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?
I am an avid James Patterson fan, especially the Alex Cross novels, and Witch & Wizard is a definate departure from his usual works. The dystopian plot line was centered on a world in which the entire political and social systems that we know have collapsed. The New Order has taken control, destroying anyone and everything in their path that doesn't fit neatly into its highly structured and dictated system. Any creativity or departure from what is perceived as "proper" by the New Order was grounds for immediate imprisonment, even execution, no matter the age. The plot line was fascinating; the total control the New Order wielded was intriguing. Whit and Wisty are the heroes of the story, completely unaware of who and what they are until their lives are torn apart by the New Order. The action was well-paced, keeping me fully engaged. The development of the characters, however, is what kept me wanting more. They were entirely believable as real people, extremely likeable. The story was told in the first person by Whit and Wisty, each chapter being dedicated to one or the other. I liked that differing viewpoint as it kept the story lively. The language used was humorous, appropriate for the age of the first person narrator of the chapters. It was a creative way to blend humor with an otherwise bleak, dystopian story. The story began and ended with essentially the same scene, a cliffhanger for the next installment. I would have thought that ending the story with the same questions that I had when I started would leave me frustrated at the end, but that was not the case. The "meat of the story" in between made that scene clearer, changing it from a teaser at the beginning to a jumping off point at the end. I am definately looking forward to the next book!
Reading updates
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Started reading
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21 January, 2011:
Finished reading
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21 January, 2011:
Reviewed