My Wizard Buddy

By Brian Wu and Scott Spotson

An exciting story full of spells, great adventure and friendship. One day, lonely 11-year-old Tyler Dunsmore wishes out loud for a best friend. Not only does his wish come true, but his new best buddy is Dirk, a 11-year-old magical being who is from another world and is unfamiliar with Earth. Prepare to face scary alligator soldiers, defeat a berserk giant octopus, and use lots of magic!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Wu
• Release date: Dec 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310675072

Brian Wu

Brian Wu, a 7th year MD/PhD, is on track to finishing his PhD in 2014 and has a goal to becoming a Sports Medicine Physician with a focus on holistic care and treatment. The idea for writing the Storybook Illustrated Guides first occurred to Brian as a fifth grader, when he wrote a story "Wacky Olympics and Body Wars", which is a personification of the immune system and how our bodies fight disease. Since then, the idea has matured over the years and the result is nothing short of astonishing. Brian has created a revolutionary series of books that raises the bar where children’s health education is concerned. There’s nothing else like the SIGuides on the market today. Brian believes children should understand medical conditions they acquire, so that they can take good care of themselves and lead full lives. He has a way of writing about complex medical topics at a level that children comprehend. Brian understands the value of empowering children with diseases, enabling them to play an active role in their own treatment and recovery process. Brian values the ability for all ages to learn from the power of stories. He has the passion to share his love of science and medicine through these stories with the world. The power of storytelling stems from the fact that stories can teach without overbearing. Learning comes naturally when engaging both logical and creative sides of the brain. The facts surrounding each disease appeal to the logical side, making the story engaging and the learning fun. Brian knows that if he can help even a single person then the project will be well worth it. Brian’s interests include writing and entrepreneurship. He is married and loves his wife dearly. Contact Brian Wu at [e-mail] More information on Brian can be found at http://www.brianwwu.com

Book preview

My Wizard Buddy

My Wizard Buddy

by

Brian Wu & Scott Spotson

My Wizard Buddy

Copyright © 2017 Brian Wu & Scott Spotson

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Cover Design by Donna Murillo of DHM Designs

Formatting by Daniel J. Weber

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts embodied in critical reviews, or promotion of the book, or certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people, except with the written permission of the publisher or by the publisher giving out a free copy. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter One

That looks like a UFO spaceship, with a dome at the top…

Straw-haired, with freckles about his nose and cheeks, 11-year-old Tyler Dunsmore lay on the grassy meadow, staring straight up at the puffy, marshmallow-like clouds above. He scraped a fresh baby dandelion with his thumbnail, smearing watery yellow juice all over the tip of his thumb.

Today was Sunday, but there would again be school tomorrow. Yuk. It was a bright, warm early afternoon in late May as Tyler daydreamed in the meadow, a five minutes walk from his suburban house in Providence, Rhode Island. The sun shone fiercely, but a gentle breeze wafted in.

This morning his parents had screamed at him because he wouldn’t give back his sister’s electronic tablet. Yes, in her best nasty tone of voice, she’d promised to draw on his bedroom walls with her favorite permanent marker. Lily Dunsmore, insufferable at 13—well, any age, really—was the perfect example of the raven-haired, scrawny sister who had a knack of sniffing out any trouble on his part. Even if he never said out loud the wicked thought, she would somehow figure him out. Then she’d blab it out to their parents.

Why did their parents give her a tablet all to herself, and he had nothing? It wasn’t fair. She used it for stupid texting back and forth between her hundreds of friends, about the latest in gossip and boys and celebrities and the coolest websites…

They had a deal. Tyler scrunched his mouth in disgust. She’d download a game—the hottest game around, Mythic Wizard III—in exchange for his promise not to argue against her choice of movie during the next family movie night. Even if the film was about a princess with ninja powers.

The deal evaporated once Lily’d gotten a phone call from her bestie to please check the text messages on her tablet. At that same moment, in his own room, Tyler eyed the gleaming, brand-new Mythic Wizard III game on the surface of the tablet, ready to play…

The parents, Brandon and Kelly Dunsmore, next found brother and sister engaging in a screaming, free-for-all tug-of-war over the precious tablet, right in his own bedroom. Lily sure could land blows just like the best of any 11-year-old boy around. He gingerly touched his left biceps, then his ribs on the right side. They still hurt.

And Owen wasn’t any help either. Tyler’s pint-sized six-year-old brother, sharing the same wheat-colored hair, had run into the room, urging Lily to hit Tyler harder. Figures. They always formed a united team against Tyler.

And Mum and Dad had yelled, scolded, and wagged their fingers at all three of them, telling them to please behave, and to please find other things more important to do. And the parents took away the prized tablet until supper time. All three siblings had pleaded, begged, and whined—to no avail.

It was so not fair.

And now, he really missed the new Mythic Wizard III. Just when he was about to play it for the first time.

