Witch & Wizard (series)

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Witch & Wizard
Witch and Wizard Cover.jpeg
Cover of first novel

Witch & Wizard
The Gift
The Fire
The Kiss
The Lost
Author James Patterson
Witch & Wizard
Gabrielle Charbonnet
The Gift
Ned Rust
The Fire
Jill Dembowski
The Kiss
Jill Dembowski
The Lost
Emily Raymond
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Little Brown and Company
Published2009-2014
Media typePrint (hardback, paperback), ebook, audiobook
No. of books5

Witch & Wizard is a series of dystopian fantasy novels written by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. The first novel in the series, Witch & Wizard, was released in 2009. It was followed by a new book in the series each following year, with the exception of 2012, until the release of the last book in the series, The Lost, in 2014. Two graphic novels set in the series' world were released in 2010 and 2011 through IDW Press.

Contents

Synopsis

Witch & Wizard

The novel follows fifteen-year-old Wisty and her eighteen-year-old brother Whit in a dystopian future where people can be brought up on charges of witchcraft. The teens and their parents are charged with witchcraft despite their claims that magic does not exist. They are taken from their parents when they begin to show magical abilities after receiving a book and drumstick. The children meet The One Who Is The One, the leader of the political party the New Order. The teens are sentenced to be executed once they turn eighteen years of age.

Whit is reunited with his long-lost girlfriend Celia, who reveals that she's a half-light spirit that exists in an alternate dimension called the Shadowland. She teaches the two of them how to travel to and from Shadowland, through which they escape to a haven for persecuted children named Freeland. The siblings choose not to remain in the haven, as they wish to find their parents, and learn of a prophecy where they are Liberators who will bring about an end to the New Order. Wisty and Whit begin to plan to take down the regime and reluctantly accept help from Byron, a former classmate who had heavily taken part in their persecution and had been changed into a weasel by Wisty. The trio eventually return to their hometown, where they discover that the siblings' home has been demolished. There, they discover that their parents can communicate with them through magic. During this process, their seemingly worthless book and drumstick are transformed into a spellbook and a magic wand. Byron is also changed back into a human and charged with looking after the siblings.

The Gift

When Whit and Wisty Allgood were imprisoned by the wicked forces of the totalitarian regime known as the New Order, they were barely able to escape with their lives. Now part of a hidden community of teens like themselves, Whit and Wisty have established themselves as leaders of the Resistance, willing to sacrifice anything to save kidnapped and imprisoned kids.

At the same time, the villainous leader of the New Order is just a breath away from the ability to control the forces of nature and to manipulate his citizens on the most profound level imaginable: through their minds. He needs only one more thing to triumph in his evil quest: the Gifts of Whit and Wisty Allgood. And he will stop at nothing to seize them.

The Fire

The siblings Whit and Wisty Allgood have every reason to want to take down Nick, especially as he has taken everything and everyone from them. The One has continued his oppressive regime, going so far as to enforce strict censorship where any form of creative output, such as music or even one's imagination, is banned. A showdown is imminent between the three, which will decide the fates of their world.

The Kiss

With The One Who Is The One defeated, the siblings find that they face new challenges. Wisty is falling for a mysterious and possibly untrustworthy stranger named Heath, and a new power now poses a threat to their world: a Wizard King that has come from the mountains to wage war.

The Lost

After defeating not only The One Who Is The One but also his father and son, Whit and Wisty have finally started to relax and take on new roles. However, their peace is soon shattered when it becomes evident that a new magical threat is endangering their city, resulting in the city turning against magic and the siblings seriously doubting themselves and each other.

Characters

Bibliography

Novels

  1. Witch & Wizard (December 14, 2009, Little Brown and Company)
  2. The Gift (November 4, 2010, Little Brown and Company)
  3. The Fire (December 5, 2011, Little Brown and Company) [1] [2]
  4. The Kiss (February 4, 2013, Little Brown and Company)
  5. The Lost (December 15, 2014, Arrow)

Graphic novels

  1. Battle for Shadowland (August 26, 2010, IDW Publishing) [3] [4] [5]
  2. Operation Zero (April 12, 2011, IDW Publishing) [6]

Reception

Critical reception for the books was mixed to positive and the first novel in the series received reviews from Publishers Weekly, the Horn Book Guide, and the School Library Journal. [7] A reviewer for Booklist praised the prologue as "enticing" while criticizing the first entry by stating that the "meandering plot seems to make up the rules as it goes along.”. [8] The Guardian reviewed the second novel, The Gift, marking it as a recommended read. [9]

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References

  1. "The Fire (review)". Publishers Weekly.
  2. "Witch & Wizard: The Fire". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  3. "Battle for Shadowland (review)". Publishers Weekly.
  4. "Battle for Shadowland". School Library Journal.
  5. "Battle for Shadowland". Booklist.
  6. "Operation Zero". Booklist.
  7. "Witch & Wizard, reviews". Horn Book Guide, School Library Journal. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  8. Kraus, Daniel. "Witch & Wizard". Booklist. Retrieved Dec 15, 2009.
  9. Starburst (2011-07-18). "Witch and Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson - review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-09-20.