Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Publication
Date: April 1, 2013
Genre:
Young Adult
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Synopsis:
There's more than one way to be powerful . . .
It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.
Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.
A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.
Review:
I LOVE "witchy" stories. Something about how one can call on the elements to do their bidding has always interested me. What really drew me in when I saw this book was the cover. it is mysterious, and.. witchy. After the summary, I knew I just had to read it. Abby Silva, a 16 year old nobody, refers to herself as "background". And I got the feeling right away that that is pretty much true to everyone in the book, even her family. Her mom is gone and her dad doesn't really pay attention. Abby is written as a normal high school character. She has best friend Rachel whom is pretty much all she has in the world and has an oh-so-hot crush, Travis, that just so happens to have the meanest girl in school as his girlfriend.
Because of an assignment that nobody in her history class did well on, she has to do research paper on her family tree. While her dad's side is fairly easy, her mom's side has many holes in it. There are generation gaps that just don't make sense. After talking to her dad and more research, she figures out that she had family in Salem during the witch trials. Freaky.
During a trip to Salem with the best friend, explainable things happen. There is the burst of technicolor that happens when crossing the bridge into Salem, Rem, the guy at the cafe who couldn't take his eyes off of her (or hers off of him), and then the mysterious diary that 'magically' appears in her purse when she knew she put it back on the shelf in the library. From that day on more and more things start to unfold. She figures out that the diary isn't a diary at all, but a spell book. It teaches her different incantations like how to light candles with your mind and more importantly a love spell to put on Travis.
What the book doesn't tell her though, is that magic can be tricky and doesn't always work out the way you expect it to.
Reading this book came very easy. It rolled right along and pretty much had no hiccups at all. Some might say that it was too predictable but I think it was just right. I would say that it is aimed at the younger end of the Young Adult spectrum but it is still enjoyable to someone a little older. It's a bit short, I think we could have had a little bit more of character growth, which is why I gave it 4 out of 5 bookmarks but I would definitely recommend it.
My Rating:
Happy Reading,
Steph
