James Patterson co-writes the books in his new Witch and Wizard series with a variety of writers.  In the first book, Witch and Wizard, co-written with Gabrielle Charonnet, he introduces Wisty and Whit Allgood who have magical powers that they don't know about until they are arrested by the guards of the New Order, an evil group headed by The One who is the One. When they are arrested, the teens are each allowed to take one item to jail with them. Curiously, their parents send them with a drumstick and a book with no visible words. Of course, they are actually a magic wand and a book of spells. The kids begin to realize they have special powers when Wisty in a fit of anger bursts into flames. Soon she is transforming people into creatures, creating tornadoes, and shooting lightning bolts from her hands. While Whit and Wisty are locked up in a reformatory, they are bullied by the guards, but with some magical help they manage to escape and join with the resistance movement. The next two books in the series are The Gift  (Ned Rust) and The Fire (Jill Dembowski).  (Sharon Nehls for Colorado Blue Spruce Award, 2013)