Deep Wizardry (1985 original; edició 2003)

Nita and Kit fight evil in the sea

Probably one of my favorite of this series, "Deep Wizardry" does go deep, both literally and emotionally.

Nita and Kit, recovering from their harrowing Ordeal, are called upon to serve again, this time by a group of whale and dolphin wizards off Long Island Sound. They are ready to reenact the Song of the Twelve, the ritual that will bind the Lone Power's incarnation to the seafloor. It sounds simple, but nothing ever is for these two young wizards.

They will be drawn deep into an ancient force comprised of revenge, loyalty, friendship, light, sacrifice, and the true meaning of heroism. Again, the characters you will encounter are unforgettable; real enough to make you laugh and cry for them.

And unless you are either very strong or very apathetic, by the end, you will most certainly be moved to tears by this powerful installment. ( )

Took longer to get through this one than the first. Lots of poetry and beautiful prose in this. My daughter and I both liked it well enough. We will probably look for the third in the series. ( )

Where i didn't like the first book in this serie and was hesitant to start the second one, I do believe it was much much better. Still not as good as the Harry Potter series, but it might get there.

So. The two kids Nita and Kit had became wizards several months before and now, being in a holiday at the beach they find a stranded whale. Which is the start of another adventure in which they change into whales themselves to, agsin, save the world from the Lone Power. ( )

This is actually my second time reading this book through but I don't remember the first much at all. So You Want to Be a Wizard was one of my favorite books of all time as a kid, and I know much of the plot by heart from reading it so many times, but I really was completely unaware that she had continued writing books with those characters for most of that time, so I never spent as much time with the rest of the series (I actually don't think I ever read past the third one, tbh).

I thought this book was generally a good addition to the series. It showcases the second time that Nita and Kit fight against the Lone Power, and the added lore that was brought into this story via the exploration of the culture of whale wizards was interesting. I thought it fit fairly seamlessly with what knowledge about wizardry we already knew existed.

However, a few minor things about this book annoyed me. First of all, I was disappointed almost instantly with the fact that the story doesn't pick up right where SYWTBAW left off. As someone who forgot most everything that happened in this second story, I had been looking forward to a novel where, once finished with their Ordeal, the two protagonists slowly became more acclimated to their powers. Instead, the story flashes forward to a time a few months later when they are already fairly comfortable with wizardry. I thought this was a missed opportunity to build up the wizard experience for the reader as well as to flesh out Nita and Kit's day-to-day relationship. For example, some aspects of that relationship that seemed fairly important (Nita developing feelings for Kit or worrying about his fluctuating temper, for example) were told when they could have instead been shown.

I also thought the plot twist that happens about midway through the book where Nita learns that she has accidentally agreed to die was super predictable. Admittedly, I might have been subconsciously remembering it from my first read through, but I doubt it. I didn't quite predict the ending, though, so that's a plus.

Overall, while the story didn't quite live up to the awesomeness of the original, I enjoyed it and will continue on with the series from here. ( )