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Witch and Wizard (by James Patterson)

common sense media says

Clever premise, but charmless, dark, and too violent.


parents & educators say
  • 67% say there are positive messages
  • 67% say there are positive role models

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a dystopian novel that pits adults against children. While there's no gore, the violence is pervasive and intense -- the opening scene is two teens being led to death in a public execution. The children discover they have supernatural powers such as firestarting, and there is little discussion over the ethics of hurting others to save themselves or others. The Allgood family is eventually revealed as Wiccan, and there are prophecies that Wiccans will save the world.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: The Allgood parents have taught their children to believe in themselves; very good brother and sister relationship; kids work together to overthrow the new Order and to save their parents
Positive role models: Whit and Wisty, the main characters, are devoted to each other and their parents; however as they discover their magical abilities they do not need much soul searching to inflict pain on others in order to gain freedom for themselves and others. The Allgood family are identified as Wiccan.
Violence: No gore, but pervasive and intense. Teens and children murdered, vaporized, and imprisoned by New Order adults; creatures eat humans; teens are beaten. The opening scene is a public execution. 
Sex: Some kissing between 17-year-old Whit and his girlfriend.
Language: Just "hell" and "hellhound."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: 17-year-old Whit drank for a few months after his girlfriend disappeared, then quit.

More on Witch and Wizard

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about dystopian novels. What makes this book dystopian? How did The One take over the world?

  • Whit and Wisty had no idea they had magical abilities. How did their parents keep them from knowing this as they grew up?

  • The Allgood parents had to keep many secrets from their children. Were the secrets to keep them safe, or to help bring about the prophecy that is revealed?

  • Is Wiccan a religion? Are there witches and wizards in other popular fiction you've read that are not Wiccans?

What's the story?

What's the story?

Fifteen-year-old Wisty Allgood and her 17-year-old brother Whit awaken to a nightmare: soldiers invade their home and drag them to prison. Overnight, a new world order is established, and witchcraft, along with science and other magic, is outlawed. Wisty and Whit are convicted as witch and wizard and sentenced to death as soon as they turn 18. Although they had no idea they had magical powers, Wisty discovers the ability to start fires and turn people into animals. They break out of prison to find their parents, but find a resistance army of other teens and children, multiple realities, and a very violent world in chaos. Troops patrol the streets and children are living like refugees. As they search for their parents they also discover they are the subjects of a prophecy that only Wiccans can save the world from the new evil empire.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

WITCH AND WIZARD is too scary and violent for young readers, and not likely exciting or engaging enough for older teen readers. Patterson is known for his action-packed thrillers, but this one is hardly compelling. Whit and Wisty are likable, and the Allgood family dynamic is close and caring, but the teens soon learn that their parents kept many secrets from them, and there is no discussion of their duplicity or their motives. The military enforcers are portrayed as stupid, but how did The One Who Writes Decrees find enough stupid and willing soldiers to overthrow the entire world? And why in the world are these witches and wizards Wiccan?

There is no charm or whimsy, none of the fresh world building found in other popular fantasies of the past decade. There is nothing about this story that is new or thrilling. It makes an un-challenging, OK, light read. The most entertaining part is the list of "Especially Offensive Books That Have Been Banned" in the postscript.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: December 14, 2009
Number of pages: 320
Hardcover price: $17.99
Read Aloud: 12
Read Alone: 12

This review was written by Debra Bogart
 
 

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What parents & educators say

11
Based on 3 parent & educator reviews:
  • 67% say there are positive messages
  • 67% say there are positive role models
  • 33% say violence is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

XuserX
teen, 17 years old
 
Its a bit hard to under stand when you start but i was hooked on from the start, its ful of action and twists and turns, a good book for anyone who can read.

Equestrian.Sam ...
teen, 13 years old
 
It Was Okay..
It is educational a little bit, in the sense that you learn about values and government. (Democracy is overthrown by a totalitarian dictator.) It is pretty dark and the storyline has a never-ending sort of feel. This may be due to the fact that each chapter is literally 1-2 pages long. Perspectives switch between Whit and Wisty, and they both sound exactly alike, so you are prone to forgetting who's perspective it is being told in. It is action-packed, though. The ending is a cliffhanger, obviously to make you want to read the sequal. Overall, it gets a 5/10 for me. I recommend it for readers aged 11-15.

I izz awsom
teen, 14 years old
 
READ IT!!!!!
i luved this book and its sequel!!! I reccomend it to all!

jdmls1972
parent of 11 year old
 

Dreamerlily
teen, 15 years old
 
Chocolate after the Harry Potter Break-Up
I love this book! I was very very sad about Harry Potter ending, then I read this. It's like chocolate after a break-up. It shows that music, books, and art are power. And even if you take those away, you still have your own creativity. A great read. It's like our own world....but different.

