The Gift (Witch and Wizard Series #2)

by James Patterson, Ned Rust

Overview

Ever since Whit and Wisty Allgood were cruelly torn from their home and family in the middle of the night, the soldiers of a brutal totalitarian government have relentlessly tried to capture and execute them for "collusion, conspiracy, and experimentation with the dark and foul arts." But this increasingly skilled witch and wizard have boldly spearheaded the fight against the wicked regime of the New Order and its systematic destruction of music, art, books, and imagination. Now the villainous leader of the New Order is just a breath away from the ability to control the forces of nature and to manipulate his citizens on the most profound level imaginable—through their minds. There is only one more thing he needs to triumph in his evil quest: the Gifts of Whit and Wisty Allgood. And he will stop at nothing to seize them.

In this second installment of James Patterson's epic Witch & Wizard series, Whit and Wisty's heart-pounding adventures through the Overworld and Shadowland lead to a jaw-dropping climax and conclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316038355
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Series:	Witch and Wizard Series , #2
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	82,433
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

JAMES PATTERSON was selected by teens across America as the Children's Choice Book Awards Author of the Year in 2010. He is the internationally bestselling author of the highly praised Maximum Ride novels, the Witch & Wizard series (which was nominated for the 2011 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards), the Daniel X series, Med Head, and the detective series featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club. His books have sold more than 205 million copies worldwide, making him one of the bestselling authors of all time. He lives in Florida.

Ned Rust lives in Croton, NY, with his family. He has also collaborated with James Patterson on Daniel X: Watch the Skies and Witch & Wizard: The Gift.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Read an Excerpt

On her first two albums, k.d. lang took a witty and playful approach to the sounds and traditions of classic country music, and while it was obvious she truly loved the music, she also seemed to be having a bit of fun at its expense at the same time. But in 1988, lang proved beyond a doubt that she was serious about country (as well as her own talent) with Shadowland, an homage to the polished countrypolitan sounds of the 1950s and '60s that was produced by Owen Bradley, the iconic Nashville producer who was behind the controls for many of Patsy Cline's most memorable recordings. lang herself sought out Bradley to work on the album, and luring him out of retirement proved to be a masterstroke; rather than try to re-create the lush textures and deep atmosphere of Bradley's sides for Cline or Brenda Lee herself, lang went to the source, and Bradley gave her studio settings that referenced his work during Nashville's golden era while adding an ever-so-slight contemporary sheen. Bradley also brought aboard an all-star crew of legendary Nashville studio hands and invited {|Loretta Lynn|}, {|Brenda Lee|}, and {|Kitty Wells|} to sing with {|lang|} on the closing {|"Honky Tonk Angels' Medley."|} In the hands of many artists, this sort of project might have been an exercise in misplaced, nostalgic fandom, but on {|Shadowland|}, {|lang|} taps into the sound and style of her most vital musical influences while at the same time putting her stamp on the music -- this isn't {|k.d. lang|} trying to be {|Patsy Cline|}, but rather {|lang|} demonstrating what she learned from {|Cline|} and where those lessons took her. {|lang|}'s lush, expressive voice has rarely sounded better or more emotionally powerful than it does on {|Shadowland|}, and it presents her meeting the cream of Nashville's greatest era not as a wide-eyed acolyte, but as a gifted artist collaborating on equal terms. It's a magnificent achievement. ~ Mark Deming

Editorial Reviews

"Dialogue-heavy and action-packed, the writing throughout is inventive and colorfully detailed. Written in a conversational tone by Patterson and co-author Ned Rust, it's as if the reader's craziest best friend was recounting a wildly apocryphal tale, and doing so for about four hours, which is about how long it takes to read the book. It's easy to visualize the story, which may explain why movie rights to this series have already been snatched up."—LA Times

"Chapter endings are suspenseful cliffhangers and urge even the most tentative reader to keep reading! We can expect more from this dynamic sibling team in the future."—San Francisco Book Review

From the Publisher

"Chapter endings are suspenseful cliffhangers and urge even the most tentative reader to keep reading! We can expect more from this dynamic sibling team in the future."

San Francisco Book Review

"Dialogue-heavy and action-packed, the writing throughout is inventive and colorfully detailed. Written in a conversational tone by Patterson and co-author Ned Rust, it's as if the reader's craziest best friend was recounting a wildly apocryphal tale, and doing so for about four hours, which is about how long it takes to read the book. It's easy to visualize the story, which may explain why movie rights to this series have already been snatched up."

LA Times

Gr 7–10—In Witch & Wizard (Little, Brown, 2009), Whit and Wisty Allgood were taken from their family in the middle of the night, accused of witchcraft, and imprisoned by the corrupt government. This sequel picks up as Whit manages to save his captured sister from public execution. On the run from "The One Who Is The One" (the evil ruler of this apocalyptic world), the siblings' recently discovered magical powers are their only hope of finding their rebel cohorts and escaping capture and certain death. Once safe for the moment, Whit becomes preoccupied with finding his murdered girlfriend in the Shadowlands and jotting poetry/spells in his magic journal. Wisty practices her power of controlling fire while dabbling in an occasional musical performance and exploring a budding romance with the drummer of a popular rebel rock band. There is no real safe haven for these siblings, though, and they find themselves imprisoned once again by "The One" with only a would-be traitor holding their key to escape. The action is relentless and there are too many close calls to count in this supernatural suspense thriller. The narration alternates between brother and sister, which, particularly in these very short chapters, can be confusing. Patterson's trademark mastery of gruesome and terrifying imagery makes this otherwise dull tale come alive a bit as readers are whisked at breakneck speed toward a culmination with no resolution. This sequel can stand alone, but is unlikely to draw new readers into the series.—Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

Whit and Wisty Allgood, sibling magic-users with amazingly unreliable powers, return to fight with their utterly expendable teen comrades against The One Who Is The One, dread master of the New Order, who hates the young and those with imagination (Witch & Wizard, 2009). Whit and Wisty carry out a mission and are betrayed. They are captured and escape. They run and are captured again. They try to save their parents (for naught), but spooky unknown forces save the teens who (obviously) live to fight again in the upcoming sequel. Fiction brand Patterson returns with a new "co-author," Rust, to pick up the story of the Allgoods, and what they offer is more nonsensical, inconsistent blather. There are no characters that even rise to the level of stereotypes and no genuine emotions in this embarrassing attempt at a "fantasy" series that insults both genre and audience at every turn. At worst, this reads like the ramblings of a just-waking-up toddler; at best, it reads like a Carol Burnett Sci-Fi sketch with all of the mugging and none of the laughs. A new low in children's publishing. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews