Magic Required

Obert Skye — 2020

When Ozzy's scientist parents are kidnapped, he responds to a classified ad in the local newspaper and hires a "wizard" named Rin who claims that his magic is real, but Ozzy isn't convinced. In the final book of the Wizard for Hire trilogy, Ozzy and his friend (and Rin's daughter), Sigi, are in danger. They are still being hunted by Ray, the power-mad villain who will stop at nothing to find the formula to the mind-controlling discipline serum--one that Ozzy's parents created and injected into him. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead, Rin introduces Ozzy to four more friends who also claim magical, wizard-like abilities. Again, Ozzy has no reason to believe that magic exists or that Rin's eccentric friends can help. With the injection of the mind-controlling serum, Ozzy is learning to control the minds of animals as well as people. His new powers make him wonder if magic is necessary. Rin says believing is key to seeing the magic all around us, but Ozzy isn't so sure anymore. Rin, Ozzy, and Sigi must act quickly, as the minds and free will of all mankind are in danger of being controlled by whoever controls the serum. The wild ride plays out in a nonstop, nail-biting battle at a popular fantasy convention. In this series finale, Ozzy will find out if his kidnapped parents are still alive, and he'll discover that real friends are like magic: they make the impossible, possible.

Reviews

Leelynn Brady@sometimesleelynnreads

Oct 19, 2021

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication. This was such a cute book, and I’m so glad I got to read it. I didn’t have the pleasure of reading the first two books in this series, but I think that even without this background I did a pretty good job of figuring out what was going on. The kind of imagination that went into this story was absolutely great, and it really is interesting to see what kind of worlds and journeys can come out of middle grade fantasies. Seriously people, MG novels need way more love than they currently get because some of these books have been the ones keeping me going lately. I also think about how even with all of the evidence showing for Ozzy, I could understand why he still questions whether or not magic is really real. It’s hard as well when people are are going missing and there seems to be some sort of mind-control serum that really does not help with the whole free-will thing that we humans love to support. To think about having to deal with those kinds of complex issues as a young person – not so much a young adult but not a child either – can be super intense! I think that this was such a great conclusion to this book series, and I think books like this remind me – and others – that magic does exist in the world.