So you want to be a wizard

323 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 2003 by Harcourt.

ISBN:
978-0-15-204738-2
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
52386311

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (31 reviews)

Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension.

17 editions

reviewed So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane (The young wizards series)

Review of 'So you want to be a wizard' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

4.75 Surprisingly fresh and veering much more into horror than I expected. What's really nice is that the lead is a girl, the second lead a Hispanic boy and the third a stellar object. Really didn't expect that for something wirtte in the early eighties. It's also much more empowering than Harry Potter. No "You're a Wizard Nita" (and she is a wizard, not a witch) or wise old teachers telling you how you should do stuff, but a conscious decision on the protagonist and learning on your own or with peers. The technical language of magic might turn off some kids, but the kids like Nita and Kit, who are way into books will probably eat it all up. I'd suggest a somewhat higher starting age tan HP in general, but you never know.

The sense of wonder is much deeper and less surface level than most other fantasies, …

reviewed So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane (The young wizards series)

Review of 'So you want to be a wizard' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

For someone growing up on the originals, the new millennium updates are jarring as hell. I have, shall we say, strong feelings here.

To quote Janet Kagan's work, "Even the old Russians Chekov quotes knew better: 'Not a word can be omitted from a song,' he says. But somebody, Eeiauoan or-Sivaoan, deliberately forgot."

Except, while the changes make my brain squirm, I can see the why of them, and - when I can get my brain to chill out about the differences - I can feel the flow going on as comfortably as it did before. Perhaps not for me, but that's OK. I'll still stick with my old versions, since that's where my comfort lies, and recognize there's a good place for the new as well.

shrugs

I mean, I still miss my c64, OK? If you haven't read this before, go grab a copy. Old or new, the …

reviewed So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane (The young wizards series)

Review of 'So you want to be a wizard' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

What ages would I recommend it too? Eleven and up.

Length? Two days.

Characters? Memorable, several characters.

Setting? Real world and fantasy, alternate dimensions.

Written approximately? 1983.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No. Changes in scenery and real world events have been updated in ebook version per the website.

Short storyline: Nita meets Kit and they begin their adventures.

Notes for the reader: I found and read book 4 first. Something about the early pages of book 1 bothered me and seemed unreal. Obviously, I've forgotten what it was, and enjoyed the rest of the novel.

Warning for low vision readers: Print is a bit small, and the use italics for whole paragraphs in places.

reviewed So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane (Young Wizards Series (1))

Review of 'So You Want to Be a Wizard' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This book failed to pull me in, but the it was entertaining enough. I don't know if it was the author's writing style, world building or character development (I did like Fred, though!) that left me disenchanted. Nor do I think I'm really in the target audience.

reviewed So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane (The young wizards series)

Review of 'So you want to be a wizard' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There's a certain lyricism to Duane's prose that is present in many parts of the book. You can see her interest in language (particularly Speech) and how it functions through the themes that run through this work. I also think that she does a very good job thinking about how magic might function within the context of the urban, as well as communicating this to a young adult/teen readership. Perhaps I should read the rest of the series.

Review of 'So you want to be a wizard' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

There's a certain lyricism to Duane's prose that is present in many parts of the book. You can see her interest in language (particularly Speech) and how it functions through the themes that run through this work. I also think that she does a very good job thinking about how magic might function within the context of the urban, as well as communicating this to a young adult/teen readership. Perhaps I should read the rest of the series.

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Subjects

  • Wizards -- Fiction.
  • Bullies -- Fiction.
  • Fantasy.