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The Wizard in My Window
When Timothy Collier finds a mark etched in his bedroom window that resembles a wizard with a pointy hat, his family concludes it's just one more thing to replace in their big old house. But when a book with blank pages begins to display magical items, one by one they appear in the house. Soon chaos erupts and the Collier family is face to face with an ancient wizard's greatest powers and deadliest enemies.
- GenresFantasy
284 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2013
1 person is currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
J. David Clarke
5 books29 followersJ. David Clarke was published in the literary journal of Tarrant County Jr College before moving on to become a Fine Arts graduate of Southwest Texas State University.
He has written four books: one collection of short stories called "The Rubberband Man and Other Stories". The YA fantasy adventure THE WIZARD IN MY WINDOW. MISSING TIME, Volume 1 of a science fiction series called "313" and Volume 2, TIME SPENT. He is currently working on Volume 3, TIME LOST and anticipates its release in 2014. He is also currently working on an epic fantasy series called "Keeper of Days", Volume 1 of which, "The Book of Day and Night", he hopes to have completed in 2014.
He is a lover of all things nerd: movies, television, books, science fiction/fantasy, role playing, and gaming.
He lives in Texas with his cat, Nightingale.
He has written four books: one collection of short stories called "The Rubberband Man and Other Stories". The YA fantasy adventure THE WIZARD IN MY WINDOW. MISSING TIME, Volume 1 of a science fiction series called "313" and Volume 2, TIME SPENT. He is currently working on Volume 3, TIME LOST and anticipates its release in 2014. He is also currently working on an epic fantasy series called "Keeper of Days", Volume 1 of which, "The Book of Day and Night", he hopes to have completed in 2014.
He is a lover of all things nerd: movies, television, books, science fiction/fantasy, role playing, and gaming.
He lives in Texas with his cat, Nightingale.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 1, 2014
The Wizard in My Window by J. David Clarke is slightly outside of my normal fare for reading. There are a lot of people who live and breathe YA (Young Adult), particular YA Fantasy. I am not one of those people. I feel it takes a lot to stand out in such a saturated genre. Now that I've given my disclaimer, let me begin by saying that The Wizard in My Window does indeed stand out.
The short novel/long novella follows the Collier Family as they move into their new home. While his elder 15-year-old sister Nicole is too busy in her world of teenage angst, Timothy claims the upstairs room with a peculiar mark in the window. That mark is, you guessed it, in the shape of a wizard. It doesn't take much time at all before a magical spell book called the Magus Liber appears followed my a new relic each day. As the kids learn what these artifacts are capable of (and begin playing with them in properly reckless youth fashion), ancient beings are drawn to its power.
Where this book excels is in its narrative. It is refreshingly nonlinear and takes a couple of unexpected sharp turns during the adventure. One of my personal pet peeves with the YA fantasy genre is its overuse of the coming-of-age template. I was happy to see Clarke exercised some real creativity in breaking this mold. I was happy to say at about three-quarters of the way through, that I couldn't tell exactly where the story would end up. The main characters in this story are also very well defined, and Clarke did a good job giving each Collier (even the baby) a distinct personality.
The Wizard in My Window could use a little improvement, in my opinion, with character dialogue. Sometimes what the characters have to say is somewhat pedestrian, perhaps bordering on corny. This is most noticeable, I think, with the book's villains. My second issue has to deal with the way the characters expressed emotion. Sometimes characters yell in ALL CAPS or with multiple exclamation marks. This is particularly true from Nicole. I found it to be somewhat distracting.
Overall, The Wizard in My Window is an entertaining, fast read. It's a good choice for young adults and big adults alike.
The short novel/long novella follows the Collier Family as they move into their new home. While his elder 15-year-old sister Nicole is too busy in her world of teenage angst, Timothy claims the upstairs room with a peculiar mark in the window. That mark is, you guessed it, in the shape of a wizard. It doesn't take much time at all before a magical spell book called the Magus Liber appears followed my a new relic each day. As the kids learn what these artifacts are capable of (and begin playing with them in properly reckless youth fashion), ancient beings are drawn to its power.
Where this book excels is in its narrative. It is refreshingly nonlinear and takes a couple of unexpected sharp turns during the adventure. One of my personal pet peeves with the YA fantasy genre is its overuse of the coming-of-age template. I was happy to see Clarke exercised some real creativity in breaking this mold. I was happy to say at about three-quarters of the way through, that I couldn't tell exactly where the story would end up. The main characters in this story are also very well defined, and Clarke did a good job giving each Collier (even the baby) a distinct personality.
The Wizard in My Window could use a little improvement, in my opinion, with character dialogue. Sometimes what the characters have to say is somewhat pedestrian, perhaps bordering on corny. This is most noticeable, I think, with the book's villains. My second issue has to deal with the way the characters expressed emotion. Sometimes characters yell in ALL CAPS or with multiple exclamation marks. This is particularly true from Nicole. I found it to be somewhat distracting.
Overall, The Wizard in My Window is an entertaining, fast read. It's a good choice for young adults and big adults alike.
