SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD tells the classic tale of a girl and her pen. Nita just wants her pen back, guys. It's a really cool space pen that writes on everything. And that's it. That's the story.

Kidding! SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD is a YA classic that rightfully earns its place as such. Duane does an excellent job using showing vs telling to showcase an epic amount of world-building. In fact, I don't think there was any real info dumping. Just characters chatting and reading and being, well, 12. There's also an unexpected humor in the pages as the first 3/4 are Nita's Epic Quest to Get Her Pen Back. I mean, it's ridiculous. The pen is stolen by a bully, eaten by a white hole, and sucked into a hell dimension. Rude, pen. Rude.

Plus, and I can't expressed how pleased about this I am, there's effortless diversity. Nita and her friend Kit are both Hispanic and brown, and the first other wizards they meet are a queer couple. The star they befriend can be read as ace or possibly agender with "he" pronouns.

Overall, I'm toe-curling pleased with this read and would definitely recommend to anyone who likes YA or wants to investigate cornerstones of the modern YA genre.