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Picked up this book twice. The first time I just never got around to reading it before it was due at the library. The second time, I made a point to read it first, and it is FANTASTIC!
The MC flees a terrible family situation and stumbles into an Evil Wizard Bookstore, where he's trapped. Faced with a curmudgeonly old evil wizard, and a library / bookstore that prods him in the right direction, he is forced to learn magic.
There's a showdown with were-coyotes and their motorcycle-driving gang leader, townspeople who are seals taken from the sea and stripped of their skins (and sealness), and lots of previous apprentices who need saving. And there's all sorts of magic. It's a great read, and was a favorite of both my teens.
