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Overview
While Nita grieves over her mother's death, Kit tackles a challenge as dangerous as it is strange: Rescue a young wizard who has vanished on his first assignment. This new wizard is unlike any other—he's autistic and he's a magical prodigy. His power is enormous. Now Kit and his dog, Ponch, must track down the missing boy before the Lone Power finds him.
While Nita mourns her mother's death, teenage wizard Kit and his dog Ponch set out to find a young autistic boy who vanished in the middle of his Ordeal, pursued by the Lone Power.
Synopsis
The next three novels in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, now in digest size for young readers!
Donna Scanlon - KLIATT
At the beginning of this installment in the Young Wizards series, Nita is mourning the recent death of her mother and is putting most of her energy into holding herself and the rest of her family together. Kit and his faithful dog Ponch take on a new assignment, tracking a newly awakened wizard named Darryl who has been on his Ordeal for three months and who seems to be the particular target of the Lone Power. Upon investigation, Kit discovers that Daryl is autistic, and it would appear that his mind is off on the Ordeal. Also, Kit discovers that Daryl can appear to be in two places at once, infinitely frustrating to the Lone Power. Nita is drawn into the task as well, and both young wizards must use all their resources to help Daryl once they understand just why the Lone Power is pursuing him. Duane takes her story and her audience seriously without getting in the way of narrative or characters or making the plot drag. The complex plot is tightly knit with touches of humor to leaven it, and Nita and Kit continue to develop. As the parent of a child with high-functioning autism, I'm not crazy about the plot device of Darryl's autism, which is suddenly "cured" in the end. Other than that, though, this is a smoothly written, engrossing addition to the Young Wizards series. KLIATT Codes: JS-Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2002, Harcourt, Magic Carpet, 333p., Ages 12 to 18.
Editorials
VOYA
Nita and Kit, the juvenile wizards at the center of the Young Wizards series, find themselves dealing with their own problems. Nita, depressed over her mother's recent death, is startled by a series of strange dreams featuring a call for help from clowns or robots. While Nita is thus occupied, Kit is sent on a mission of his own to discover why Darryl McAllister, a child undergoing the ordeal to become a full-fledged wizard, has taken more than three months to complete his task. Surprised to find that Darryl is autistic, Kit is stunned when he and his dog, Ponch, travel inside Darryl's mind and find not only Darryl but also the Lone Power himself. Kit and Ponch are almost undone by the brutality with which the Lone Power is attacking Darryl and are determined to save him. Nita's dreams lead her to an understanding about Darryl's situation, but with very little time left to save Kit, Ponch, and Darryl. Readers of the series will delight in the details of magic, characterization, and continuing developments in Nita and Kit's world. Duane's explanations for the properties of magic and its workings will charm new readers in a wonderful fantasy that marries magic and wizardry with the natural world and the rules that all its denizens must follow. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Harcourt, 416p,— Betsy Fraser