Wizardmatch by Laura Magaziner was a quick read with an interesting storyline and some over-the-top crazy humor.

Lennie Mercado’s dad is a Filipino, and her mom is part wizard. Lennie and her younger brother, Michael, have inherited Mom’s ability for invisibility – Lennie can stay invisible for up to 15 seconds, while Michael’s limit is 13 seconds.

When Mortimor de Pomporromp, Lennie’s grandfather, invites all his children and grandchildren to his castle for Wizardmatch, a test that will determine the next Prime Wizard, Lennie dreams of winning and becoming the most powerful wizard of all.

But Poppop de Pomporromp has some surprises up his sleeve, one of which is that not all the grandchildren will get to participate in Wizardmatch…

This book was a fairly fun read. It’s a light book that relies mostly on silly humor, with some slight heavy-handedness on racial and gender equality. The main character, Lennie Mercado, often feels judged by her half-Filipino looks and thinks she is viewed as less than optimal as a Prime Wizard candidate because she’s female. Her disrespectful attitude toward her mother near the end of the book was a bit of a turn-off.  But once she managed to apologize, her attitude improved.

This is a humorous fantasy with a lot of crazy magic and hilarious mishaps–perfect for readers of Eva Ibbotson.

Review of an Advance Reader Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Dial Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  A character sneezes pudding snot and his assistant falls in it;  a magical cat vomits on the floor; a character materializes at the edge of a cliff; a Garden of Goulash by a graveyard contains suspicious meat; a portion of land has been booby-trapped; cousins sometimes fight, insult and argue; a grandfather yells at his granddaughter; a character eats objects and regurgitates them into birds; a character decides to run away; a character enters forbidden territory and almost drowns in a frozen lake; a character warns someone to avoid dangers from stalagmites and vampire bats; characters are said to have died in a duel; a girl trips and falls over the side of a high platform; two characters plot to sabotage Wizardmatch; characters discuss a bad fight between uncles; a test in Wizardmatch involves a shark; a character is draped in snakes for endurance training; a character gets fireballs thrown at her; a brother and sister fight; cousins occasionally fight with each other; characters have to battle ghouls; a girl fights with her mother and is quite disrespectful; adults, teens and children have a vicious food fight; characters have to enter a booby-trapped area as part of their testing; a character betrays someone and steals a character’s power; characters battle a villain, using their powers to fend him off; a character is trapped in a ghoul-infested graveyard; a character is trapped in a pudding cyclone; a character is tricked and trapped in jelly; a character is shot in the chest, but ricochets the spell with her power. 

Sex/Nudity:  Boys and girls occasionally hug (not sexual).

Mature Subject Matter:

Racial conflict, sabotage, competitiveness, betrayal.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None