Week 2

Week 2 ~ Jan 8-14, 2007

The Mislaid Magician
By Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
(fantasy, YA fiction)

This is the third in the series of "letter game" books written by the two authors. (The basic idea is that each writer has a character, and the book plot progresses in a series of letters that the authors write to each other in character. The result is a book with two different voices told in a very amusing fashion.) The first book is Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot.

This book isn't quite as good as the first one, which had the element of novelty and budding romance to make it all the more enjoyable. However, it is quite fun, and I enjoy it better than the second book. (In book 2, the characters are traveling together and instead of letters they write journal entries. I prefer having them write letters. The plot is equally enjoyable in each of the books.)

There isn't much that I can say about this book without ruining the plot of the first two for everyone, but I can say that the series is set in an alternate Regency England, where magic is an acceptable vocation. The two main characters are young ladies of quality, and while the books may be billed as young adult fiction, they have a freshness that adults will be able to enjoy just as much as teens. I really enjoy the series, and would love to see it continue.