The fifth title in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series delves deeper into an emotional landscape than any of her previous books (So You Want to Be a Wizard, Deep Wizardry, High Wizardry, and A Wizard Abroad). For the first time ever, friends and wizard partners Nita and Kit seem to be having trouble communicating. They argue over a spell to clean up the pollution in New York's Jones Inlet, and from that point on, they can't connect on anything. Is it adolescence that's tearing them apart or something more profound? Meanwhile, Nita and her family are stunned to discover that her mother has cancer, and there's a possibility that nothing--not surgery, not even wizardry--can fight it. Nita refuses to let her mom go down without a fight, however, and soon she's on a mission that brings her face-to-face with the Lone Power, source of all death in the universe--Nita's worst enemy, and possibly her only hope.

Impressive in its scope, The Wizard's Dilemma, like all the titles in Duane's series, is packed with an intriguing combination of technology and magic that fans of fantasy, science fiction, technology, and even Christian literature will find absolutely gripping. Nita is a complex character, as befits her status as a teenager, not to mention a wizard. Her confusion and self-doubt will be painfully believable to every reader. There are no simple answers in this remarkably philosophical novel. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter


From School Library Journal
Gr 6-8-Now 14, Nita bemoans the fact that she "kept running into problems for which wizardry either wasn't an answer, or else was the wrong one. And even when it was the right answer, it never seemed to be a simple one anymore." School is harder than ever before, and her wizarding partnership with her best friend, Kit, has been under stress, when the ultimate blow comes: her mother has intractable brain cancer. As in earlier books in the series, wizardry is an unusual hybrid of science fiction and fantasy conventions, in which interplanetary aliens and parallel uni-verses coexist with spells and talking trees. In this installment, the two friends each face a dilemma: Kit finds he can retreat forever into his own self-created heaven, but at the cost of giving up the fight against evil. Nita learns she can cure her mother's cancer, but only by sacrificing her powers to the Lone One, the source of all unhappiness in the universe. As the maturing wizards learn in the story's moving conclusion, there are no simple answers to decisions like these. A well-crafted plot, occasional dry humor, and appealing main characters will make this novel popular with readers new to the series as well as with Duane's fans.Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VTCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. In the fifth book in the Young Wizards series, the young wizard Nita, still recuperating from her stay in Ireland in A Wizard Abroad (1997), is hoping for life to return to normal, but things aren't turning out that way. She and her fellow wizard and close friend, Kit, seem to be going off in different directions, and their relationship is suffering. When Nita's mother is diagnosed with a fast-growing malignant brain tumor, Nita travels to other universes looking for a cure. She encounters the evil Lone Power, who offers her a bargain--her power for her mother's life. Then Nita gets help from an unexpected source. The climactic battle is melodramatic, and Nita's path to get there is a twisted one, so give this to the saga's stalwart fans. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
It's the wonderful world of wizardry, and adolescent spell casters Kit and Nita are about to face their biggest challenges yet in The Wizard's Dilemma, the fifth book in Diane Duane's magical Young Wizards series. Things between Kit and Nita are unusually tense these days, and they find themselves going their separate ways. Neither of them is happy about it, but they plug along as best they can, each of them exploring new realms of wizardly wonder. Then Nita's mother is diagnosed with cancer, throwing Nita's life into a total tailspin. For it seems that neither modern medicine nor ancient magic can cure this deadly disease...unless Nita makes a deal with the devil.

Kit and Nita both bide their time apart by exploring intriguing new alternate universes where things aren't always what they seem and the laws of physics and nature are often askew. In one such universe Nita must wage the ultimate battle for her mother's life, but her longtime nemesis, the Lone Power, is determined to see her fail. The Lone Power, who is in charge of all death throughout the universe, tempts Nita with the promise of a cure for her mother, though it comes at a horrible price. Nita considers making the sacrifice, but she hesitates because she has no guarantee that the Lone Power will hold up its side of the bargain. It turns out she is wise to be suspicious, for the Lone Power is planning a terrible double-cross that could cost Nita everything she values in life. The only person who suspects the truth is Kit, but will he and his faithful canine sidekick, Ponch, be able to find Nita in time to save them all from the Lone Power's revenge?

