I love the cover of this book. If you're looking for something out of the of the ordinary and a little eccentric than this book is for you. Ozzy and his bird, Clark are looking for answers, when Ozzy sees an ad listed for a wizard for hire, he decides to hire him. Ozzy isn't even sure that the wizard is real or if he is just a crazy man, what follows is an adventure that Ozzy wasn't planning on.

Ozzy, a boy surviving on his own in rural Oregon, enlists the help of an eccentric man named Rin, who calls himself a wizard. Ozzy is trying to locate his parents, who were kidnapped years earlier, and piece together their involvement and discoveries in a mysterious experiment.

I found this book to be very entertaining, definitely a fun read.

At first, I was concerned that Ozzy didn't display much agency; several years went by before he tried to find his parents. It was explained by Ozzy thinking it was "normal" for children's parents to be taken away, and I did note that as Ozzy acquired more information and stimulus, he began to engage more with the outside world.

Two characters, especially, have a positive impact on Ozzy's development: Clark, a solar-powered, talking metal bird invented by Ozzy's father; and Sigi, a girl whom Ozzy meets at the beach when he goes exploring one day. Both of them contribute to Ozzy being more interested in the broader world.

Rin, of course, is a force of nature, entirely irrepressible. I enjoyed the way Rin's attributions of magic to seemingly mundane occurrences would butt up against Ozzy's skepticism. An underlying theme seems to run throughout the book: "Is Rin really a wizard, or isn't he?" I think that no matter which way readers decide, they will enjoy reading it.

This book was good! Unfortunately, I think it's just not the kind of thing I'm ever going to be super jazzed up by. Ozzy was sympathetic, there was a lot of humor, the "is-he-a-wizard-or-just-a-crazy-man" mystery with Labyrinth, etc.... All of it was fine, but I've never done well with absurdity, and too much craziness crowded out my ability to care about the characters.

Wizard for Hire is an exciting adventure. Ozzy is a resourceful and brave protagonist that tweens and teens will identify with. The element of magic is artfully woven into the story, with the reader never quite sure what is magic and what is reality. Humor is used with deftness and skill. This is a heart-felt, humorous adventure that will delight fantasy lovers of all ages.

3.5 stars Good book for teens and tweens. Great for fans of the Janitors series. Too predictable for older readers, but a cute read. Would be good for parents to read with their younger kids.

Shortly after starting this book I began to think of it as YA as opposed to middle-grade. I would almost have divided this into two books because I enjoyed the first part before he went to school so much that I wanted to hear more about that time. 

Ozzy lives alone in the Portland forest after his folks are kidnapped. It's been ten years, and he survived on his thanks to a stuffed library (Yay book hoarding!) and a solar-powered mechanical bird that his father built before he left. After Ozzy turns 14, he takes the bus to high school and signs himself up. Much like the homeschooler he is, Ozzy learns a bit about fashion and social skills right away and eventually contacts a wizard for help in finding his parents.

I'd recommend this to kids that are hot off their re-read of Harry Potter and LOTR. It's the theme of magic that will draw them into this crazy funny story.

Verdict- Borrow

E ARC from Edelweiss Plus



Seven-year-old Ozzy remembers living in New York with his scientist parents Mia and Emmitt, but the family is now enjoying an idyllic life in the forests of Oregon. Sure, they are surrounded by unpacked boxes, but life is good until strange men come and kidnap his parents. Not knowing what else to do, Ozzy continues to live alone in the mountain cabin. When he discovers Clark, a mechanical talking crow, he is less lonely. He also finds tapes that his father left, detailing some of the psychological experiments that he and Ozzy's mother were doing in New York. When he turns 14, he decides to go to high school, and hops a bus. He just goes to classes, and the teachers accept him for a while. Eventually, he decides to find his parents, and calls the number he finds in the local paper under "Wizard for Hire". This puts him in contact with Labyrinth (Rin, nee Brian), who claims to have spent time in the wizarding realm of Quarfelt, and says he'll try to help. With the use of his ex-wife's car, Rin finds some details. Before long, Sigi, a girl Rin met at the beach and in the high school, shows up and offers to go track down a contact Ozzy's mother mentions on one of the tapes. Soon Sigi (who has some surprising parentage), Ozzy and Rin are on their way to track down Charles Plankford and figure out the mysteries of Ozzy's past.

Strengths: This is definitely my favorite of Skye's books. The story is far fetched but intriguing, Ozzy is an interesting character, and Rin's backstory is rather fascinating. Ozzy's entry into high school life is funny and endearing.
Weaknesses: This was the sort of book where I would happily read for 50 pages, then the story would bog down a bit and I'd put the book down to clean a bit. Read another 50 pages or so until the story slowed again. In order to make this a middle grade book, about 100 pages would need to be cut. This seems more like a Young Adult title, along the lines of Vizzini's The Other Normals or Pierson's Crap Kingdom.
What I really think: Since this actually isn't a fantasy book, aside from Clark, and I may not purchase it. It's a bit longer and slower than what my students usually like.

