So You Want to Be a Wizard

Young Wizard Series, Book 1

By: Diane Duane

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A mysterious library book opens the door to a world of magic and danger in the first book in the beloved Young Wizards series.

Bullied by her classmates, Nita Callahan is miserable at school. So when she finds a mysterious book in the library that promises her the chance to become a wizard, she jumps at the opportunity to escape her unhappy reality. But taking the Wizard's Oath is no easy thing, and Nita soon finds herself paired with fellow wizard-in-training Kit Rodriguez on a dangerous mission. The only way to become a full wizard is to face the Lone Power, the being that created death and is the mortal enemy of all wizards. As Nita and Kit battle their way through a deadly alternate version of New York controlled by the Lone Power, they must rely on each other and their newfound wizarding skills to survive—and save the world from the Lone One's grasp.

"Stands between the works of Diana Wynne Jones … and Madeleine L'Engle. … An outstanding, original work."—The Horn Book

You can listen to Diane Duane's entire Young Wizard series.

©1983 Diane Duane (P)1998 Recorded Books

Excellent listening!

I am 29 years old and I loved this book! The narration is excellent and brings this wonderful series to life. Diane Duane's "The Young Wizards" series ranked 4th in a recent online article about books that are better than the Harry Potter series.

a must read

What made the experience of listening to So You Want to Be a Wizard the most enjoyable?

I have read this book in paperback, and enjoyed listening to it to prepare myself to listen to the new book Diane has out in the series.

What other book might you compare So You Want to Be a Wizard to and why?

This book is commonly compared to Harry Potter in some aspects; however, the only common thing is magic. How Dianne explains how the magic works is worth the read.

Reviewing In Gratitude

I'm writing this to say: thank you, Diane Duane. I was a lonely youngster. I felt like an outsider. I found 'so you want to be a wizard' when I was twelve. The relatable magic, deep courage, true friendship and stalwart hope got me through the bad days. In college, I got the audiobooks. I was going to class by day and working nights. Listening to this series got me through the bad days once again. And now I'm a thirty-six year old business owner, still listening to this series every other summer or so, and happily entertained and deeply validated every time.
Thank you for this work. Thank you for offering something to a lost girl and teaching me to call everyone 'cousin'. Thanks for the wit, the wisdom. And thanks, most of all, for the image of a universe that has goodness in it.

Re-read

What did you love best about So You Want to Be a Wizard?

You get immersed into the story right from the beginning as Nita is running from her bullies, jumping into the library, and proceeding to the 'Young Adults' section where this story unravels. This was a book I read when I was younger and had to run through it another time. Well worth it, too.

What other book might you compare So You Want to Be a Wizard to and why?

The "Uglies" series is another well put together series that younger and older people alike can delve into. Both of these series really put your social awareness, or how you perceive social situations, through the ringer and make you rethink who we are as a humanity.

What about Christina Moore’s performance did you like?

Ms. Moore's performance was pretty well acted out. I especially enjoyed her accent for Kit's persona. Very good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This read makes you laugh and cry, smile and furrow your brow, giggle and cringe all throughout (especially if you go on in the series). This story is very well constructed and you feel like you are a part of the adventure the whole way through.

So you want to read a really good book?

Lots of action, wonderful characters, and we really enjoyed it- start to finish. A must read for sure- all ages!

Clean fun entertainment

This story was filled with fun, drama, and suspense. I really enjoyed listening to it.

Exquisitely done.

I bumped into this series entirely by accident, and was thoroughly impressed. I'm 26, very well read in the fantasy genre, and normally favor things like Jordan, Martin, Brooks, Pratchett, etc. (though I take an illicit pleasure in the Harry Potter-esque books of the world).

This was amazingly well done. It's not Harry Potter. Not better, not worse. It's easily AS good though. Parents, be prepared to have to define a few words to your kids (the main antagonist is the anthropomorphic personification of entropy).

It gets better throughout the series as well. If you're not totally thrilled with this book, give the next few a chance as well. Once knit together, you'll find a rare gem.

I strongly recommend this series; I've purchased it in hardbound for when my children are old enough to appreciate it.

I laughed. I cried.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit short, but the characters were decently developed and the action was good. The prose was excellent.

Good plot....bad voice actors.

The story line of this book is really intriguing. It is a really interesting story, built well, but a little hard to follow. However, the voice actors or narrator is really bad, which makes the book seem worse than the story actually is.

Love This Series

I love this series allot. And the narrator is the closest to perfect as I can think of.