"Did we just go back in time
? Last I looked this was the twenty-first century, not the seventeenth
!"
—Wisteria Allgood
Whitford "Whit" Allgood and his younger sister Wisteria "Wisty" have been accused of being a wizard and witch. The government decides that they're "different" and sentences them to death. However, as the page quote suggests, it’s not the time of the original witch trials, but
Twenty Minutes Into the Future, when the New Order has taken over the government and condemned art.
At first, Whit and Wisty are convinced there must have been a misunderstanding, but then their powers start to show.
This book provides examples of:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Both the title of the book and the names of the two protagonists.
- Adults Are Useless: Which is why there is a secret community of kids living in an abandoned department store.
- Air Vent Passageway: Justified. Wisty turns herself into a mouse before attempting this.
- All Animals Are Dogs: Averted. Lions and weasels act like they're supposed to, and the New Order has ordered all dogs in their Utopian city litter-box trained.
- Animorphism: Wisty turns herself into a mouse.
- Arson, Murder and Jaywalking: “Guns? Soldiers? In our house? In a free country? In the middle of the night? A ‘school’ night, even.”
- Blue Eyes: Of the heroic variety. Four of the good guys have them.
- Big Bad: The One Who Is The One.
- Body Horror: A cockroach, who is really a human, gets his head bitten off by a giant rat.
- Pearce melts several people's faces in the third book.
- Burn the Witch: Has become popular again.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The One Who Is The One.
- The Empire: The New Order is certainly one.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: "Witch and Wizard". What do you think it’s about?
- Fiery Redhead: Played straight with Wisty.
- Fun with Acronyms: N.O., The New Order. Lampshaded by Whit- "NO. It seemed totally appropriate, even a touch poetic."
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: A prisoner in the New Order Reformatory.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Whit's blank journal will occasionally show them something interesting or helpful, but it's a crapshoot.
- Hair of Gold: Whit.
- Hazel Eyes: Byron.
- Heel Face Turn: The Traitorous Weasel who used to be Byron.
- How We Got Here: The prologue starts the book off at the Allgoods’ execution. The epilogue ends at the Allgoods’ execution.
- Improbable Weapon User: Wisty uses a drumstick as a magic wand.
- It May Help You on Your Quest: Before being taken away, Whit and Wisty are given an empty book and a drumstick, respectively.
- La Résistance: A group of escaped kids hiding in a department store.
- Little Miss Snarker: Wisty.
- Magic Wand: Although it doesn’t look like one at first…
- Meaningful Name: The protagonists’ last name is Allgood.
- The Mole: Jonathan. Someone certainly knows a lot about how to act around the New Order.
- Parody Names: The back of the book contains a list of works and artists banned by the New Order. Among them- The Pitcher in the Wheat, The Thunder Stealer, Gary Blotter and the Guild of Rejects, The Firegirl Saga, The Eldest Dragon, We Shall Be Titans, The Walking Heads, Brawlers.
- Playing with Fire: Wisty often catches on fire.
- Shout-Out: To the author’s other series, Maximum Ride.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: The heroes of this book are…the Allgoods.
- This Is Sparta: Twice. THESE KIDS…MUST…LIVE! and Nobody. Ever. ESCAPES!
- To Be Continued: How the book ends, hinting at the sequel.
- Too Dumb to Live: How The One Who Is The One treats any of his subordinates.
- Totally Radical: Much like James Patterson’s other young adult series, Maximum Ride.
- Twenty Minutes into the Future
- We Can Rule Together: The One Who Is The One offers this to the protagonists, even teaching them how to control their magic a small bit.
- Weasel Mascot: There is indeed a weasel, but he’s really a human and the protagonists are kind of forced to take him with them.
- Witch Hunt: What the New Order is doing to those who go against their ideals.
- You Can't Fight Fate: 6 prophecies have been made about the Allgood family, and so far it looks like they're all going to come true. Even the one about Whit and Wisty dying.
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