Book Review ~ Witch and Wizard

Cover Courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.

Witch and Wizard (Witch and Wizard, bk 1) by James Patterson

Published: December 2009
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Description from Fantastic Fiction:

The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

YA Staff Review:

This book combines elements of Harry Potter, Matched, and Hunger Games in an interesting way. The government controls everything. There is no creativity allowed because it cannot be controlled. Everyone is under the rule of “The One Who is the One. You either do as he says or you are vaporized by The One. Magic is strictly forbidden. This book reads quickly and alternates narration between Whit and Wisty. Sometimes it gets a bit confusing but well worth the read.

There are currently three books out in this series with a fourth projected to be out in 2013.

Book Review ~ Matched

Matched by Ally Condie, book 1 in the Matched Trilogy
Published: November 2010
Genre: Teen Science Fiction
Next Book: Crossed
Cover Art Courtesy of NoveList

From Matched-book.com:

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.



YA Staff Review:
This is a great science fiction "what if?" story. In the future, after we have almost destroyed the earth and ourselves, the Society has risen to power. The Society has cured almost all disease. Meals are specially prepared for each person taking into account their personal dietary needs and fitness is scheduled for everyone. Life is "simple," everyone wears the same clothes, listens to the same 100 songs, reads the same 100 poems, watches the same 100 movies, everyone's spouse is chosen for them. There isn't any creativity or spontinaity. And yet everyone seems perfectly happy with it, or are they?

Cassia has done exactly what the Society has told her since she was born. Then after her 17th birthday and matching ceremony things drastically change for her. Does she go back to living the life Society has planned for her or will she embrace the words of the poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light."

This story is unique and mildly suspenseful. It is the first in the Matched Trilogy. Crossed is next and just came out in November 2011. When you go to Matched-Book.com you can even see who the Society would match you with!

If you liked Matched Try:

• Avatar Chronicles by Kostick, Conor





• Hunger Games by North, Pearl





• Libyrinth trilogy by Collins, Suzanne





• Uglies by Westerfeld, Scott





• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Ness, Patrick





• Chemical Garden Trilogy by DeStefano, Lauren