Saturday, December 15, 2012

Book Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson.

Witch and Wizard (Witch and Wizard, #1) Witch and Wizard by James Patterson.
Book Summary: The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

Liana's Summary: When Whit and Wisty are woken up in the middle of the night by some really loud noise, they don't know what to expect. Anything but a bunch of men coming in and accusing them of witchcraft and wizardry, anyways. But that's what happens. And they get captured, put in prison, and sentenced to death. Their parents are missing. What can they do? All they know is that they have to use every single ounce of their strength to fight against the New Order.

Rate(1-10): 8

I learned one thing from this book: Do not trust other people's opinions about books you haven't read yet.

Yeah. My sister said she didn't like this book, so, therefore, I was so discouraged from picking it up. I have to say that it was actually pretty good!


My friend enthusiastically recommended me this book and I was so sure I wanted to read it, but as my TBR list grew, I let my sister read it first to see what she thought, and her reaction was sort of disappointing.
Right after my friend recommended this to me, this book immediately fell into the category of I-don't-care-what-the-cover-is-I'm-gonna-read-it-anyways. When I examine the cover I find that it actually makes sense somehow! Cool, right. No wait. Hot.

I don't know what my motivation was that finally urged me to see this book and open it and start reading it today, but, I do not regret it at all.

So, basically, let's dive right into the story.

The title sort of speaks for the whole book. Witch and Wizard.

Two teens, accused of being witch and wizard, imprisoned, separated from their parents.

Whit and Wisty. Really interesting names.

Whit- He was described in the book as 'the hunk of all hunks' and I was all like what the heck, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Mostly because he isn't even that hot at all. Because:
1. He weighs about 200 pounds. I don't care if he has muscles.
2. He's dumb in school.
3. He's a klutz.
But no matter about his appearance. I just wanted to point out that I had a really hard time imagining him, since he was supposed to be hot, but his description wasn't exactly my definition of a hunk.. etc.
Anyways, his personality. He's really responsible and he knows what to do. But what else could I expect from an 18 year old? He sort of seemed like a 15 year old, actually. I don't know. But I like him!

Wisty- She seems like one of those badass girls. She's really feisty. I saw a lot of myself in her, LOL. She's just actually a more-feisty version of me, which, I admit, is sort of hard to imagine. But what I like about her and what makes her and I so alike is that she's stubborn and insistent, and she will do anything she feels like she has to do and nothing can get in her way. She has a straight line of sight. I'm gonna get this done first, and then care about that. Sorry, but my priorities are more important than yours. I don't cry when I'm sad, I cry when I'm frustrated. Etc etc. She's a really strong protagonist!

Note about the romance: The romance is just "I love you, please love me back," hugs and kisses and etcetera. Honestly I could have done fine without it. I seriously expected no romance from this book, and I kind of considered it as an extra side-dish.

The plot was exciting and kept the readers at the edge of their seats, and Whit and Wisty are really good narrators and all, but I sort of thought the writing was a bit childish. I don't know. It seemed as if a 10 year old wrote this whole story. James Patterson did the teenage kid stereotype thing really badly and I wasn't satisfied at how he did it. All he did was write his story and throw in a few vocabulary words once in a while to make the writing seem more.. mature? He didn't really pour emotion into the writing, so, when you're reading it, it's mostly just flat. But Whit and Wisty's attitude sort of gives it buoyancy, so, some readers might not notice.


There are a plenty handful of negative reviews on Goodreads that say "The next Harry Potter, pshhhh, not even close." Apparently the book trailer said 'The next Harry Potter" or something like that and everyone got disappointed.

Not to be hypocritical or anything, but, whenever people compare something to Harry Potter I'm just like, heck no. I mean, nothing's going to replace Harry Potter. And looking at the high ratings and all the magical adventures people went through reading Harry Potter, nothing's gonna be the same as that.

So I think that comparing this book with Harry Potter was a huge mistake, because when people read this book, they expected so much out of it and their hopes got crushed so badly because it didn't meet up to their expectations.

And, personally, no. I don't think this is like Harry Potter at all. Waving a wand and having some wizard/witch powers isn't going to turn this book into the next Harry Potter, and that's all.

But, overall, this book was actually quite an enjoyable read. Some parts made me laugh. I liked it well enough to want to read book 2.

Quotes!

"I see my brother, Whit, handsome and brave.."

Who describes their own brother as handsome.


"You're a beautiful boy, I must say, Whitford."

OKAY THAT'S JUST AWKWARD NOW


"He gently kissed the top of my head."

I think that this is a really fit situation to be scared, but siblings don't act as parents to each other especially when they're only 3 years apart. That includes kissing.

"Suddenly I felt weak in the knees, numb-paralyzed.."

Now I wonder. So if the antagonist is capturing people because they're using magic, what gives him the right to use magic on people?

"Witcheria,.."

Ha. Good one.


"No. You can't come. I hate your guts."





"You may eat him."

American Psycho - Laughter.
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That's it! What did you think of this review? (;

2 comments:

  1. Great review. Can you believe that I have yet to read a single James Patterson book? I have to crack one open.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cool review! I'm glad you picked up this book despite other peoples' opinions. Should never stand in the way of reading a book :)

    Best,
    Danielle
    http://thereaderscommute.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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