Your Black Magic Is Off Target

Published: February 14th, 2012
Bewitching
By: Alex Flinn
HarperTeen
ISBN-13: 9780062024145


Kendra Hilferty, the witch who curses Kyle Kingsbury in Beastly, tells about her immortal existence-how she discovered she was a witch and the various ways she has used her powers to help people throughout the centuries. (Unfortunately her attempts have often backfired.) As it turns out, Kendra has actually had a hand in "Hansel and Gretel," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Little Mermaid"-but these are not the fairy tales you think you know! Kendra's reminiscences are wrapped around a real-time version of "Cinderella," except the "ugly" stepsister is the good guy. With dark twists, hilarious turns, and unexpected endings, Bewitching is a contemporary read for fairy-tale lovers, fantasy fans, and anyone looking for more Alex Flinn.

Review

   Kendra Hilferty has been around for a long time - so long that she lost her family to the Plague.  But she never died because she's a wtich, destined to live forever unless she's killed.  Kendra has been involved in many mishaps over the years, including some pretty famous ones.  She had a hand in the real events behind the stories of 'Hansel and Gretel', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Princess and the Pea' and of course, 'Beauty and the Beast.'  But nothing ever works out right and people only end up angry with Kendra.  So she's taking special care with her next project, the true Cinderella story of two stepsisters Lisette and Emma (but the 'ugly' stepsister is actually the good one).  Will she help or hurt Emma's chances of a happy ending?  And can Kendra find a happy ending for herself finally?  I was excited about this book because I really wanted to know more about Kendra.  I really love Alex Flinn's other books, so I thought this was a sure bet.  But I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  Probably because the majority of the book is focused on Lisette and Emma's story.  Even though Kendra's involved, I felt like I was shortchanged.  This book could have been way more about Kendra and her previous fairy tale adventures.  Instead I got a story that I didn't sign up for and that was honestly pretty boring.  The parts set in Kendra's past had me laughing and interested.  But I felt like I was cheated.  I only recommend this one if you're a hardcore Alex Flinn fan and you don't go in expecting lots of time spent on Kendra.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.* 

Wounds Go Deeper Than Just the Surface

Published: September 12th, 2011

Blood Wounds

By: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Harcourt Children's Books

ISBN-13: 9780547496382

Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother.
Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? As Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear her family apart.

Review

   Willa already feels lost inside her own, seemingly perfect family.  She feels like Brooke and Alyssa (her stepfather Jack's daughters) get priority over her, even with her Mother.   Willa has taken to cutting to dull the pain of going unnoticed inside her own family and trying to be perfect.  But then something changes in an instant - Willa's biological Father, Dwayne 'Budge' Coffey, is on the run with one of his other daughters after mudering the other two and their Mother.  And the cops thinks that he's headed for Willa and her Mother.  At first this doesn't mean much to Willa because she doesn't even really remember Budge or her life when her Mother was still married to him.  But then after Budge is killed by the police in her front yard, with the deacpitated body of the last of her sisters in the car, she decided that she wants to know more about Pryor (the town they left behind) and the other half of her DNA.  So she goes to the funeral for Budge's wife Crystal and her sisters Kellie Marie, Kadi and Krissi.  In doing so she seemingly alienates her Mother, Jack, Brooke and Alyssa.  None of them will answer her calls.  But Willa gets to know her older brother Trace, stumbles onto memories she didn't even know she had and learn who she is on her own and within her strange, twisted family unit.  Sometimes the truth is harsh, but Willa only becomes stronger for it.  I really enjoyed this book a lot.  The description makes it sound like the book was mostly about hiding from her Father, but really it was about Willa coming to terms with who she is, and who her family is - that none of them are even close to one-dimensional or perfect people.  Definitely worth reading and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, true-crime, and books with complex family relationships.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores and online.*