February 9, 2014
The book introduces you to the Collier family. Their move to a new town, to their new home – a rather old house, is full of obstacles. When the children are shown their new rooms, Timothy immediately discovers a mark in his window. It looks like a wizard. Timothy finds an old book in the attic. At first its pages are blank – not for long… His older sister Nichole becomes his partner in hiding and applying the appearing magick. This plot is based on a great concept, taking me in, immediately. I will not tell you more about the story than shown in the Goodreads plot description. This would spoil the fun of reading this book yourself and/or buying it for your kids.
With this great young adult fantasy novel The Wizard in My Window, J. David Clarke provides us with a very entertaining story. Carlos Ruiz Zafón once stated something like this: ‘As an adult I wrote the adventure novels I would have appreciated as a kid’. This could very well have been J. David Clarke’s intention as well, as he wrote The Wizard in My Window. A good read for all readers who enjoy young adult urban fantasy novels in an everyday and sometimes quite different environment.
With this great young adult fantasy novel The Wizard in My Window, J. David Clarke provides us with a very entertaining story. Carlos Ruiz Zafón once stated something like this: ‘As an adult I wrote the adventure novels I would have appreciated as a kid’. This could very well have been J. David Clarke’s intention as well, as he wrote The Wizard in My Window. A good read for all readers who enjoy young adult urban fantasy novels in an everyday and sometimes quite different environment.
April 29, 2014
I won this book in a giveaway. Overall it was an enjoyable you adult book. However it definitely falls at the younger end of the young adult spectrum for the most part with a few interesting exceptions. I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning and the interactions between the siblings, they were very typical of of the types of conversations I have witnessed and were unique enough that they did not become monotonous. The trouble for me is that the looks at the magical creatures and the interactions between them and main characters seem rather shallow or half baked. This is not to say that they are bad, but they will seem to have nothing beyond a general personality with few personal quirks that make a character come to life. The plot begins interestingly enough but then falls into certain tropes which had my interest waning; the damsel in distress, the doomed love, and the tragic character all make appearances. Overall this book can be worth a read for those new to the young adult genre but not an essential. If you are looking for books that might be more gripping the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud, the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, or the many books by Terry Pratchett my be better choices.
August 13, 2014
This is a fun story about a young boy who realizes his calling as something much more fantastic and thrilling than he ever could have imagined.
I really appreciated that this wasn't the typical "no one believes him" plotline. Pretty quickly, his older sister jumps on his side and begins to help him realize the extent of the secret he's stumbled upon. And by the end of the book, his parents are believers as well. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
The writing is fantastic and the dialogue was well written. It can be difficult to write child and young adult dialogue, but J. David Clark pulled it off exceptionally well.
My one criticism, and it's really more of an opinion than anything, is that I thought perhaps the older sister jumped on board a little too quickly. Speaking as someone who was once a teenage girl, I'm not sure that she would have believed her little brother or bought into the idea of magic as quickly as she did. But it was more of a raised eyebrow in my mind as opposed to something that detracted from the story.
It's a fun read with an enjoyable plot! I highly recommend it.
I really appreciated that this wasn't the typical "no one believes him" plotline. Pretty quickly, his older sister jumps on his side and begins to help him realize the extent of the secret he's stumbled upon. And by the end of the book, his parents are believers as well. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
The writing is fantastic and the dialogue was well written. It can be difficult to write child and young adult dialogue, but J. David Clark pulled it off exceptionally well.
My one criticism, and it's really more of an opinion than anything, is that I thought perhaps the older sister jumped on board a little too quickly. Speaking as someone who was once a teenage girl, I'm not sure that she would have believed her little brother or bought into the idea of magic as quickly as she did. But it was more of a raised eyebrow in my mind as opposed to something that detracted from the story.
It's a fun read with an enjoyable plot! I highly recommend it.
March 25, 2014
it was really amazing! i really love how the author describes all the magical characters. couldn't help turning the pages to see what happens next.as i'm reading the book i was visioning the stories in my mind like i was watching a movie! was really fantastical! and definitely will read it again!
June 24, 2014
This was a great story. I enjoyed it immensely. Great imagination and great job! I liked the character Timothy(sp?). He was a likeable character and I hope he survives everything and lives out his life.
February 23, 2015
I'm a fan of J. David Clarke's writing and this story definitely did not disappoint. The Colliers are a very likeable family and the Nympharum, among others, are well written. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre, YA or otherwise, pick this up. It's a fun book and you won't be disappointed.
April 23, 2014
I won this book in the First Reads program. I had a hard time beginning and finishing this book. The story is pretty young for me. It's listed in the YA category, and to be generous, it would have to be a very, very young adult in my opinion. I'd say this book is maybe written for 5th grade. I was immediately put off by the simple language and the double spaced type. Regardless, I did enjoy the story for the most part once things started rolling. The suspense of the wizard in the window and the magical objects held my attention. I wasn't a fan of the knight character. I didn't feel like there was enough development of the knight, wizard, or fairy queen's lives before all of this happened. Unfortunately, there were quite a few points where the author used the age-old "I never explained this earlier, but this is just how it is" excuse to keep the story on pace. The children in this book discover something magical and hide it from the parents, which is a typical YA theme. Things get a little weird for me when world expands to include the parents in the fantasy. Overall I just felt the book was a little too young when compared with other YA books. The story had some interesting elements, however I feel like this book would do among a younger audience since that seems to be for who it was written.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews