So You Want to Be a Wizard (Diane Duane)

Title: So You Want to Be a Wizard

Series: Young Wizards

Author: Diane Duane

Released: 1983

Rating: 5/5

Basic Plot: Nita Callahan is a thirteen-year-old girl who discovers a book titled So You Want to Be a Wizard while hiding from bullies in a library. She brings the book home with her and discovers that it is about the art of wizardry.
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The Importance of Words
As a writer I believe that how you say something is just as important as what you say. Word something the wrong way and you'll offend people you didn't mean to. Word it another way and what you really meant will be known to people. It doesn't matter how "sophisticated" your words are, it just matters that people understand them. In this book it's shown that language and belief is what hold the multi-verse together. I really like this aspect of the book. Spells in it are speaking to the Universe to tell it what you want and not just a formula.

Treatment of a Teen Audience
I originally read some of the Young Wizards series while a teenager myself. As a teen I was always happy when I found an author who didn't treat me as a child. Who didn't think of me as dumb. This book treats its audience with respect. The main characters (Nita and Kit) are teenagers but are still able to figure things out. They don't make stupid mistakes and deal with very real problems. I'm not talking about magic or jumping into another universe. I'm talking about deciding who to help and should you give a very evil person a chance at redemption.

Character Growth/Strength
A good story has the characters change from how they were in the beginning to how they are at the end. Nita and Kit are both afraid of the torment from bullies. The combined spell that they perform near the beginning of the book is to make people stay away from Kit and for Nita to find an item that was stolen from her by Joanne (the girl that bullies Nita). By the end of the book, after going through a Hell universe and fighting off the creator of death itself, both have changed. Kit has a presence that makes him appear very strong and Nita gets her pen back. Besides that, Nita faces her fear of Joanne and gives the bully a chance at being her friend. I'd say that is some good character growth there.

Final Thoughts
I found this lovely book at a Goodwill. Once I saw this some of my childhood came back to me. While I had never read this book in the series (even though it's the first one), it still connected me to other books in the series that I had read while younger. I am glad that I still enjoy Duane's writing even though I'm not a teenager anymore (reading Piers Anthony was a disappointment on the other hand). Even though this book was published in 1983 I think children will get something out of it today. Bullying, good and evil, and forgiveness are all topics covered in this book. Just be aware that it is a dark book.