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Mood: Scared ]
In my never ending quest to find genre books to feed to the Harry Potter addicts in my life. This title was suggested by a friend. I endeavoured to track it down.
Boy am I glad she did.
Nita just wanted a place to hide from the bullies who were chasing her. She ended up in the children’s section of the library, a place she knew intimately. So when a new book (entitled So You Want to Be a Wizard) catches her eye, she takes it home. This book is a how to guide that leads Nita into a series of adventures with talking trees, sentient cars and dimensional travel. She also learns about confidence, strength and how to really deal with bullies.
Written years before Harry Potter, is clearly an inspiration for Rowling like the works of LeGuin and others. Author Diane Duane has created a unique magic system that blends science and magic to the point that they believably coexist.
An easy, quick read, this book owes far more to science fiction than high fantasy, as Duane actually tries to explain the science behind the magic. The edition I read also includes a Nita and Kit short story that explores time travel further.