Bridget: 10/26: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078681859X/002-2367881-9487254?v=glance

Summary: 462pp. This book may appear to be somewhat of a Harry Potter knockoff but I assure you they very different books.

Plot in short: The story is set in modern day London. A young magician's apprentice named Nathaniel summons a djinn (5000 year old demon with really cool abilities) named Bartimaeus to help him steal an amulet from a older, more powerful magician because this magician had embarrassed him once. As readers, we discover that the amulet was stolen to do something big at the end of the story but you will have to read it yourself to find out what that is :)

Here are some cool things about this book that makes it differ from HP. Throughout the book there are footnotes (not unlike the ones you find in the Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker) which are always narrated by Bartimaeus, give some more detail to the new terms/characters used, and for the most part are used to add more humor to the story. Something else refreshing about this book is that humans are completely useless against the magicians. Also, there is no distinct dichotomy between the good magicians and the bad ones. Their motives may be driven by power, fear, and some even have noble motives too.

I would say that this book is less of a children's novel than Harry Potter. It's like the Looney Tunes cartoons or Scooby Doo or even Disney Movies like Aladdin: kids can enjoy the book but I think that adults would understand the jokes more.

If you like Harry Potter, I would recommend you try this book out. "Highly Recommended" for HP fans like me, "Recommended" for all others.