So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane

Thirteen-year-old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension.

I'm doing a reading challenge where I needed to read a book published the year I was born. This was my choice. Somehow I never read this as a kid even though it would have been up my alley. Many people describe it as an American Harry Potter feel but the magic and word building is much darker. It's also a lot more esoteric and without explanation. That's honestly kind of cool. The book has been updated for modern audiences so there's references to things like MP3 players and texting. I'd recommend it to older kids who are interested in magic and have already exhausted the usual suspects.

I avoided this book for a long time because for some reason I thought it would be too “dark”, then I decided to look up the author again. I found my way to her online journal and I saw a post containing C.S. Lewis quotes. Not just any C.S. Lewis quotes, but quotes from The Screwtape Letters. So I decided to give it a try.

I didn't love the characters, but the writing and story were beautiful and that's what really grabbed me. It reminded me somewhat of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy and also a bit of A Wrinkle In Time.

This is the first of a series of books. I enjoyed it but really needed to forgive the quick progression of the ability of the new wizards. But the world is interesting and found myself enjoying the story.