Lily wasn’t going to let Tyler touch it any time soon. It was still her tablet.

Mum and Dad had told Tyler several times that he wasn’t old enough to have a tablet of his own. You’ll just play on it all day, they told him. You won’t go out.

But his friends did just that.

They had all the latest, the coolest games. Their parents were so understanding. They gave their eleven-year-old sons what they needed for excitement, and everyone was happy. Why couldn’t his mom and dad see that? Tyler found it hard to make friends at school, given that everyone in his class talked about Dungeon Doom, Battlefield, or the next hit video game to wow every eleven-year-old boy in America. And now, the latest craze was Mythic Wizard III. It seemed like only last Christmas that its predecessor, Mythic Wizard II, was played over and over on every screen in every boy’s house in the country. This one is even more awesome than number II, Matt, a classmate, had breathlessly told Tyler.

Tyler sulked some more.

Looking up again at the billowy clouds, he squinted and tried to imagine a bunny. Then he blinked.

I wish I had a best friend, he said to no one.

A shadow loomed over Tyler’s line of vision, blocking out the glare of the sun.

Tyler sat straight up. In front of him stood another boy, about his age. Normal height, with jet-black hair, and a slightly upturned nose. The mysterious boy grinned.

Curious, holding his hand up near his forehead to block out the sun, Tyler stared at the boy, waiting for him to make his first move.

I wanna be your best friend, the boy said.

Chapter Two

Tyler squinted some more, still trying to get a better view of the stranger. A halo appeared around the boy’s head, thanks to the blazing sun behind him.

Who are you? Tyler asked. He stood up and found out they were about the same height.

Dirk, the boy replied, hands on hips.

Hey, Dirk. You go to Castlefrank?

No. The boy smiled.

What school do ya go to?

The one on my planet.

Tyler jerked his head back. Strange boy. Huh?

Dirk had a wide, friendly smile. I’m a wizard.

Without meaning to, Tyler suddenly bent down while guffawing. He covered his mouth, covering

Reviews for My Wizard Buddy

[a.berry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tyler, a somewhat unpopular boy, wishes for a best friend and one arrives like magic - a young wizard named Dirk. A great best friend, Dirk protects Tyler from bullies, helps him become one of the coolest boys at school, and takes him on wild adventures.This is a great YA novel!

[arkhamreviews · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Firstly, I'd just like to state a slight confusion as to the target audience of this series. Although Goodreads advises me that this is a young adult series everything about it screams middle grade, from the title to the premise to the age of the protagonist. However, that said, some of the language used in the novel seemed a little complex for 10-12 year olds. It also doesn't localise that well. Being from England, I had to Google several terms because I'd never heard them myself and so this is possibly something to bear in mind if you're buying this novel for a non-American child.This aside, My Wizard Buddy is a fun read that's full of imagination. The protagonist, Tyler, is a convincing 11 year old boy, eager to fit in and be accepted by the more popular kids in his class. I found him to be very easy to relate to, as I think everyone's had that moment in their life where they feel lonely and wish that they could befriend someone magical. Dirk's magic seemingly has no limits and therefore the novel certainly kept me turning the page as I was never sure what he would conjure next.However, while the story is nice for a light read, it really has no depth. Characters range from being undeveloped characatures (such as Tyler's snotty older sister) to simply being indistinguishable from one another (all the boys in Tyler's class). As the adventures are all essentially one shots, there is no over running story and previous adventures are rarely brought up again after they conclude. There were also times when the plotting seemed to completely break down, such as one occurrence when Dirk appeared as asked Tyler if he was forgiven even though they had never previously fallen out. This was a bit of a shame as the quality of prose was generally pretty good and it was just sections like this that really let it down.All in all, I'd say this would make a fun light read for a very young teen but don't expect any depth in plotting or characterisation.

[nadishka-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first in the Wizard Buddy series. A nice idea to get boys to read - which can be a daunting task at times!
The story starts with Tyler Dunsmore worrying about his physical disability (he's deaf) and his inability to make friends. And there appears Dirk, a wizard, literally out of this air. The two immediately bond, although Dirk has a hard time understanding the concept of deafness and makes some blunt remarks. The rest of the tale takes the reader through the next 3 months during which Dirk helps Tyler gain more confidence in class, make new friends and learn some self-esteem.
The story is very sympathetic towards kids with disabilities who have to make their way through regular school. Tyler has to face bullies and unintentional unkindness that makes you really feel for his plight. He also learns to cope better with his problems, and he realizes that others have problems too - one boy has to cope with a parent with mental illness, while another has lost his Dad to cancer. Tyler also learns how to be a good friend in turn, and that true friendship needs work from both parties concerned.
My only negative thought about the book is this - as an adult I can appreciate and enjoy all the above, but would pre-teenage boys feel the same? There are some scenes full of excitement like when Dirk takes Tyler on some adventures, but I wonder if there is enough of that to sustain interest?