I love the ...
teen, 14 years old
 
Couldn't catch interest
How much I wanted to enjoy this book, I just couldn't. Which and Wizard sounded like a good book but I just felt like it was a chore for me to read it. I'll be honest, it was a dull book. Nothing really exciting happened to give me the effort to turn the page, in fact, I found myself skipping over paragraphs sometimes when I felt that if I didn't I'd fall asleep. However, if you do want to read this book it's rated PG just because it has a little violence. Also, the main characters were good role models because they put others before themselves. I'd recommend to read it right before you go to bed so you CAN fall asleep.

my chemical ...
teen, 13 years old
 
great!
i love it they don't say much bad things, great book though i loved it. the second one. Witch and Wizard the Gift was good to! same ratting for that book to!

h8rPatrol
teen, 15 years old
 
Go James!
I love James Patterson what more can i say, I've read this book three times now!

rockin awesomeness
teen, 14 years old
 
Perfect for kids 11 and up i love it
Its amazing !!! Some peolple where worried including my teacher becaust its James Patterson. But its fin the say the h word some times over all its great i wouldn't put it down like a dog with a bone. Its great for kids 10 and up. The thing its a big book with some long words but if your a strong reader you should get this book!!!! I read both books witch and wizard and the gift witch and wizard is the fisrt book and i LOVE THEM BOTH!!!!!

xOAnim3Fr3akOx
teen, 14 years old
 
kay, quick pun...i was writing an essay for school, and then i put GO JAMES PATTERSON!!! but when i got it back, i realized i pu
(cont) t GO ROBERT PATTERSON!!!....go figure. anyways, this is a very good boook. a must read!

The Big E
parent of 11 year old
 
Mediocre at best
It may seem odd to say there are both good and bad messages in this book, but when I thought about it, that's what I decided was an appropriate analysis. On the good side, the siblings in this book are loyal to each other and look out for each other. They have been raised to put their family first, and they frequently think first about how their actions could impact their parents or each other. On the bad side, it is revealed in the book that after the disappearance of his girlfriend, Celia, Whit experiments with, or even takes up for a time, drinking, and while it is evident that he feels some guilt at this, the author does not deal with any consequences of that action beyond Whit's feelings of guilt, which arguably, are also a product of the loss of Celia. That said, I did not list the underage drinking itself as a concern because, while its consequences were not adequately explored, it was also not glorified in any way. A lot of parents may find this book to be too violent (I did not), and there is a lot of violence, especially violence perpetrated by adults against children. For me however, it was made clear that those engaging in the violence against the children were Evil, and the violence is portrayed as being acts of Evil. The violence engaged in by the children in response is shown as necessary to save the lives of others, and therefore justified. If you have a problem with the concept of violence being justified in the face of violence, you will not approve of this book. Overall, the book is not especially good. It's not particularly well written, and is a little too colloquial for my taste. It has just over 300 pages, and over 100 "chapters" which are not divided up in any logical fashion that I could discern, aside from a desire to keep each chapter extremely short (which I would think should be unnecessary with kids in this age group). I read it in a couple of hours in one night. My daughter (age 11) has not yet read it, so I cannot relay any comments she may have had about it.

absipswich
educator and parent of 13 year old
 
Tweens will enjoy this - particularly in light of the Twilight generation
Enjoyable tale of a brother and sister newly and brusquely thrown into a world of cruelty and discrimination...discrimination against anyone with powers - like them.

jumphop
teen, 15 years old
 
Probably the best book out there.
It's a great book, but to put it in perspective it's a book. It's only what you imagine it to be. Your kids are more likely to go out and act violently from GTA then this. The story is great, it is dark though with twist and turns that will keep you turning each page until the end. Then once you reach the end, it's not as you expect it.

katie h.
kid, 12 years old
 
Witch and Wizard
Very well written

elreader46
teen, 15 years old
 
Perfect for wave of fantasy lovers.
Love it this book is filled with humor and a good story to go along with it. pretty violent.

bookworm29
teen, 14 years old
 
Age- Appropriate, but No Empathy for Characters
I didn't really like the book. It moved too fast and the characters were 2 dimensional. Though the concept was great, I couldn't feel for the characters, because I didn't know them as people. I could barely tell the differences between the personalities of Whit and Wisty! It's totally age- appropriate, so there's nothing WRONG with reading it, and the idea is good, but there was no evolution of the characters; too much tell, not enough show.

homegirl13
teen, 15 years old
 
very good

xXBlueMoonXx
teen, 15 years old
 

monkeyin
teen, 14 years old
 
Over reacting
This book was so good. I dont think that the kiss in it was very long and it was a "goodbye" kiss. Sooooooooo....... ya.

MovieLover1222
teen, 16 years old
 
Love this!
Love this!

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