Review: The Wizard Heir

***.5 to ****(out of 5)
Release Date: 2008 = already out and you can probably find a $4 copy from Amazon like I did. I finished this book yesterday, so I thought, why not review it? I would say ages 12 and up.
Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it's not his attitude that’s the problem. It’s the trail of magical accidents—lately, disasters—that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained—and his powers are escalating out of control.

After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys’ school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own dangerous agenda.

In this companion novel to the exciting fantasy The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow student who’s been warned to keep away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings, and the warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson. This wizard war is one that Seph may not have the strength to survive. (From B&N)

      This book is the sequel to The Warrior Heir and...was pretty good. First of all, there was the story, pretty original, enjoyable and interesting. Some exciting aspects were the action and unpredictable plot twists. It was well written, with lots of character development. It's even evident for Jack, the main character of the first book, who is changed by his previous experiences, He is not a naive kid anymore and has a harder time trusting people because of the thick deceit that used to surround his life. Seph, the main character of The Wizard Heir, changes from the beginning to the end. While he is at the Havens, a 'reform school', he undergoes torture and creulty, as well as having friends killed off by the evil Dr. Leicester. After he leaves the Havens, he is emotionally and mentally stronger, and he even says that he became "insensitized". At the same time it is hard for him to talk about his horrific experiences at the Havens. Ellen has also learned to relax, since she is not being used for someone else's agenda for once.
        What makes it 4 stars instead of 5? Pacing, and not creative solutions to the story's problems. I feel like I should have liked this book more than I did. I liked it well enough, but it was easy for me to become distracted while reading this book. I actually started it in...March? But then a book I wanted to read more came out, so I read that instead. I just picked it back up on Sunday. With an amazing and breathtaking read my eyes can be glued to the words all day, but with The Wizard Heir, I found myself starting to just want to check the computer for stuff or go do something else. One big problem was the pacing. Seph spends the first 200 pages in the Havens, and about half of that time going like this, "My dreams were filled with torture. I looked worse every day. The Alumni kept pushing me to join them. Leceister knows I can't hold out much longer." It just got boring. When Linda finally gets him out, I was hoping the story would finally begin. It got better, but the pacing was just too slow, with too many unnecessary discriptions.
        Another thing is that many times that there seemed to be any unsolvable problems, Chima would simply introduce a new character who would change the rules. This happens when Linda gets Seph out of the Havens, when Ellen saves Madison and Seph from the Alumni, SPOILER when Jason shows up in the basement where Hastings and Seph were being kept, and more. SPOILER END.
        So overall, a book that I would rather have borrowed from the library than bought, but I'm still glad to have read it.