MG Review: The Wizard of Dark Street

The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Published: July 26th, 2011 by EgmontUSA
Genre: MG Fantasy
Binding: ARC
Page Count: 345 in my ARC, 348 in the finished book according to goodreads
Part of a series? Yes, there's a second book that came out in February of 2013.
Got via: From review for the publisher. Still that behind on reviews.
Amazon / Book Depository / IndieBound

Summary (from goodreads): Oona Crate was born to be the Wizard’s apprentice, but she has another destiny in mind. Despite possessing the rare gift of natural magic, Oona wants to be a detective.

Eager for a case to prove herself, she wants to show her uncle—the Wizard of Dark Street—that logic is as powerful as magic. But when someone attacks the Wizard, Oona must delve even deeper into the world of magic to discover who wanted her uncle dead.

Review: This was a really fun little book! It's an utterly charming little thing. This is something I would have adored as a kid. I mean, who doesn't love mysteries? And when I was a kid, my favourite game to play was solving mysteries. I was always convinced my future would involve a lot more mysterious figures, large hats and sunglasses as disguises, and spying... you know, the usual mystery solving things. That's not really what this is about (besides the mysterious figures and spying), but that was a fun tangent.

Anyways! I mean, the concept is just cool. A wizard's apprentice decides to give it all up and become a detective. Except not in any dangerous situations besides she promise her uncle, the Wizard and her guardian, that she wouldn't put herself in danger anymore after a nasty encounter with a thief and a guillotine. Of course, we can all figure out how well that goes ;)

Plot Talk: The entitled Wizard of Dark Street needs a new apprentice because of that whole thing where Oona decided to quit and become a detective. You remember that, I just talked about it. At the meeting of his future apprentices, somebody attempts to kill the Wizard and it's up to Oona to discover who did it - and if her uncle has even been killed, and if not, what happened to him?

(How was that for a plot thingie?)

Characters: Our main gal is 12-going-on-13 year old Oona. She's a Natural Magician, someone who can do magic without learning it (although it does need to be taught to be controlled), the current apprentice of the Wizard, and an aspiring detective. She's a little stubborn, brave, nosey, and just kind of wonderful. She's a great MG character and I think kids would love her.

The book largely focuses on Oona, which is nice. I like books about girls, you know? The other characters, though, are all interesting. You have a talking raven, a young witch, a very incompetant Head Inspector of the Police, all sorts of cool characters that work wonderfully and are certainly never boring.

PG-13 stuff: Pretty much nothing for language. The attempted murder thing could be somewhat disturbing to some readers, but I think the way it's handled is very well done. And you'd be surprised, some kids love murder mysteries. The kid I used to baby-sit once told me she specifically wanted a murder mystery and I completely blanked on age appropriate ones. Sometimes the little hooligans can be shockingly bloodthirsty.

The back of my ARC says 8-12 and I think that'd be fine. Depending on the kid, obviously, but generally fine.

Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: I don't really have anything except... fat people don't make the floor shake when they walk. And I get that it was a charicature or whatever, but kids don't need to read that. It's not funny and it's kind of mean, really. There was no need to make fun like that. Can you imagine how embarassed a fat kid could be reading that?

Cover comments: I like the cover. I love purple and the yellow really stands out against it. I love the little house and all the little details give it wonderful character. I worry some boys might feel self-conscious because of that whole peer pressure thing. It's a shame, really, and I don't believe in "girl" books or "boy" books, but peer pressure is a jerk, yanno?

Anyways, adorable cover. I would have loved it as a kid. I also think this cover is really adorable. It's the German cover. And there's also this cover, which I don't like as much, but is still cool.

Conclusion: The Wizard of Dark Street is smart, cute, and a lot of fun. I enjoyed it immensely and I think kids would love it. It's a great length, has great pacing, and I'd love to check out the sequel. Solid four out of five roses.



Peace and cookies,
Laina