  | XYZs of being wicked Author: Chapman, Lara | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Hallie is excited to continue her family traditions and become the best kind of witch, just like her great-great-grandmother. But when she attends a witchcraft boarding school, her ability takes a turn toward the darker side of witchcraft and she must decide whether it's the abilities you have or the choices you make that determine whether you're good or wicked.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.40 Points: 6.0 Quiz: 168595 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 3.80 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 62943 | |
Reviews:
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (A) (09/14)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 05/01/2014 Gr 4–7—Hallie Simon is shocked when she is invited to enroll in the Dowling Academy School of Witchcraft. This is the first she has heard of her magical abilities, and she is excited to have a fresh start at a new school. For years, she has been plagued by Kendall, her once-best friend now turned mortal enemy, and the opportunity to leave home is irresistible. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that the beautiful and malicious Kendall is her roommate at Dowling. When strange things begin happening to Hallie, events that seem impossible to explain, she must turn to her friends for help in understanding her newfound powers. Full of repetitive phrasing and an extremely weak backstory, this novel leaves readers wanting more. The sixth graders come across as too old for their years, and the plot is focused more on describing their hair and skin types than it is on the magic. Suggest Michael Buckley's "The Sisters Grimm" (Abrams) or John Stephen's "Books of Beginning" (Knopf) series to fantasy fans, and for those looking for tales about acceptance and fashion advice, suggest Candice Ransom's Rebel McKenzie (Hyperion, 2012).—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2014 Now that’s she’s eleven, Hallie Simon can leave her regular school-and her bullying former best friend, Kendall-to make a fresh start at the Dowling Academy School of Witchcraft. Since Hallie is the descendent of an illustrious hedge witch, her family and new teachers have high hopes for her, though even they are surprised by the type and intensity of power she displays. Her joy in the discovery of new powers and new friends is hampered by the presence of Kendall, who, it turns out, is not only also a witch but Hallie’s new roommate. Social struggles mingle with magic in this fanciful boarding-school story, where massive dining halls, sentient portraits, and the discovery of one’s inner darkness call to mind a certain boy wizard, but which has a plot that focuses on tween drama rather than an epic struggle between good and evil. As a protagonist, Hallie is approachable and inoffensive, if not compelling, while her antagonist counterparts lack both nuance and motive; without much dimension, the characters provide their audience with moderate entertainment but no challenge. Similarly, a plotline involving Hallie’s accidental and rather implausible theft of a Dowling heirloom may capture readers’ interest, though not necessarily their investment. Superficial but sufficient, this makings-of-a-series gives tweens enough wish fulfillment (wouldn’t you want your enemy’s curse to backfire and make you gorgeous?) to satisfy if not to long remember. AA - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