Duane crafts a wonderfully magical world -- several of them, in fact -- with enough teenage angst afflicting her characters to create strong appeal for readers 12 and older. Younger readers may be drawn to this world of wizardry as well, but several mature themes make parental discretion advisable. (Beth Amos)

ANNOTATION

Teenage wizard Nita travels to other universes to find a cure for her mother who has brain cancer.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

How do you fix what can't be fixed? Only the Transcendent Pig knows, and it's not telling. . . .

But Nita Callahan needs to find out--and soon. Her wizardly partnership with Kit has fallen apart. Much worse, her mother has gotten sick . . . so sick she may never leave the hospital.

Only one person can help Nita--the One she's devoted her life to fighting.

SYNOPSIS

Now in paperback--the critically acclaimed fifth book in the bestselling Young Wizards series

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA

Teenaged Nita and Kit had always been ideal partners and talented wizards, able to communicate perfectly and instantly—without disagreement—what they should do. Neither is prepared to deal with adolescent angst, and when they find themselves arguing about the proper spell for a problem, they wind up going their separate ways. Both are uncertain what to do to repair their rift, and new crises further complicate the situation. Nita's work is cut short by bad news—her mother has cancer, which appears incurable by either medical or magical means. Nita finds out that her younger sister Dairine's magic is too uncontrollable to help, and that if Nita is to help her mother, she will have to do it on her own. Nita knows that she is unlikely to learn enough to save her mother and becomes increasingly desperate. Her grave situation makes her vulnerable to the Lone Power—who offers her a Faustian bargain that would change her life and the universe forever. Readers unfamiliar with the first four books in Duane's Young Wizards series might not be as affected by Nita's turmoil but would still be captivated by it. This book can be read on several levels—as a gripping and dynamic fantasy for younger teens and a discussion for older teens about destiny and choice and one person's right to affect other lives. Fans of the author will flock to this new adventure, which likely will bring new readers to the series. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Harcourt, 324p, $17. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Betsy Fraser SOURCE: VOYA,August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)

KLIATT

In the fifth book of the series, Nita Callahan is feeling some growing pains. After an argument with Kit Rodriguez, her partner in wizardry, over the best way to conduct a spell, Nita thinks maybe it's time to work alone. Her mother's sudden serious illness seems to clinch the decision as Nita draws on her resources to try to find a cure. Meanwhile, Kit has embarked on his own project, exploring a series of universes, and by the time he finds out about Nita's mother, it's nearly too late for him to help. The pace is well sustained and the characters continue to grow and develop. Duane isn't afraid of the hard questions in life and prefers to face them, as readers will learn. Readers of the series will lap this up, while it stands alone well enough to pique the interest of those who want a break from the nth reading of the Harry Potter books. (Young Wizards, book 5). KLIATT Codes: JS*￯﾿ﾽExceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, Harcourt, Magic Carpet, 422p., Scanlon

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-Now 14, Nita bemoans the fact that she "kept running into problems for which wizardry either wasn't an answer, or else was the wrong one. And even when it was the right answer, it never seemed to be a simple one anymore." School is harder than ever before, and her wizarding partnership with her best friend, Kit, has been under stress, when the ultimate blow comes: her mother has intractable brain cancer. As in earlier books in the series, wizardry is an unusual hybrid of science fiction and fantasy conventions, in which interplanetary aliens and parallel uni-verses coexist with spells and talking trees. In this installment, the two friends each face a dilemma: Kit finds he can retreat forever into his own self-created heaven, but at the cost of giving up the fight against evil. Nita learns she can cure her mother's cancer, but only by sacrificing her powers to the Lone One, the source of all unhappiness in the universe. As the maturing wizards learn in the story's moving conclusion, there are no simple answers to decisions like these. A well-crafted plot, occasional dry humor, and appealing main characters will make this novel popular with readers new to the series as well as with Duane's fans.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews