A Wizard Alone

"Honey, the dog wants to know the meaning of life!"
Kit rubbed his forehead tempted to find himself trying to hide his eyes. "Give him a dog biscuit and tell him its an allegory."
"What, life?"
***
I've just finished reading the sixth book of Diane Duane's Young Wizard Series, A Wizard Alone.

The adventures continue with Nita and Kit. After the death of her mother, Nita is in a depression. Kit on the otherhand is busy exploring the new capabilities of his dog, Ponch. He thinks there's a wizardry likeage in the house. His father could hear the DVD and the TV arguing while his mother can hear Ponch asking her about the meaning of Life. The senior wizards has assigned Kit to a new assignment. He was to investigate the disappearance of a would-be wizard who was currently taking the Ordeal, the wizard's test. Nobody's supposed to take a test that long. Something was up.
Something was. The kid, Darryl was in a school. He was there physically but mentally, not. Another thing Kit finds out, Darryl is Autistic!
How can an Autistic boy find the Winzard's Oath?
Futher more, he seems to be at two places at once. Or maybe more. While Kit searches for him in Darryl's mind, Nita is visited nightly in her dreams by Darryl himself. She finds out that he is a Pillar, a person who could or couldn't be a wizard but is given immense power by the One (God or Holy Trinity).
The Lone Power, Satan, is after Darryl. Nita must find a way to save Darryl and Kit and Ponch who were stuck in Darryl's mind with him.
It seems Darryl does possess a higher power. With a bit of encouragement from Nita and Kit, he is able to open up and accept what Wizardry is. He takes Nita, Kit, Ponch and himself out of his personal universe. Now, he is a wizard and chooses to come out of his autism. Kit and Nita gets a scolding for cutting classes and Darryl's parents gets a shock. He suddenly wakes up from his corner and demands to go home.
Lovely story. Very creative. The mix of Darryl's understanding and his autism is beautifully merged in the story. Who would have thought of it! It makes me shiver to think about the concepts in the book.
I'll leave you all to read it and find out. for now, Let me share to you some quotes from the book:

*

"We're wizards. We're supposed to get comfortable with the uncomfortable complex."
--Kit
"I never thought goodness could be so though, so strong. But then again... I think goodness isn't something I'd think about a whole lot. Nobody uses the word much unless it's in a commmercial..."
--Nita
"Virtue, the real thing, Isn't some kind of cuddy teddy bear you can keep on the shelf untill you need a hug... Virtue has its own agenda, and believe me, it's not always yours. The word itseld means strength, power."
-- Carl, Senior Advisory Wizard.
"The trouble with saints these days are the robe-and-halo imagery that gets stuck into it. People forget that robes were street clothes once... and still are in a lot of places. Halos are the fierce air of innocence what speech balloons in comics are to the sound of voice itself. But people just see an old symbol and don't bother looking behind it for the meaning. Sainthood starts to look old-fathioned, unattainable... and even repellant."
"But Saints tend to be not too obvious. For one thing, they don't want to attract the Lone One's attention to them. Also, they tend to be too busy. Mostly, Sainthood involves hard work." --Carl