Product Description

To give Nita a vacation from magic, Nita's parents pack her off for a month-long stay with her eccentric aunt in Ireland. But Ireland is even more steeped in magical doings than the United States, and Nita soon finds herself and a host of Irish wizards battling creatures from a nightmare Ireland--a realm where humankind is the stuff of tales and storybooks, and where the legends and monsters of the country's mythology are a deadly reality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #348978 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780152162382
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. Nita Callahan, a 14-year-old wizard from Long Island, is annoyed when her concerned parents ship her off to Ireland for six weeks on an enforced vacation from magic-working and her partner Kit?but what's time or space to wizards (see So You Want to Be a Wizard [1996] and its sequels [all Harcourt]). In any case, Ireland is hardly the ideal spot for a magic-free getaway, and indeed Nita soon finds herself involved in big doings. With the ancient harvest festival of Lughnasad approaching, signs point to a major attack from the malicious Lone Power, the very inventor of Death, in its guise as Balor of the Evil Eye. The assembled wizards of Ireland have but one hope: to find or re-create the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan, said in ancient stories to have helped defeat Balor once before. Moving easily between light, everyday language and the sonorous formality of high fantasy, Duane seamlessly interweaves encounters with creatures from legend with glimpses of modern Irish life and teen culture. Her view of magic's place in the scheme of things is so clever and well reasoned that readers will have no trouble suspending belief. Nita is an appealingly hot-tempered teenager who faces slavering dire wolves and trollish drows with more courage than the dismaying realization that she's gotten "the hots" for young fellow wizard Ronan. Balor's appearance in the climactic battle is all too brief, but against this army of wizards, it never stands a chance. At least in retrospect. An unusually consistent fantasy, rich in details, subplots, and Irish lore.?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Grade 5-8. Nita Callahan, a 14-year-old wizard from Long Island, is annoyed when her concerned parents ship her off to Ireland for six weeks on an enforced vacation from magic-working and her partner Kit?but what's time or space to wizards (see So You Want to Be a Wizard [1996] and its sequels [all Harcourt]). In any case, Ireland is hardly the ideal spot for a magic-free getaway, and indeed Nita soon finds herself involved in big doings. With the ancient harvest festival of Lughnasad approaching, signs point to a major attack from the malicious Lone Power, the very inventor of Death, in its guise as Balor of the Evil Eye. The assembled wizards of Ireland have but one hope: to find or re-create the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan, said in ancient stories to have helped defeat Balor once before. Moving easily between light, everyday language and the sonorous formality of high fantasy, Duane seamlessly interweaves encounters with creatures from legend with glimpses of modern Irish life and teen culture. Her view of magic's place in the scheme of things is so clever and well reasoned that readers will have no trouble suspending belief. Nita is an appealingly hot-tempered teenager who faces slavering dire wolves and trollish drows with more courage than the dismaying realization that she's gotten "the hots" for young fellow wizard Ronan. Balor's appearance in the climactic battle is all too brief, but against this army of wizards, it never stands a chance. At least in retrospect. An unusually consistent fantasy, rich in details, subplots, and Irish lore. John Peters, New York Public Library (School Library Journal )

About the Author
Diane Duane is the author of more then twenty science fiction and fantasy novels, including four other books in the Young Wizards series. Four of her Star Trek novels have been New York Times bestsellers. Ms. Duane lives in rural Ireland.

Customer Reviews

A 13-year-old's opinion. . .
Three words: I LOVED IT! This is definitely one of the best young adult type books around. One of my all-time favorite books (like the others in the series), A WIZARD ABROAD kept me captivated till the end (an I still want MORE!). With the addition of Dairine, Nita's younger sister, who is my favorite character (sorry, Nita or Kit fans), this and the book before it, HIGH WIZARDRY, are my favorites. Please, read this book! I've had many people turn it down, but those who take my advice are glad! They agree: A WIZARD ABROAD IS THE BEST! ( but read the others first! )

Opinion of an avid reader
I've read all of the Wizard series by Diane Duane, and this is definitely the best yet. According to Nita(Juanita)'s parents, she and and her wizardry partner, Kit (Christopher), have been spending way too much time together. Her parents just can't understand that there's NOTHING going on between them, just magic. Nonetheless, Juanita is packed up and sent to live with her aunt in Ireland for six weeks until school starts. Grudgingly, Nita settles in with her aunt, and even starts enjoying a little break from magic, but it's not too long until she realizes how much trouble Ireland is really in, and how one little shift of power in the wrong direction could destroy it. It's up to Nita, Kit, and a few new characters to gather the tools they need and re-enact an ancient battle, or accept their fates. The story is set with Duane's typical magic, melded together with Irish lore to make one of the most creative and thrilling fantasy books of today.

The uneasy, uncomfortables sense of -- Power.
Somewhere between Madeleine L'Engle and Judy Blume is where this book by Diane Duane fits in.

I hadn't paid attention to the fact that this was a 4th book in a series. I was caught by the cover and title and took it home with me. Despite plunging into #4 without any background on the series, it wasn't hard to pick up and follow - the story in this book stood on its own and didn't require a lot of 'flashback' referencing.

The writing is strong enough - and well-suited for the teenage crowd that Duane seems to be targeting. The magical adventures and lore is interspersed with teen angst and qualms, "Not important stuff, like kissing -- how do you do it and still breathe? Is not wearing a bra a come-on?"

Much more adult than the Harry Potter series, Duane goes right into battles with thick descriptions - and death in tow, not shying away from the facts of things. She also takes the time to tuck in the myth, history and lore that flush out the story.

A good read - I'll take the time sometime to go back to #1 and roll forward.

However - the writing here should steer readers to progress toward similarly crafted books by Alan Garner, Madeleine L'Engle, or Ursula K. LeGuin.