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Review Summaries
"Nita Callahan never believed in magic, until she stumbles onto a wizard's manual in the library and learns how to access her personal wizardry. As she experiments with magic, she meets Kit, another new wizard. When Nita and Kit discover they must undergo an initiation called the Ordeal to become true wizards, they decide to team up. Their ordeal takes them to an alternate version of New York full of subway dragons and vicious living cars. To succeed, the two must retrieve a powerful book from the Lone Power, the embodiment of all death in the universe. But the ordeals are dangerous, and before the night is over, both wizards experience more than their share of personal suffering."
Michael Jung, Resident Diane Duane Scholar
"This is the first of Diane Duane's Wizard books. Nita, a thirteen-year-old girl, is hiding in the library from a bunch of bullies when she finds a book called So You Want To Be a Wizard. She's not entirely sure it's a joke, so she starts to read it and begins her path to becoming a wizard. She meets Kit, another wizard-in-training, and the two of them perform a spell that was just supposed to find Nita's favorite pen and give Kit enough power to avoid getting beat up. The spell doesn't have quite the result that the two hoped it would have, and suddenly they find themselves on a journey. They both learn what their strengths are, which puts them on the road to becoming the more accomplished wizards that they are later in the series. "
Melissa Cookson, Resident Diane Duane Scholar
"Nita Calahan is a bookworm who gets picked on by a bully from school, until she finds a special book and becomes a Wizard. At first, she is only concerned with how to get back at the bully, but then she finds out that there is more to being a Wizard than revenge. She teams up with another Wizard, Kit, and together they fight to stop entropy."
Rad, Resident Diane Duane Scholar
"When running away from a bully, Nita finds a book callled So You Want to be a Wizard and reads the oath to become a wizard. She meets Kit, another wizard, and the two are plunged into an adventure to save New York City in another dimention, and ultimately, the world.
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 18% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 34% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 18%
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- a powerful magician
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Kid's book (ages 7-14)
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
- mage/magician
Age:
- a teen
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- teleportation
- can cast many different spells
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- magical being
Age:
- long-lived adults
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- can change shapes
- fire/thunder/weather cntrl
- can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Terrain
- Domed/Underground City
Earth setting:
- 20th century
- current (early 21st century)
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- unfriendly aliens
- empty, or nearly empty world
- very controlled society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- some scientific explanation
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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