The Wizard Test (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [Library Binding]

Hilari Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Fourteen-year-old Dayven is devastated when he learns he has wizard powers, since wizards are considered to be disloyal deceivers who believe in nothing, until he undergoes wizard training and discovers a new way of looking at the world that will change his values, friendships, and future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–What is loyalty and to whom is it owed? Are our enemies truly as evil as we are taught? Do our leaders really do what is best, or what is expedient? And how can we determine the truth? These themes are explored through the character of Dayven, a 14-year-old Watcherlad to Lord Enar. Growing up in a land where wizards are mistrusted, no boy wants to discover that he has magical powers, yet this is exactly what happens when it is Dayven's turn to be tested. Horrified, he swears he will never join the wizards and agrees to spy on them for Lord Enar. Apprenticed to the seemingly drunken buffoon Reddick, Dayven soon learns that the world is not the black-and-white place he imagined it to be. Enemies turn out to have similar hopes and dreams and Dayven discovers that his own people are not as honorable or well intentioned as he always believed. In order to preserve the ecological equilibrium necessary to sustain the lands of those whom his people have sworn to protect, he must decide whether to stand with the wizards and maintain the balance or cling to what he's been taught is right. Hard questions are asked and answered in a slim book that will find a wide audience and spark much discussion.–Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Never trust a "craven and treacherous" wizard--that's what Dayven, a trainee warrior of the imperialistic Tharn culture, has always been taught. When a ritual reveals that he possesses magical power, Dayven reflexively declines a wizard's apprenticeship. Then Dayven is asked by a Tharn overlord to accept the apprenticeship and report back on any treacherous alliances with the rebellious, oppressed Cenzar peoples. As Dayven travels with his wizard mentor and befriends an impish Cenzar boy, his willingness to spy ebbs and his assumptions about wizards, magic, and the Cenzar themselves fade into confusing "shades of grey." Although Dayven's ideological shift is more an about-face than a natural evolution, there is satisfaction to be gleaned from the parallels to real-world collisions between heedless, exploitative conquerors and native peoples whose ways are as misunderstood as they are reviled. The book's clarity and brevity make it most appropriate for readers not yet ready for the denser goings-on of Bell's sf thriller A Matter of Profit (2002) or Flame (2003), the first installment in her in-progress Farsala Trilogy. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 166 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417754281
• ISBN-13: 978-1417754281
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,501,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Me the writer--a loose, not-really-biography of Hilari Bell.

A lot of writers will tell you that they've been writers from the time they were children--well, I'm not one of those people. I was always a reader. There's nothing better than falling into the world of a book and just living there till the story's over...and even then, it stays in your head and heart. At least, the best ones do. But writing came a lot later, in school assignments--which I enjoyed, but still, assignments. Homework no less.

I started writing seriously when I first got out of library school. I'd been reading picture books preparing to do storytimes, and I thought, "Picture books. They're short. They're for little kids. How hard could it be?" Several years and dozens of unsold--and unsalable--picture books later I'd found out how hard they could be! Picture books are harder to write (a good one, anyway) than anything except poetry. And they're harder to sell than anything but poetry, too.

One of the things I've learned about writing over the years is to never say never, because whenever I've said "I will never write XYZ" within a few years I end up writing it. Some true examples: I could never write a novel. I could never write a young adult novel. I could never write science fiction. I could never write an adult novel. I could never make those books a romance. (OK, so I haven't actually made them into a romance, but a lot more romantic elements are creeping into my writing.) I should probably say, I could never write a best seller, just to see what would happen... Hmm. I could never write a best seller!

OK, Murphy's Law being what it is, that probably won't work. If for no other reason than that, primarily, I write for me. This is something I probably shouldn't admit, but I don't really care that much about my audience. (Sorry, audience.) I write the books I want to read. I tell the stories that I want to tell. And I write to make the story the best it can be...because the story is what I care about it. I love it when other people care about my stories too, but that's not my primary motivation. Which is the other reason "I could never write a best seller."

(I know it probably won't work--but it doesn't hurt to try, now does it?)

--Hilari

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but not unique, May 5, 2005

By 

Elena - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wizard Test (Hardcover)

At age fourteen, every Tharn must take the Wizard Test to determine whether they have any talent for magic. Dayven wants to fail the test very badly. He wants to continue his service as a Watcherlad, eventually becoming a Guardian, like his father. Wizards are deceitful and alter men's destinies, tempting them away from their true path. When Dayven is proven to have an aptitude for magic, he's horrified, but when his lord instructs him to spy on the wizards, he's given an opportunity to redeem himself. Apprenticed to an unconventional wizard named Reddick, Dayven journeys to the Cenzar enemy city, where an army prepares to march on Dayven's home, the Town-within-the-Walls, which the Tharns invaded three generations ago. There Dayven learns that there are multiple sides to every story, and wizards aren't as evil as he thought. Dayven will be faced with an impossible decision, and his choice will alter the fates of two entire peoples.

"The Wizard Test" is an entertaining, if short, fantasy that contains a valuable message about seeing things from other points of view. Bell's fantasy world is a little simplistic, but still believable and interesting enough. Dayven is sometimes bad-tempered and petulant, but he's a decent character who faces tough decisions and changes throughout the story. His interactions with the other characters are real enough, if a little stilted. The other characters can be a little distant; I would've liked to have gotten to know them better. "The Wizard Test" has its shortcomings, but none of them are enough to detract from its overall entertainment value as an interesting fantasy with a moral that transcends genre.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars As Expected, May 11, 2010

By 

Ithlilian "Ravenous Reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wizard Test (Hardcover)

I enjoyed The Wizard Test. It's a nice, quick, fun story with a good message behind it. The world building is decent, though a bit short on details, as is to be expected from a short novel. I would say that it could be improved by adding more detail, history, and culture, but I think that would have made the novel too wordy. It's not especially unique, and there is nothing profound here, so I can't give it more than a three star rating. It is a cute story worth reading, but don't expect to think much. I read it in one sitting in a very short amount of time. A nice story to read to a child, but I didn't feel fully connected with the world presented. It wasn't too much of an escape. A good lesson though, and could have been even more enjoyable if the book continued on past the last page. Decent overall, if you are a fan of the author certainly give it a shot.

4.0 out of 5 stars liked it but would have been better if it was longer, June 8, 2009

By 

poppyjml - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wizard Test (Paperback)

I liked this story, but like the other reviewer said, this could have been expounded more. if the story had been longer, the interactions and the development of the other characters would have been enough.

also a sequel to this would be very good.