Witch & Wizard started off quite well, but got steadily worse as it progressed. I hate to say it, but I think James Patterson is running out of ideas; at least on the YA side of things.
I got the feeling that this had been written quickly, and that the authors hadn't dedicated enough time to working out a plausible plot. Whether this is because those Patterson-doesn't-write-his-own-books rumours are true, I don't know. The plot had the potential to be fantastic, but there was just too much wackiness involved. Talking dogs, convenient ghosts and boy weasels are just a few of the occurences that left me scratching my head in puzzlement -- they really were mind-boggling.
There were some parts of Witch & Wizard that I liked, and it's a good job, otherwise I probably would have stopped reading. The first hundred pages were really quite good, and did a great job of setting the scene and introducing the characters. Wisty and Whit were interesting enough, and I liked their brother/sister relationship. I wanted them to find the notion of magic a strange one, rather than just accepting it as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, but instead they hardly batted an eyelid.
The pacing of the plot is still what I would consider Pattinson's strong suit, as the chapters move very quickly, and you never know what's waiting for you around the corner. He definitely tries to keep the reader interested, and for the most part, he succeeds. Although I didn't like this book as much as Maximum Ride, I will, as always, be reading the next in the series. I just can't help myself.
2.5/5
