On My Bookshelf: Wizards of Once, Twice Magic
by Cressida Cowell
Hodder Children’s Books 2018
It’s the winter school holidays and I’ve been doing lots of reading. Lots.
In some of the books I’ve only gone as far as Sydney, in others I’ve crossed the world and travelled in time. Some have been magical!
In some books I’ve found new friends, and in others I’ve been lost in strange and distant lands.
Having just got lost in the Wildwoods (in a British Isles so old, it didn’t know it was the British Isles yet) with Wish and Xar for the second time, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure once again as these two friends set out to try and rid the woods of witches, I thought now was a good time to write a quick review of Cressida Cowell’s second book about two friends who should never have met in the first place.
It doesn’t start well, with Xar locked up in the great prison of Garmincrag, and Wish on the other side of a gigantic wall built by her warrior queen mother. How could they possibly meet again?
But, as you might guess, they did, although not quite now you might have thought. There was an escape which was not entirely successful, and somebody did get turned into a sad little creature, but the two did manage to fly off in search of a Giant’s dying breath for a spell to defeat the Witches.
Did I say spell? Twice Magic once again has lots of magic, witches, giants, sprites, and adventure, and a very nearly quite disastrous ending when the Wizards and the Warriors go to war!
It also has some hilariously funny family moments and some very sad ones, too. Neither Xar nor Wish feel like they shape up to the expectations of their parents, and there is a lot of sighing and head shaking as the pair get up to their mischief. Will they ever get it right?
I absolutely recommend this as a fun read, but do suggest you get hold of the first book... er, first.
Another good reason for jumping in with this review now is that the author, Cressida Cowell, has just been appointed the UK Children’s Laureate, and her mission is to spread the word about how reading is magic, and what a way to do it, with all the amazing, magical books she has written. Her plans are to be a laureate who fights for books and children's interests with passion, conviction and action.
Sounds good to me.