usullusa | Book review time! (Reply)

This book made me remember why I love kids' books so much. It's one of those really solid, fun books that you can come back to over and over. It's about Nita who, while trying to run away from a bully, finds a book in the library called So You Want to Be a Wizard. Turns out there's real magic out there and she's eligible to join the ranks of the wizards, if she's willing to take on the responsibility of taking care of the world. Of course she ends up taking the Wizard's Oath, which also means she has to overcome an Ordeal. As she learns the basics of wizardry she meets Kit, also a new wizard, and Fred the white hole who is usually worried and occasionally helpful. Their ordeal turns out to be quite a bit more than any of them were counting on as the three of them get dragged into an alternate reality Manhattan where they're pitted against vicious taxi cabs, an ancient dragon, and The Lone Power himself with nothing but a little bit of magic and their own cleverness.

This is one of those books that's perfect for that eleven or twelve year old that eats lunch with a book instead of with friends. Or just, that kid that's a bit Different. I mean, the bookworm finding a secret magical book? Come on. And Nita, Kit, and Fred make it through everything less through the use of magic and more through being smart and prepared and being willing to help. (It's sad that that sort of adventure feels old school) It has the perfect brand of magic too, mysterious and otherworldly and at the same time tied in with the science of the universe, or a pseudo-science of the universe. Everything is alive; everything can communicate using the Speech. You just have to learn how to listen right. Trees remember preparing the world for humans (one of my favorite scenes), cars talk, and stars are sentient. The side characters are brilliant. Fred is a talking white hole. He has to remember not to emit x-rays and ultra-violet rays and gamma rays when he's around people. The Lotus, which I'm pretty sure is the precursor for JKR's Ford Angelina, rubs its fender against Kits leg like an overgrown mechanical cat.

I would honestly rank Diane Duane right up there with Diana Wynne Jones, though I've only read one book by Duane and a zillion by Jones, so take that judgment with a grain of salt. It has a clear, unadorned voice, and it's still enjoyable for adults. And it's been forever since I had fits of glee over scenes or certain lines in a book and had to dog-ear pages or grab for a pen and paper.

Also, it's set in New York. This is a personal preference, but I love love love books set in a. magical cities, real or imagined b. magical New York City in particular. One of my favorite lines in the book is "with a stony roar like the sky falling, the great white lions from the steps of the Public Library leaped together and threw themselves upon the iron steed and its dark rider." The NYPL has felt magical to me since the day I first set foot inside it. If there's anything that is going to come to life and protect the city, it's going to be those lions in front of the main branch.