Witchlings
by Claribel A. Ortega
Published by Scholastic Press
on April 5, 2022
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Length: 334 pages
Ages: 8 - 12 years
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Synopsis:
A magical adventure for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers and Nevermoor, about three witchlings who must work together to do the impossible if they have any hope of earning their full powers.
Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches.
And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can't wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn't placed in one of the five covens. She's a spare!
Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn't work! They're stuck as Witchlings--and will never be able to perform powerful magic.
Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they'll gain their full powers. If they fail... Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever.
But maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all...
My Thoughts:
Seven Salazar can't wait for the Blood Moon Ceremony where she and her best friend will be placed into a coven to become witches instead of just witchlings. Seven and two others, Thorn, and Seven's bully, Valley, end up as Spares, meaning they will stay witchlings, unless they can succeed at an impossible task. Even worse, Seven's best friend, Poppy, is placed into a coven and leaves Seven behind without a second thought.
Seven will learn a lot about herself and who her friends really are as she attempts to earn her powers and a place in her magical world.
This was a lot of fun!
There's magic, suspense, spooky atmosphere, lurking villains, and great character development with a focus on friendships.
It's based in what seems to be an entirely magic community that casts aside its 'Spares', forces them to do the 'grunt work', or worse-turns them into toads if they don't become full-fledged witches. Our MC's entire world is flipped upside when the ceremony doesn't go as planned and she becomes a Spare who must finish an impossible task to seal her fate. Seven struggles with being cast out, and alongside her bully at that, but is determined to find her place and save her world as she knows it.
Perfect for fans of HP, The Worst Witch, or the newer Amari and the Night Brothers!
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