Parents' Guide to

So You Want to Be a Wizard

By Matt Berman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Blends fantasy, science fiction in equal measures.

Book Diane Duane Fantasy 1983
So You Want to Be a Wizard Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 10+

Based on 4 parent reviews

LaFemmeNkechi
LaFemmeNkechi Parent of 11-year-old
November 19, 2015
age 12+

My favorite wizard series

As a grown-up, I've read the entire series and I can't praise it enough. If you start it and are not pulled in by the time Nita meets Kit, then put it down and try again next year. I just started my son on book one. We are listening to it together and I gave him the option to stop if it is not interesting to him because he can be a bit picky . He gave it a thumbs up. I am enjoying this second time around

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
Renee W.
Renee W. Parent of 8-year-old
October 16, 2022
age 8+

amazing series with a moral compass

This is the start of the amazing Young Wizards series, which is hugely under-appreciated and has more complexity, depth and morality than the beloved Harry Potter. Nita is a fantastic female role model, and Kit is an excellent male role model (and also a rare hispanic lead in YA fantasy). This series teaches children about science, history, physics, astronomy and biology with a wizardly theme.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Nita, chased by bullies, hides in a library and finds astrange book called So You Want to Be a Wizard. It contains information about the nature and structure of the universe, instruction in the use of magic, and a Wizard's Oath. After taking the Oath, Nita discovers that thecontents of the books change to meet her needs and growing abilities, and that she must undergo an ordeal.

She meets another young wizard-to-be, Kit, and together with an intelligent white hole they accidentally call up, they are transported to a dangerous parallel universe run by the Lone Power, where they must retrieve the Bookof Night with Moon which he has stolen and which is necessary for maintaining the stability of the universe.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (6 ):

Long before Harry Potter went to Hogwarts, Nita and Kit began their wizard training in this unusual series that blends fantasy and science fiction in equal measures. Rooted both in Judeo-Christian cosmology and a sort of all-encompassing animism, the novel's fascination comes not only from the weird adventures of the protagonists, but also from the magical-scientific details, conveyed in the author's own delightful technobabble.

This entry in the series is also a love song to New York City, and the world of the Lone Power is seen as a twisted version of Manhattan filled with living (and mostly vicious) taxicabs and helicopters. The settings, in and around downtown Manhattan, are vividly realized.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about a lot here, including the religious overtones present in the author's conception of the creation and order of the universe, the idea of intelligence being present in all things, and the importance of language and books.

Book Details

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