132nd out of 172 books
—
242 voters
Witch & Wizard (Witch & Wizard #1)
by
James Patterson (Goodreads Author),
Gabrielle Charbonnet
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, Li...more
Hardcover, 305 pages
Published
December 14th 2009
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published October 1st 2009)
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Witch & Wizard takes you on the journey of Whit and Wisty as they fight their way against the New Order and search for their missing parents, discovering their magical powers along the way. “The next Harry Potter” the commercials on TV said about this book. So I bought it thinking I would enjoy it as much as I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series. How I was horribly deceived. I wanted to like this book. I really did. Unfortunately, there were just so many faults with this book that I actu...more
I rarely refuse to continue reading a book I have started, but I just refused to finish this one...I was very interested in reading this book after seeing it described as being a new series for Harry Potter fans...which, as it turns out, is extremely misleading!! I think there were good ideas for a storyline behind this book, but the writing was so lacking (no detail, lacking any emotion, poor character development, etc.) that I just had to give up on the book completely...it's too bad, because...more
My thoughts:
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. I'm so glad I waited to get it from my local library rather than buying it at the book store. If I had spent my own money on it...well, it would have been even a bigger disappointment than it was.
I'm a big fan of James Patterson's adult books. I LOVE the Alex Cross series. I started getting a bit disenchanted after reading The Beach House, one of the first books he co-authored. The next book- I can't even recall the title because I didn't...more
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. I'm so glad I waited to get it from my local library rather than buying it at the book store. If I had spent my own money on it...well, it would have been even a bigger disappointment than it was.
I'm a big fan of James Patterson's adult books. I LOVE the Alex Cross series. I started getting a bit disenchanted after reading The Beach House, one of the first books he co-authored. The next book- I can't even recall the title because I didn't...more
If you are expecting this to be "the next Harry Potter", you will be deeply let down. I saw the ads for this book and had very high hopes that this would be the next series to captivate audiences around the world, gain its own movies, and achieve its own fansites. I honestly don't think it will even get close.
The plot of this story had great potential, but the way it was executed made it hard for me to enjoy this book. I felt as though it was trying to be HP so much that it, quite frankly sucked...more
The plot of this story had great potential, but the way it was executed made it hard for me to enjoy this book. I felt as though it was trying to be HP so much that it, quite frankly sucked...more
Aug 31, 2010
Sam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
dystopian-fiction
Patterson paints a detailed picture of America taken over by a totalitarian dictator who calls himself "The One Who is The One" with this novel. It was really easy to connect to the characters, and this book makes the reader re-evaluate his or her appreciation for art - whether it is visual, literary, musical, or magical. The ending was a bit of a disappointment, but this was such a good book (for the most part) that I blew through it in one day. I also enjoyed making the connections between pop...more
I learned one thing from reading this book: Never trust other people on their book opinions.
Yeah. When my sister read this book, she was like, 'I don't like it' and that just sort of discouraged me from reading this book any sooner. And I don't know what made me decide that it was about time to read it today, but oh boy! I do NOT regret that decision.
This was a really fun and exciting read.
So, basically. The title speaks for the whole book. Witch and Wizard.
2 kids. Accused of being witch and wi...more
Yeah. When my sister read this book, she was like, 'I don't like it' and that just sort of discouraged me from reading this book any sooner. And I don't know what made me decide that it was about time to read it today, but oh boy! I do NOT regret that decision.
This was a really fun and exciting read.
So, basically. The title speaks for the whole book. Witch and Wizard.
2 kids. Accused of being witch and wi...more
Let me first start off by saying that I don’t mean to offend anyone who loves this book (because there seems to be a ridiculously large amount), but I H-A-T-E-D hated this book! It was so terrible, I don’t understand how people can possibly even come close to liking it. I’ll start with the main characters, Whit and Wisty Allgood. They were idiotic, terribly constructed, selfish, fools. I mean, come on! And the names! Who seriously names their two kids Wisteria and Whitford? They had absolutely...more
I've never really been a big fan of James Patterson. After Reading "Angel Experiment" and "Daniel X" I had pretty much given up on this guy. Although, I had heard some amazing things about his new book "Witch & Wizard" so I thought 'What the heck' and so I picked it up and read it. BLEH!!! I honestly cannot stand Patterson's writing style. The dialogue that his characters use is just so unrealistic, lamely sarcastic and just overall annoying. On top of that, I've never really been a big fan...more
In an attempt at fairness to the "author", I listened to the first of several discs, but had to force myself to get through that. While stopping short of plagiarism, this work offered nothing new. Themes and characters were rehashed from the works of Orwell's 1984, Ursula LeGuin, Bradbury, J.K. Rowlings and no doubt others. I heard nothing new. Far too many original works are left to be read; I gave this one more time than it deserved.
