Wizard for Hire: Magic Required by Obert Skye

A strange package arrives for Ozzy Toffy. Inside is a pair of plaid trousers, which means Ozzy has officially become a novice wizard. But a secret note in his trouser pocket leads Ozzy and Sigi on another adventure related to his parents’ past. This time they want to stop the evil and reclusive billionaire, Ray Dench. Ray wants to use Ozzy’s ability with mind control—a result of his parents’ testing—for world domination. Using his limitless resources, Ray’s men track down Ozzy, Clark, Sigi, and Rin but their efforts are miraculously thwarted. Unbeknownst to Ozzy and Sigi, Rin has recruited four Quarfelt wizards to help him end Ray’s plans for Ozzy.

The final book in Skye’s Wizard for Hire does not disappoint. Along with the thrilling adventures, consumption of breakfast foods, and magical polyester pants, readers join Ozzy and Sigi as they delve deeper into Rin’s sobering past. Sigi meets Ray’s mother, a racially prejudiced heiress who can’t stand how low Rin stooped in marrying Sigi’s mother. Ozzy finally sees Rin’s home—a Victorian mansion at an abandoned amusement park. But Ozzy and Sigi’s biggest challenge is coming to terms with Rin’s time at a mental institution. Ray has had extensive research done on Rin and he uses that information to not only track down Rin but to also discredit him in Ozzy’s eyes. Sigi and Ozzy’s faith in Rin is shaken, but their love for the wizard helps maintain their trust in his magical promises. A great end to this fast-paced fantasy series for ages 12 and up.

Wizard for Hire: Apprentice Needed by Obert Skye

Ozzy Toffy believes his past life is totally behind him. During his adventures in New Mexico, Ozzy learned that his parents are dead, killed by the company that wanted to manipulate their scientific research for financial gains. So Ozzy has moved on, finding a new life and home with Clark, Sigi, and Sigi’s mother. However, Ozzy begins to experience hypnotic trances that draw him unwittingly into the ocean. These life-threatening experiences plunge Ozzy, Rin, Clark, and Sigi back into the world Ozzy’s parents were trying desperately to escape.

Skye reintroduces readers into Ozzy’s magically adventurous coming of age story. At the start of this book, Ozzy has accepted a magical happy ending with his parents is totally gone. This makes him pursue his own realistic ending, thinking it involves living the life of a normal teenager and staying away from anything that once involved his parents. Unfortunately, his parents’ past just won’t leave him alone once the hypnotic trances begin. So more detecting and deduction needs to happen before Ozzy unknowingly drowns himself. Ozzy eventually accepts that his normal life is totally gone when Rin returns and brings magic into Ozzy’s life again. Once he makes this mental switch, Ozzy finds that he has his own fantastical secrets to uncover. This thoughtful and whimsical read will have fans begging for the final book.

Wizard for Hire by Obert Skye

Seven-year-old Ozzy Toffy and his PhD parents spontaneously move to an off-grid cabin deep in the Oregon woods. But soon after moving in armed men kidnap Ozzy’s parents leaving him on his own. Thankfully a basement full of canned goods, a talking mechanical bird, and Ozzy’s own determination help him to survive. Seven years later, fourteen-year-old Ozzy finally escapes the confines of his forest home to experience the world and search for his parents. A magazine ad catches his eye to hire a wizard to solve any problem. Ozzy employs the wizard, Rin, and their adventures begin. Several hearty breakfasts, road trips, car chases, and snoopings later, Rin and Ozzy discover the corporation behind the Toffy’s disappearance.

What do you get when you mix adventure, heart, and mystery, with magic and humor, plus survival and science-fiction? You get the rich, complex recipe behind Wizard for Hire. Readers follow Ozzy as he creates a happy life in his forest-cloaked cabin. Eventually that type of existence is not enough for him. Ozzy wants his parents and he needs answers. But the more he involves the authorities, the more his secluded way of life is threatened. Having no choice, he turns to an unusual source for help, a so-called “wizard”. Ozzy wants Rin to wave a magic wand and solve it all effortlessly, but no one works that way, not even a wizard. Only hard work, persistence, and faith can solve Ozzy’s problems, but Rin adds just a pinch of magic to the mix. A fun, action-packed read for ages 12 and up.

Lost & Found: Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye, illustrations by Keith Thompson

While lost in their Marvin-mindset, Tobias and Charlotte are attacked in their room by a creature who supposedly protects the Witherwood grounds. Soon after Charlotte is whisked off to the girls’ dormitory leaving Tobias imprisoned in his confining cot accommodations. However, Tobias stumbles upon his secret notations and injuries himself out of Marvin’s mental hold. With a clear head, Tobias searches for his sister and a way out.

Lost & Found in Skye’s Witherwood trilogy will have readers rolling on the floors with laughter but glued to their seats in nail-biting suspense. Skye’s brilliantly quirky narration at chapter beginnings may be hilarious, but these nuggets of insight do two things: foreshadow events for Tobias and Charlotte and give empowering advice to young readers. Skye exacerbates the story’s tension by making Tobias and Charlotte pretend to be submissively clueless kids as they secretly gather clues to comprehend Marvin’s demonic scheme. But behind the humor and adventure, there is also real heart to Skye’s story regarding the Eggers family. Anger, loss, and misbehavior may have driven them to fall apart in Book 1, but the foundational love of being a united family drives each to find one another again, no matter the odds. A magnificently written series no reader should pass up.   

Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye, illustrations by Keith Thompson

When Tobias and Charlotte’s dad, Ralph Eggers, witnesses a prank the siblings pull on their cantankerous nanny, Ralph feels he has no choice but to scare his children into submission. Immediately, he drives his kids to the top of a strange mesa and abandons them outside the ominous gates of Witherwood Reform School. With threatening weather coming, Tobias and Charlotte have no choice but to enter the gloomy grounds when their father doesn’t return. But once they gain shelter inside the school, Tobias and Charlotte are unwillingly enrolled into the prison-like establishment where strange creatures patrol the grounds at night.

Skye’s witty dialog and Thompson’s captivating illustrations chronicle the fateful beginning of the Witherwood Reform School series. Each chapter is setup with tidbits of Skye’s amusing commentary or humorous practical advice before delving into Tobias, Charlotte, or Ralph’s stories. This structure will make readers not only ravenous for the Eggers’ narrative, but also famished for Skye’s cryptic words of wisdom. One aspect of Skye’s series that sets it apart from other middle-grade fantasy is his addition of Ralph’s story. Skye brings to light that parents of tween protagonists can also experience their own transformative adventures. Ralph’s perspective gives added suspense and depth to Tobias and Charlotte’s tale. This well-crafted novel is destined to become a best-seller. Skye’s next book in the series, Lost & Found, will be released in March 2016.