Wizard for Hire - Outside of a Dog

audio cd, 1 pages

Published March 6, 2018 by Shadow Mountain and Blackstone Audio.

ISBN:: 9781538545072

(1 review)

Fourteen-year-old Ozzy lives near Portland, Oregon, and is desperate for help. His scientist parents have been kidnapped after discovering a formula that enables mind control. Their work was so top secret Ozzy is afraid to go to the police, but without help, he fears he'll never find his parents. Then he stumbles across a classified ad in the local newspaper that says "Wizard for Hire. Call 555-SPEL." Ozzy has read about wizards in books like Harry Potter, but wizards couldn't actually exist today, could they? After Ozzy meets the wizard Labyrinth — aka Rin — he's even more skeptical.

Sure, Rin dresses like a wizard, but the short robe and high-top tennis shoes seem unorthodox, as does Rin's habit of writing notes on his shoes and eating breakfast for every meal. Plus, Rin doesn't even cast any magic spells, which means that the unexplained coincidences that start happening around Ozzy …

Fourteen-year-old Ozzy lives near Portland, Oregon, and is desperate for help. His scientist parents have been kidnapped after discovering a formula that enables mind control. Their work was so top secret Ozzy is afraid to go to the police, but without help, he fears he'll never find his parents. Then he stumbles across a classified ad in the local newspaper that says "Wizard for Hire. Call 555-SPEL." Ozzy has read about wizards in books like Harry Potter, but wizards couldn't actually exist today, could they? After Ozzy meets the wizard Labyrinth — aka Rin — he's even more skeptical.

Sure, Rin dresses like a wizard, but the short robe and high-top tennis shoes seem unorthodox, as does Rin's habit of writing notes on his shoes and eating breakfast for every meal. Plus, Rin doesn't even cast any magic spells, which means that the unexplained coincidences that start happening around Ozzy are just that — coincidences.

With the help of a robotic-talking raven invented by Ozzy's father, a kind and curious girl at school who decides to help Ozzy, and, of course, a self-proclaimed wizard who may or may not have a magical wand, Ozzy begins an unforgettable quest that will lead him closer to the answers he desperately seeks about his missing parents.

Books in this series

2 editions

Endless reviewed Wizard for hire by Obert Skye

Fun and a little more substantive than the usual YA fantasy

3 stars

By Obert Skye and the audio read by our fan-favorite Kirby Heyborne. A quick critique on the audio: at several points in the book the reader gets excited and shouts, and the audio mastering is such that it is loud and jarring -- we quickly had to turn it off in the presence of sleeping children, and I finished it with headphones later.

A fun little jaunt, and resonating with a wider experience base than most YA fantasy novels (eg divorce, abandonment, estranged family), as well as typical inclusions like "doesn't fit in." A fun quick read that was recommended by my 11-year old daughter.