Wizard for Hire
What's It About?
It isn’t unusual for a fourteen-year-old to feel alone as he begins to make the decisions that will shape who he becomes, but Ozzy Toffy doesn’t just feel alone — he is alone. In fact, he’s been alone since his scientist parents were kidnapped seven years ago.Using the canned goods stockpiled by his parents for sustenance of the body and the boxes of books and tapes to enrich the mind, Ozzy raises himself in a small house hidden in the heart of the forest. His only companion is a sentient metal bird named Clark invented by his father. The two get on well enough, but Ozzy can’t be fully content until he finds out what happened to his parents, which is why he plans to do some research.
But first, he’ll have to go to school.
ONE ODD TEEN WITH A FEW COMPLEX QUESTIONS
Shadow Mountain presents the Wizard for Hire series by Obert Skye. It’s the story of a not-so-typical teen looking for answers to the questions that linger in the back of every typical mind: Who am I? What makes me special? What do I believe in?
Ozzy’s quest for understanding unfolds in light prose that are smart, self-aware and timely. This series has the power to captivate lovers of young-adult fantasy without fully dismissing itself from reality. It challenges both its characters and its readers to see the magic in the everyday. Uniquely balanced on the edge of the fantastic and chock-full of eccentric characters and events, the books are sure to find a wide audience even among reluctant readers. The series begins with Wizard for Hire, the story of our hero’s reentry into society.
SELF-TAUGHT KID’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Ozzy has always loved learning from his books at home, so school seems like a perfect fit at first. He gets to use the internet and eat his first fresh food in years. Some of the kids are mean to him and he can’t quite figure out how to fit in, but he manages to make one friend: Sigi. She is kind and doesn’t seem to mind that he’s different.
Ozzy is just starting to make some headway researching his parents in the school library when the school catches on to his lack of registration records. Suddenly the cops are after Ozzy and if he doesn’t want to be taken away from his house in the forest and everything he’s ever known, he’ll have to stay hidden.
Now if he wants to find his parents, it looks like he’s going to need help. It seems like fate when he finds the “wizard for hire” ad.
A DESPERATE AND MAGICAL LEAP OF FAITH
He’s always liked Harry Potter. It seems like if anyone could have the power to find his parents and get him out of this mess with the cops, it would be a wizard; so he makes the call. There’s only one problem: he’s still not sure if wizards are real.
When Ozzy meets Labyrinth, Rin for short, his short white bathrobe and pointy felt hat aren’t quite what Ozzy would have expected. Rin doesn’t seem exactly keen to display any of his magical powers, but he is willing to help, making him the best option Ozzy has. Now the boy and the hired wizard are on a quest to find Ozzy’s missing parents. It’s a journey that includes high-speed chases, an unexpected helper and just enough magic to make you wonder: are wizards real after all?
Read all three books in the “Wizard for Hire” series: Wizard for Hire, Wizard for Hire 2: Apprentice Needed, and now, the latest in the series, Wizard for Hire 3: Magic Required.
For more about Obert Skye, visit his BookTrib author profile page.