This book had me laughing right from the start and not because of anything James Patterson had written. No, not at all. My local library, bless them, has a tendency to mis-classify book genres and had placed this book in the Thriller section, along with some of Patterson's other Thriller style books. In the front, the library had stuck their little comment sheet, a place where people can mark a book when they have read it. Old school, I know. And, here is where the laughter began.
Staunch Patters...more
Staunch Patters...more
This book had some potential, but it turned out to be a big unfortunate mess. My biggest criticism being the dialogue. No one put into situations like were occurring in this book would talk like Whit and Whisty did. It was way too "Gosh Mister, you're being awfully mean" (not a quote from the book, but that's basically the feel I got from it)and not enough anger or real emotion. The way Whisty talked about the bad guys was particularly bad; those parts were painful to read. And of course, I can'...more
Apr 04, 2011
Ash E.
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
younger readers who do not like to write
Recommended to Ash by:
Cori Johnson
Shelves:
wizardry,
review-complete
REVIEW COMPLETE
I thoroughly enjoyed James Patterson's first few books of his Maximum Ride trilogy - his style of writing is one I don't admire, but the plot and characters made up for it. In this case, however, I feel like the weak writing, somewhat flat characters, and just plain weird plot mix together to form one giant mess of a book.
Where Patterson Made His Mistakes:
- He referenced Maximum Ride when one of his characters mentions the impossibility of kids with wings
- The tone of his writing...more
I thoroughly enjoyed James Patterson's first few books of his Maximum Ride trilogy - his style of writing is one I don't admire, but the plot and characters made up for it. In this case, however, I feel like the weak writing, somewhat flat characters, and just plain weird plot mix together to form one giant mess of a book.
Where Patterson Made His Mistakes:
- He referenced Maximum Ride when one of his characters mentions the impossibility of kids with wings
- The tone of his writing...more
I don't know whats worse- this book, or the fact that I read it.
I hated practically everything about this novel. The characters were so off; Whit and Whisty were too close of names anyway, and it just became confusing. Switching between the two characters didn't have the desired effect I know Patterson had been going for. I found the two annoying.
Also, I felt it was too scatered. There wasn't enough information about what was happening at that moment, it changed too quickly.
The attempt at placin...more
I hated practically everything about this novel. The characters were so off; Whit and Whisty were too close of names anyway, and it just became confusing. Switching between the two characters didn't have the desired effect I know Patterson had been going for. I found the two annoying.
Also, I felt it was too scatered. There wasn't enough information about what was happening at that moment, it changed too quickly.
The attempt at placin...more
May 24, 2010
Daniel Cressman
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-grade-10
I was expecting a lot from this book when I first picked it up. And it wasn't bad. It just wasn't up to the expectations I had had for Patterson here.
The premise was good, the story itself okay. I mean, they spent like 150 pages just being taken to prison. And then like 100 attacking a prison. So there it seemed a bit slow. Nothing much really happened. I could probably summarize the book in a few sentences.
Also, I don't really like characters who "come back" when you never knew them in the firs...more
The premise was good, the story itself okay. I mean, they spent like 150 pages just being taken to prison. And then like 100 attacking a prison. So there it seemed a bit slow. Nothing much really happened. I could probably summarize the book in a few sentences.
Also, I don't really like characters who "come back" when you never knew them in the firs...more
Oct 20, 2012
Shanna_redwind
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reading-challenge-2012
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It had all of the elements that I like. Kids that don't realize they have powers. Persecution by those in the government. Capture and escape. And to be honest it was an exciting book.
The problem I had was that almost every "bad guy" that they encounter screams at them. The judge screams at them, the jailkeeper screams at them. While I don't have a problem with a couple psychotic spittle flecking people screaming at the main characters, I just had a huge...more
The problem I had was that almost every "bad guy" that they encounter screams at them. The judge screams at them, the jailkeeper screams at them. While I don't have a problem with a couple psychotic spittle flecking people screaming at the main characters, I just had a huge...more
The New Order has arrived. A new political power, the New Order, has taken over, seemingly overnight. Ruled by the council of Ones, and specifically, the One who is The One, society as we know it is changing. Books and music are banned. Children and teens are being ripped from their homes in the middle of the night. Whit and Wisty are brother and sister who are taken from their homes for being a witch and a wizard. The thing is they didn't even know about it. Imprisoned and maltreated they have...more
Terrible.
Everything about this book was cliche and annoying: the characters, the dialogue, the plot...Nothing was well developed at all. It was just a big fat mess. When J.P. tried to be funny, I found it irritating, when he tried to be clever, I found it stupid, and when he tried to be original, I found it sadly the opposite.
I was very, very disappointed in J.P., especially since this is the first book I've read by him. Not a great first impression, sorry to say. I know he's got some other popu...more
Everything about this book was cliche and annoying: the characters, the dialogue, the plot...Nothing was well developed at all. It was just a big fat mess. When J.P. tried to be funny, I found it irritating, when he tried to be clever, I found it stupid, and when he tried to be original, I found it sadly the opposite.
I was very, very disappointed in J.P., especially since this is the first book I've read by him. Not a great first impression, sorry to say. I know he's got some other popu...more
chapter 15.....i have waited forever for this book. i was excited for it to finally come out! i was NOT supposed to be reading ANOTHER book without finishing the others, but i couldnt help it! i have kindle on my phone so that means i will be reading many more at a time!! kindle on my phone ROCKS!! i dont need the 2nd device, it's just my phone which is always with me. (and i saved $250!)i will let ALL know about this book. if it is that good, i will ask everyone else to read it as well,as usual...more
This book is about these two kids Whit, and Wisty that are taken away from their home in the middle of the night and accused of being a witch and a wizard. Its all because of the New Order thats run by this man called The One Who Is The One, who is trying to rid the world of all magic. I think that ANYONE can read this book and still love it! It pulled me in from the first chapter. It is defenintley a page-turner!:)
Witch and Wizard is a book by James Patterson about a world where freedom of expression has been destroyed. Whit and Wisty are the main characters and have to fight New Order or N.O. do find their parents. New Order is the organization that is controlling the world and destroying creativity and expression. They are destroying creativity by killing anyone that expresses themselves. Another twist is that the two main characters can use magic which is considered the greatest offense against the Ne...more
REVIEW
I went into this book with no real expectations. I have only read one other James Patterson book, and I had not read any reviews. All I had to go by was the book’s summary (and cool big flaming “W” cover) and it really hooked me.
The New Order was nothing short of pure evil. It set the tone for how utterly depressing life was for the kids in the story. My gosh it would be awful if this were all true.
The main characters, brother and sister duo Whit and Wisty, got a real surprise when they...more
Witch and Wizard is similar to the Harry Potter series. The book is the first in a trilogy about the Whit and Witsy Allgood. Whit is an extremely popular and athletic quarterback while Witsy is an outcast. One day a whole army comes and arrests the Allgoods claiming that they are being arrested since they possess magical powers. Whit and Witsy are sentenced to death row in a prison full of other children and their parents are taken away. Their parents give Whit a blank book and Witsy a drumstick...more
Apr 23, 2013
Herman Gigglethorpe
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
so-bad-it-s-good
When I saw that the main characters are named "Whit" and "Wisty", I had to pick this up. It sounded like James Patterson was trying to cash in on both the Harry Potter and teen dystopia trends at the same time!
The book was extremely fast-paced with short chapters, unlike many of the bad fantasy novels I review. Four or five Kindle screens is long for a chapter in this book. You would expect to get whiplash from all the viewpoint changes between the leads, but another reviewer was right in descri...more
The book was extremely fast-paced with short chapters, unlike many of the bad fantasy novels I review. Four or five Kindle screens is long for a chapter in this book. You would expect to get whiplash from all the viewpoint changes between the leads, but another reviewer was right in descri...more
Witch and Wizard is undoubtedly an entertaining read. The storyline has potential. However, frankly speaking, the way it was written sucks. I don't know if this was James Patterson's fault or his co-author's. James has written other stories similar to this such as Maximum Ride and Daniel X, but those two were better inscribed than this one. Don't get me wrong on this - I love Whit and Wisty and all the story has to offer. I only hate how it was written - the dialogues, the narrations, the develo...more
Mar 21, 2013
Erin
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
could-not-force-self-to-continue
This might actually be the first book I could not finish.
