting that the violence to Nita by the bullies is largely ignored by her parents.  But anyways, things come too easily to them.  There's no struggle with the powers, they are just able to do it.  Their dialogue to each other wasn't that interesting either.  The only character I really did like was Fred.  Who wasn't a person at all but a white-hole (think black hole) that they conjured and who talks like a normal person while emitting objects.  He was funny and brave and a pleasure to read about.

The plot was ok.  I found it weird that wizards are supposed to conserve energy to help save the world and keep it from falling to entropy so quickly, yet so much energy was used in the journey for Nita's pen that it didn't seem like they were conserving at all.  But maybe Duane and I just have different theories about energy and its use.  I also thought the plot was overly rushed.  I was glad it moved fast but they were constantly doing things that it was hard to keep up sometimes.  And the language used; the magic in this book is closely related to science, but words are used that I didn't recognize, and there wasn't really an explanation or definition given of them.  It was confusing, and considering this book is marketed for young adults, I can see them being even more confused than I was.  It just wasn't friendly reading, even if it did have a lot of action and adventure.

I'll read the second book, just because I have it.  But I can only hope this series becomes a little more interesting.

So You Want To Be A Wizard?
Copyright 1986
323 pages