Friday, October 25, 2019

Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel by A.W. Jantha (Young Adult Book Review)


Hocus Pocus
& The All-New Sequel
Written by A.W. Jantha
Illustrated by Matt Griffin
Published by Freeform
on July 10, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy
Length: 528 pages
Ages: 12 - 15 years

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Synopsis:
Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on Earth to torment Salem for all eternity.

Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison's seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don't quite go as planned, it's a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches' latest death-defying scheme.

My Thoughts:
This book is two novels in one; a novelization of the 1993 film and a sequel that takes place twenty-five years later.

This was an enjoyable read and perfect for Autumn and Halloween. I loved the film as a kid and always thought it was the perfect Halloween movie for kids. The novelization is short and basically an exact copy of the film. It gave me all the nostalgia.

In the sequel, Max and Allison's daughter, Poppy, disregards everything her parents taught her and is tricked into summoning the Sanderson Sisters in exchange for her own family. With the help of friends, she must stop the witches before they finish their spell and become immortal forever.

The sequel takes a fun new turn and continues the original story quite well. I loved that they kept the story in the family and in the present time. The original film was so silly and I was glad to see that continued. I also enjoyed the diversity and LGBT inclusion.

I will admit that this didn't wow me and the overall length (together) made it feel like it was dragging but I enjoyed the nostalgia and seeing a new, modern continuation of the original film. Now I'm wondering if we will see a sequel film or not.
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