Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

From Goodreads:

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?

***

I wanted to like this book, and to tell the truth, I almost did.  I read the sequel, "The Gift", and I attempted to read the one after that, "The Fire".  This book graces a list on Goodreads called "Books You Hate but Read Anyway."  That pretty much sums this series up for me.  By the time I got to the third book, I was just disappointed that I had sat on the library waiting list for 4 months.  It was really not worth the wait.  

The first book was okay.  The story was just getting started and so it was mildly entertaining and interesting.  I quickly got tired of the predictable action scenes where Whit and Wisty get caught in the cross-hairs of The One and manage to narrowly escape.  The main characters, bother and sister wizard and witch, don't seem to have much of an agenda.  They just run around as catastrophic things happen, all the while shouting sarcastic remarks at everyone.  


Teenagers have been given a stereotype of being edgy, cranky, and sarcastic.  This series took that stereotype to the extreme.  While most teenagers do harbor these characteristics, they tend to surface on occasion, not every minute of every day.  I got very tired of the continuously poor attempt of an author trying to connect with a much younger audience.

But by all means, if you have nothing else to do with your time, give this series a try.  You might love it.

On a side note, I absolutely love the covers for the entire series.  They make the books look much better than they are.

Reading Level: Ages 10 and up
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
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Review: The Redemption of Holly Dobson by C. Lynn Barton

I actually got this book in the mail the other day to review. I have to be honest here, I didn't actually finish the book. I just couldn't.

**spoilers**

Holly Dobson is a woman who grew up in a dark childhood. Her biological mother (whom she calls her "real" mother, but as an adoptive parent I find that a little offensive. I cut the author and character slack because her adopted mother is verbally abusive.) dropped Holly off for day care when she was six months old and never came back for her. The day care owners decided to adopt her to replace the baby they'd lost the day after she was born.

The book goes into pretty good detail about the kinds of things Holly endured as a child. Verbal abuse, unclean living conditions, a father who sexually abuses her by making her watch things. This goes on for the first six chapters or so. Then everything changes abruptly and Holly is a grown woman. A new couple moves into the house across the street, and when Holly goes over to meet them, she is instantly lusting after the husband, Normal. Yes, that's his name. The wife, Kate, becomes Holly's best friend, even after she fantasizes about Normal every night.

Suddenly Kate gets sick and is hospitalized. Normal invites Holly to stay the night. And she does. Yes, this happens while Kate is in the hospital. She sleeps in a separate bedroom, but in the middle of the night, she wakes up and goes to see Normal. She finds him with horns on his head and fire coming out his hands.

Yes, Normal is the Devil. Holly even talks to her Catholic priest to confirm it. And he does. He and two other priests have been hunting Normal for 25 years.

Kate dies a few days later, and Normal seduces Holly. He impregnates her because, apparently, the only way he can continue to live on the earth is if he can get a woman pregnant and then lives in that body.

At this point, I put the book down. I'm sorry to the author and to the book, but I just couldn't read any more.

I don't enjoy reading about sex or the devil or evil spawn. The title of the book is the Redemption of Holly Dobson, but I can't make it to the Redemption part.

Besides the subject content, I found the author's writing interesting. She uses a lot of dialogue and I like that.

Unfortunately there were a lot of errors. Misspelled words, missing punctuation, etc.

I gave it one star because I couldn't even finish the book. In the author's defense, it wasn't the writing style. Like I said, I didn't mind it. It was the subject.

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