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Honors and Awards

  • A VOYA Perfect Ten
  • Named to the New York Public Library 2008 Books for the Teen Age
  • An International Reading Association Young Adult Choice 2009
  • VOYA's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror List, 2007

Wizard Heir Reviews

TeenReadsToo 1/07
Rating: 5 stars
Fun, exciting, non-stop reading. I didn’t let it out of my sight until I found the time to finish it. I think I may have a crush on Seph. What can I say; I like the dark, edgy guys.

 

Kirkus May 15, 2007
A fantasy trilogy of high-stakes magical politics gains depth with this second entry. Orphaned teen Seph McCauley knows that he is different. As one of the magically talented Weir, residing secretly amongst ordinary folk, Seph's powers will soon spiral out of control if he cannot make contact with his own kind. … Arrogant, angry and too clever by half, he displays the typical faults of the Wizard Guild; but his basic decency and his (barely acknowledged) need to belong evoke sympathy and affection. As the graphic savagery of magical plots and counterplots builds to an explosive showdown, the tale remains rooted in Seph's all-too-human vulnerability. This sequel improves on the original, leaving fans eager for the foreshadowed resolution. (Fantasy. YA)

 

VOYA June, 2007
5Q * 5P * M * J * S
Fans of The Warrior Heir (Hyperion/DBG, 2006/VOYA February 2006) will be thrilled with this exceptional follow-up novel. … This story is tighter, more complex, and even more intense than the first novel, moving the narrative forward at a determined pace… Chima uses her pen like a wand and crafts a wonderfully rich web of magic, while thankfully leaving some dangling threads for subsequent tales

 

Author's good vs. evil sequel is a sterling heir to the original
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Sunday, May 13, 2007
by Rollie Welch

Chima nimbly dodges the sophomore jinx. She opens her story in a Toronto warehouse packed with underage drinkers, where Seph McCauley is cornered by Alicia. The seductress drugs the young wizard, unleashing his awesome powers that ignite a deadly inferno. Legal high-ups sign off on a transfer and the edgy and brooding 16-year-old is enrolled at the Havens, an isolated Maine boarding school. The author's choice of this bleak backdrop perfectly conveys Seph's peril.

Waiting for him is headmaster Gregory Leicester, a wizard who needs Seph's powers to execute his loathsome plan. Refreshingly, Seph is still trying to be just a kid. The young wizard is smitten with artist Madison Moss, a girl who doesn't hang on the sidelines when danger arises.

Chima is a talented storyteller. She keeps her large cast of sorcerers, seers, enchanters, warriors and wizards from becoming fuzzy, and executes no cheap magical moves.the last third of the story will thrill readers who desire some oomph to their reading. A strong choice for teens seeking a rousing read.

Welch is a young adult librarian at Cleveland Public Library.

 

TEENREADS.COM
Sixteen-year-old Seph (Joseph) McCauley is a double orphan. His parents died in a tragic accident so long ago that he doesn't’t remember them. (At least that’s what the paperwork says; Seph’s pretty sure it’s fake.) Not too long ago he lost Genevieve, the woman who raised him and cared for him. Since then he’s been shipped from town to town, from school to school. The only thing that stays the same is the reason he keeps having to leave. Weird things happen around Seph--birds attacking, explosions, fires--and the last time, somebody died. Seph knows that if he could find someone to train him, he could control, or harness, or even use his magic. If it does’t happen soon, he might just self-destruct. Literally.

Fun, exciting, non-stop reading. I didn’t let it out of my sight until I found the time to finish it. I think I may have a crush on Seph. What can I say; I like the dark, edgy guys.

Rating: 5 Stars