Last night, I finished reading
Witch & Wizard by
James Patterson and
Gabrielle Charbonnet. I picked this book up because I heard that it was "the next Harry Potter". Although overall I did like the book, it is most defiantly not "the next Harry Potter". It is a sci-fi/fantasy type book with magic as the central theme but that's about as close to Harry Potter as this book gets.
WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Witch & Wizard is written from the preservative of brother and sister, Wisty and Whit Allgood, whom are accused by the New Order of being a witch and a wizard. Much to Wisty and Whit's surprise is true. The book begins with New Order Soldiers busting into their home in the middle of the night to arrest them for the crime of being a witch and wizard. As far as Wisty and Whit are concerned none of this is true and they are a normal family. Until...Wisty get angry for being charged with such ridiculousness, and sets herself aflame. Which to the New Order Soldiers justifies their accusations. Upon distinguishing the Wisty's flames, the New Order Soldiers advise their new prisoners that they allowed to take 1 personal belonging (each) with them to prison. Wisty's mother gives her a drumstick to take with her, and Whit's father gives him a blank journal.
Later they discover the New Order is being ran by a man calling himself 'The-One-Who-Is-The-One' and his Council of the Ones, and they are implementing a totalitarian government, that is fearful of magic. While imprisoned in the New Order Reformatory Wisty and Whit explore their powers, while attempting to break out of the prison. Whit meets his dead girlfriend Celia, while exploring the limitations of his abilities. She later comes to visit Whit and Wisty in their cell. She explains a little bit about the state of things, and how she died. Celia assisted Whit and Wisty in a breakout, she took them into another realm called Shadowland.
In Shadowland, the trio met up with Sasha, who lead them to the portal out of Shadowland and to a department store, Garfunkel's, where several hundred refugee children are camping out while they plot the downfall of the New Order.
At Garfunkel's Wisty and Whit are educated on the actions of the New Order, and the refugee's plot to break out a new influx of captured people, who are sentenced to be vaporized. Wisty and Whit are tricked into assisting in the break out by Sasha, who told them that their parents are among the captured.
Whit assists in the kidnapping of the new prisoners, while Wisty turns herself into a mouse to go in and locate their parents. while on her mission Wisty discovers that she has been duped by Sasha and proceeds to breakout every child imprisoned at the Reformatory by setting it ablaze. As the Wisty joined Whit and the rescued children outside the Reformatory, they where joined by The-One-Who-Is-The-One, where he enlightened them on the prophecy about them.
After the great escape they orchestrated. Wisty and Whit came across the location of where their home once stood. Using old lullabies their parents used to sing, which turned out to be spells, they were able to meet with their parents, who where in magical form, to get some guidance and encouragement.
Zanette
