So You Want To Be a Wizard - By Diane Duane

I just finished So You Want to Be a Wizard By Diane Duane. Its a pretty good read, aimed at the Tween Crowd (10 - 14 or so). I believe it even won a few awards, or at least thats what the cover proclaims. Its a pretty typical Modern Kids find Magic and save the world bit. This genre has grown hugely with the success of the Harry Potter Series, but this book was first, well at least before the hype.

It starts off with 13 year old Nita running away from a pack of bullies intent on beating her to a pulp. She runs into the library to hide and finds a book titles So You Want to Be a Wizard. She checks it out on a whim, and takes her first step into wizardry. Along the way, she meets Kit, another lonely kid with a book teaching him magic. Together, they find that they can do magic that they can't do alone. In search of a missing NASA pen that writes upside down, they summon a white hole who's curious about planets. Together, Fred, Kit, and Nina trek into an alternate planet where the great destroyer is intent on destroying the universe. Its up to them to find the Book of Night With Moon, and thwart the Destroyer.

I think I've been reading too many of these types of books. Its well written, aimed at kids, with a very distinct Good vs Bad Message. As typical with books like this, the parent figures are mostly out of the picture, and the kids have to figure everything out themselves. I think my biggest concern with the book is how easy Magic came to them, It took just a few days for them to be magic beginners to be fully fledged magicians. Also, there was no guidance from other older, experienced wizards. Everything they did came from a book. The ending also seemed a bit rushed, not the way the world was saved, but in the wrap up at the end.

So to wrap it up, its a well written book, and would be a good book to give to a young Harry Potter Fan who has read it all, or as introduction to the world of fantasy. I think adults will appreciate it, but not necessarily find it that great. I will not read this again, or any of the other books in the series, but I plan on giving it to my niece when she is older and will appreciate a good fantasy.

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On other news. Today is my Birthday I turn the big 30, although if you ask me, I'm 29, and will be forever. I have no plans, I was going to go shopping, but its so cold out, I'm not moving. I'll probably play World of Warcraft, read a book, and maybe cook something. I'm contemplating getting a WII as a birthday gift to me. A WII would be nice, but considering that its $250 and seems to be aimed at families, rather than single people, and that I would probably play it for a month, and then totally ignore it. I've convinced myself that I would be better off buying Mario Brothers for the Nintendo DS (Original Mario Brothers Rocks!) and keep more of my money longer.

And Roomba's Rock! My folks gave me one for my birthday last week, and it is so awesome! I just let it go, and it vacuums! It is a bit tempermental, for example, a Roomba running out of power will inevitably stop in the farthest corners under the bed. My Roomba is a bit jeolous of the cats- it keeps trying to eat the toys, and then it complains, and I have to Pull out a mangled Toy Mouse. Also, its suppose to be a time saver, and I suppose it would be, but I spend more time watching the Roomba work, than if I had just pulled out my vacuum cleaner. A high power, expensive vacuum cleaner will clean better than my Roomba, but I can run the roomba a few times a week, and have the same results, or better, because there is not that much dirt.

As soon as I get my camera back I will give you pics. In the meantime, here are some scanned pics of me (Because Its my birthday, as a kid!) Enjoy! Carrie
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