I've only read 1 or 2 James Patterson novels but a friend loaned me the book and I thought I would give it a try. I counseled the goodreads community and went in with low expectations given the online reviews.
Even low expectations were not enough... I had a number of issues with this book. First off the names of the main characters: Whit and Wisty - who would name their children names that seem so much alike. That was confusing from the ge...more
I've only read 1 or 2 James Patterson novels but a friend loaned me the book and I thought I would give it a try. I counseled the goodreads community and went in with low expectations given the online reviews.
Even low expectations were not enough... I had a number of issues with this book. First off the names of the main characters: Whit and Wisty - who would name their children names that seem so much alike. That was confusing from the ge...more
James Patterson has been one of my favorite authors for years, with his various adult fiction series. I am always impressed by the clarity he brings to his writing and how quickly you become part of the story he has written. I was unsure about reading one of his young adult series, but decided to start reading them, as I already had all 4 books and love Patterson as an author.
let me preface my review by saying this is not, in my opinion, a comparison to Harry Potter. It is certainly and adventu...more
let me preface my review by saying this is not, in my opinion, a comparison to Harry Potter. It is certainly and adventu...more
What I liked:
-Action. The story just started right out with the action, and it didn’t take too long to catch us up to speed. There weren’t chapters of useless back story to get the ball rolling, and I like that in stories. I dislike reading about a day’s worth of mundane tasks over and over again. This was the only decent thing about the story though.
What I disliked:
-Writing style. James Patterson has a very simple writing style, and normally I like simple writing styles because it isn’t bogged...more
-Action. The story just started right out with the action, and it didn’t take too long to catch us up to speed. There weren’t chapters of useless back story to get the ball rolling, and I like that in stories. I dislike reading about a day’s worth of mundane tasks over and over again. This was the only decent thing about the story though.
What I disliked:
-Writing style. James Patterson has a very simple writing style, and normally I like simple writing styles because it isn’t bogged...more
Feb 12, 2013
Olivia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
enriched-reading-semester-2-2013
Whitford and Wisteria Allgood had a normal life; playing football, having friend over to their house, dating,and just being like any normal family, until The One Who Is The One had to mess it all up. Their childhood enemy, Byron Swain, shows up at their house along with armed forces to take them away. Why? Because their accused of being a witch and a wizard. From that point on Whit and Wisty face challenge after challenge to just stay alive: but what happened to their parents? Along the way they...more
James Patterson does... a lot with this book, and maybe too much.
Not a terrible book, but definitely not a great one, he makes a good effort at the main characters Whit and Wisty, but leaves them... well with a lot to be desired.
Patterson probably set out to try and relate to an upper teenage audience with these and a majority of the characters in the book, but couldn't handle it, and proves just that throughout the book. Sadly I (being 17) lacked a connection with either of these characters in...more
Not a terrible book, but definitely not a great one, he makes a good effort at the main characters Whit and Wisty, but leaves them... well with a lot to be desired.
Patterson probably set out to try and relate to an upper teenage audience with these and a majority of the characters in the book, but couldn't handle it, and proves just that throughout the book. Sadly I (being 17) lacked a connection with either of these characters in...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One of Witch and Wizard Online | 7 | 235 | Apr 24, 2013 10:48pm | |
| Who else imagines Byron kind of hot for some reason? | 3 | 11 | Apr 23, 2013 12:18pm | |
| The Kiss(4th book) | 6 | 21 | Apr 21, 2013 08:05am | |
| Witch and Wizard movie? | 9 | 27 | Apr 21, 2013 08:04am | |
| Who loved this book? | 19 | 13 | Apr 12, 2013 11:32am | |
| should there be a book four | 3 | 12 | Feb 21, 2013 08:19pm |
Offical US Site
Offical UK Site
The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according...more
More about James Patterson...
Offical UK Site
The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In 2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author (according...more
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“They're afraid of change, and we must change. They're afraid of the young, and we are the young. They're afraid of music, and music is our life. They're afraid of books, and knowledge, and ideas. They're most afraid of our magic.”
—
55 people liked it
“You know things have gone bad when military marches pass for pop music.”
—
52 people liked it
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Sep 23, 2012 04:14pm
Sep 25, 2012 01:01pm