After being whisked from NYC to a secluded hilltop near the coast in Central Oregon, Ozzy's parents are kidnapped from their "Cloaked House" and Ozzy is left to fend for himself. For seven years! Ozzy miraculously manages to survive until he discovers a creation of his father - a sentient, metal raven "Clark". Together, Clark and Ozzy begin to explore Ozzy's past and end up hiring the town Wizard (yes, wizard), Rin, to help find them. With the kind guidance of a classmate, the team will indeed unravel the mystery of Ozzy's parents. Within the car chases, breakfasts, and bird humor there is the secondary mystery of Rin. Is, or isn't he, a "real" wizard? Even in the end, readers may not have an answer to this particular question. For a contemporary tale of magic, nonsense, and mystery "Wizard for Hire" is a wonderful choice. Skye even uses the tale as a platform for addressing diversity, but in a very gentle way which fits naturally into the story line. Recommended!

I was really looking forward to reading this title as Skye is one of my favorite authors and I can never pass up a good fantasy. Unfortunately, in the end, it was hard to find anything about this book that I liked. The characters were way overdone, Ozzy’s situation was far beyond believable, and I think calling this a fantasy is a huge mislabeling.
Every character in this novel was over the top. The dialogue was often full of kooky phrases that were unnecessary and made reading difficult. Clark was in his own world and, although it was whimsical and enjoyable at first, became distracting and annoying. Rin’s vague descriptions, quick turn arounds, and complete lack of ability (Ozzy seems to do all the work) leave him unlikable and a damper on the story.
Ozzy on his own was even hard to relate to. His miraculous survival and following quest are a huge stretch for even younger readers. His thought patterns are often erratic and can cause confusion. His knowledge of the world and technology (he instantly knows how to work a computer) is hard to grasp, even with all the books he read.
At the end of the story I was glad it was over. It was a struggle to go back and forth on whether Rin was holding back or a fraud all along, which seemed to be the greatest mystery rather than where Ozzy’s parents were. It was not my favorite of Skye’s work and I would not recommend this title for younger readers without a large disclaimer about what to expect.

Do You Believe in Magic?

This is a sneaky, clever, and surprisingly funny wizard quest send up, but with unexpected heart. It's also about five books in one, which is a nice bonus.

We start with setup one. Young Ozzy has been taken by his mad genius parents to hide out in the deep woods outside Portland because the parents have invented something perilous and bad guys want it. One day the bad guys show up and kidnap the parents, leaving Ozzy alone and abandoned. Ozzy spends the next ten years at the isolated cabin raising himself - his only company a mechanical raven built by Dad. Ozzy is well read, well fed thanks to massive survivalist stores, and is a strapping goodnatured naif. This part of the book is fresh and a bit wistful, but the raven Clark punches up every scene he steals.

At part two, Ozzy has to venture into town because there's a world out there and he has to find his parents. Ozzy and Clark hitch a ride on a school bus, (the bus has to stop for railroad tracks, so that's where Ozzy gets on every morning), and Ozzy just walks into school and pretends he's the new transfer kid. As you might expect this is great fish-out-of-water stuff, and it is handled beautifully. The laughs are both obvious and subtle, and our author slips a lot of wry and sometimes vinegary commentary into the proceedings. This part is better than most humorous school-daze stories.

Then, (book three), Ozzy comes across an ad for a wizard for hire and decides that this is what he needs to help him find his parents. The Wizard is clearly a delusional con, but with a heart of gold, a sad backstory, and an upbeat post-hippie sort of vibe. Between the Wizard, who is a metaphorical lost child, and Ozzy, who is a literal lost child, we are on the cusp of an epic road trip. A girl from school who befriended Ozzy, and is a sort of nice girl wild child with secrets of her own, joins the quest, and the three, (along with Clark the raven), go in search of Ozzy's folks.

This final adventure road trip is more standard bad guy action fare, and a bit more suspenseful and violent than I expected, but by this point you are so invested in the characters that you're willing to racket around the country with them. VERY MILD SPOILER. The ending is open and maybe a bit conflicted, but everything isn't always sunshine and talking robot birds.

Books like this are a challenge because sometimes an author can whimsy himself into a corner. That happens here a little bit, but the trip is worth it. The crosstalk is funny and clever. There is a lot of deadpan humor and dry throwaway lines. Clark could carry his own book, but works very well here as Ozzy's foil and friend. There are loads of supporting characters who show up for a while, (Wizard's dad, Wizard's ex-wife, other locals), nail their scenes and then move off stage. This was a remarkably entertaining find and a nice, and sort of warm hearted and even touching, treat.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)