129 — Witch & Wizard (w/ Renata & Kait from Worst Bestsellers)

Flaming letter W illustrating the James Patterson novel Witch and Wizard.

It’s the greatest crossover of all time—again!!—as the delightful Kait & Renata from Worst Bestsellers repay our James Patterson guest spot with one of their own, joining us for James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet’s Witch & Wizard. Yes, it’s dude magic and lady magic together again for the very first time, in a Frankensteined-up teen-centered dystopia slash … record scratch noise Holocaust metaphor? And the blandest title ever committed to print, with a prophecy naming the brother-and-sister team who will save the world after second-tier Disney semi-hit The Rescuers?

Look, we’re just as confused as you are, and we do this all the time. Anyway, this is a book (probably?) for modern-day teens (we think?) that includes an incredibly up-to-date reference to (racist caricature) Ming the Merciless on like page two, so it’s safe to say that it’s real James Patterson hours around here, folks. Anyways, Renata & Kait are great, this book is definitely not, and this episode is more fun than anybody can have without an heirloom drumstick and a leather-bound book.

Recommendations:

  • Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Gravity Falls on Hulu
  • Into the Spider-Verse
  • Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
  • Bluets by Maggie Nelson