Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. I did, but I was ready to get back into the swing of things. The weather was too cold over the break to do much except eat, watch football and read. Of course, I did get to spend some time with my family which is always fun. I had a chance to read several books that have been sitting on my desk waiting for me to have some time. One of these was Witch & Wizard by James Patterson.

Before I go any further, I need to say that I love James Patterson. I have read every Alex Cross novel he has written and enjoy some of his other series too. I picked up Witch & Wizard as an ARC at the American Association of School Librarians National Conference in Charlotte earlier this year. In fact I spent part of the conference stalking him trying to get my picture taken with him. That didn't work, but here is a picture of him speaking at the conference--I did get a seat close to the front row, but that is as close as I got--too bad!

Witch & Wizard is different from most of the Patterson books I have read, but it is an interesting book. The book begins with the Allgood family standing in a large arena waiting to be executed. The New Order has taken over the government and the Allgoods are considered enemies of the state. After this brief flash, the reader is taken back to the beginning and what happened to get them in such a predicament. Like many books written now, this book has two narrators and the chapters alternate between them. Wisty and Whit Allgood are arrested for being a witch and a wizard. The problem is that neither of them knew that they had supernatural powers, but these powers seem to develop as they are put on trial and work on their escape. Wisty and Whit eventually join a group of young people who are working to overthrow the New Order.

Like all of Patterson's books, this is an easy read with short chapters and lots of action. It also sets things up for this to be a series of books. Whit and Wisty are interesting characters and it will be fun to find out what happens to them in the future.