421 pages
English language
Published Oct. 1, 2005 by Magic Carpet Books.
Teenage wizard Nita travels to other universes to find a cure for her mother who has brain cancer.
Oof...this series has just gotten heavier and heavier. It always manages to keep some element of wonder and beauty, but there's a lot of bleak darkness here too.
4.75 Slow to ramp up like all the Young Wizard books, this one hits the reader with a more realistic threat than the others: Nita's mum getting cancer and her scrambling to use wizardry to help her. Again it's a story about responsibility, temptation and trust. But it's hard to describe just how good it becomes in the end. I really didn't see the glorious speech about femininism, pro-choice and body autonomy coming in at the end.
The series continues to give Harry Potter a run for its money, but I can see why it was never so popular. It's too cerebreal and the horror and sacrifice are all too real, not some skeletal boogeymen and losing your peers' admiration.
The only reason I subtract a quarter point is, because the annoying use of "cancer viruses" througout, which smacks of an editorial decision. Yeah, some cancer is caused by viruses, …
4.75 Slow to ramp up like all the Young Wizard books, this one hits the reader with a more realistic threat than the others: Nita's mum getting cancer and her scrambling to use wizardry to help her. Again it's a story about responsibility, temptation and trust. But it's hard to describe just how good it becomes in the end. I really didn't see the glorious speech about femininism, pro-choice and body autonomy coming in at the end.
The series continues to give Harry Potter a run for its money, but I can see why it was never so popular. It's too cerebreal and the horror and sacrifice are all too real, not some skeletal boogeymen and losing your peers' admiration.
The only reason I subtract a quarter point is, because the annoying use of "cancer viruses" througout, which smacks of an editorial decision. Yeah, some cancer is caused by viruses, but it's clear that cancerous cells are meant. And the kids and young adults meant to read this would know that.
This one I found to be a hard read, both for content, and for, "Wait, I'm not sure that follows," In a couple places. Which really boils down to, "I loved it enough to be frustrated by some very small areas," Which means I got way more invested in it than I do for most books.
