Curse in Reverse by Tom Coppinger

Stars: ****1/2
Accuracy: *

Synopsis: Agnezza the witch wanders through the small hamlet of Humburg, looking for some shelter and a bite to eat. Selfish Mrs. Raff refuses her, and is given the Curse of the Silent Night. Rude Mr. Fooss rejects her, and is put under The Curse of the One-eyed Jack. When childless Mr. and Mrs. Tretter recieve her with open arms, they are chagrined when, upon their departure, she lays a Curse of the One-Armed Man upon them. Why did she do that? Their alarm grows as they see the curses of their neighbors come to unfortunate and surprising fruition. Little do they know that Agnezza has another trick up her sleeve when it comes to rewarding kindness! A funny folktale that's formalistically flawless, peppered perfectly with Zimmer's zany cross-hatched line drawings. Share this charmer anytime of year, and you'll have to decide for yourself if repeated readings are a curse…or a curse in reverse!

Review: I really liked this book. Her curses are funny in that they don't materialize the way you think they are going to, especially the curse in reverse. In fact even as an adult I couldn't guess what would happen. I don't want to spoil it for you but it was a good story.

Accuracy: Very little accuracy here. The witch is an old ugly woman wearing rags and she just curses people with abandon.

Witch Twins and the Ghost of Glenn Bly by Adele Griffin

Stars: ****1/2

Accuracy: ***

Synopsis: Claire and Luna are thrilled to visit an ancient castle in Scotland with their five-star-witch grandmother. But this is no vacation. These witches are on a mission: to rid Glenn Bly of the terrifying ghost that haunts it....

Review: Another good book about the witch twins. This is actually the fourth book. I need to go back and read number 2 and 3. The series is perfect for tween girls, the writing style is perfect for them. I love the phrases used by the girls, always different. Such as Haggis and Hailstones and Ruins and Revenants! They also say love-love-love and hate-hate-hate all the time.

Accuracy: Witches can see Ghosts even though others can't. They can teleport, cause storms and do other manipulation spells. The witches get star classifications after passing tests that allow them to perform certain spells.

Charmed: Truth and Consequences by Cameron Dokey

Based on the hit TV series created by Constance M. Burge

Stars: ****
Accuracy: ***

Synopsis: Cole is working late, and her sisters are having a girls' night in, so on the spur of the moment, Phoebe accepts what seems like an innocent date with a friendly stranger. But good intentions are quickly misconstrued when Cole leaves work early to surprise Phoebe - and is stunned to find her sharing a meal with another man. Their escalating argument highlights some trust issues they each have. But they soon find themselves trapped in the underworld, at the center of a lovelorn demon's plot to destroy the Power of Three.

Review: This was probably the best Charmed book I've read so far (but then I've only read four.) The writing was closer to the TV show and the plot was interesting and realistic (at least in a magical world.) I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Accuracy: See my review of the Charmed TV show for more.

Charmed: The Power of Three by Eliza Willard

Based on the hit TV Series and teleplay "Something Wicca This Way Comes" Created by Constance M. Burge.

Stars: ****
Accuracy: ***

Synopsis: Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell could have never guessed that they were witches. That is until Phoebe reads an incantation from a book and all of a sudden they all have powers. Even though they just got their powers and are still learning how they work, a warlock is after them and it's up to the three of them, the Charmed Ones to stop him!

Review: Charmed is my favourite TV show so I was looking forward to reading the books. This particular story is a retelling of the first episode of the TV show so I already knew what was going to happen. This makes it hard to comment on the book but it was pretty good. I think it could have been written a little better.

Accuracy: See my review on the Charmed TV show.

Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick

Stars: ****
Accuracy: **

Synopsis:
When Jamie's home burns down, his parents send him to live with family in Crownhill for a while. He starts getting scary dreams about an old woman and the people he's staying with seem to be hiding something.

Review:
This book had me hooked in, wondering what was next and trying to figure things out before they were revealed. The book is scarier than most for the age group of 10-14. If your child scares easily you may want to wait a few years more. Before most of the chapters, there is a little blurb about a town witch, written as if it was written back in the 1500's during the witch craze. It's hard to explain so here's a little: "The witch was found at her lair on the hill where she was consulting with her familiar, the cat named Chub. It was clear from the leaved of herbs around about that they were preparing some more injurious mischief to inflict upon one person or another."

Accuracy:
Witches in this book are evil old hags who use curses on other people for their own gain. Their familiars do their evil bidding. Although the blurbs mentioned above mention Satan (spelled Sathan, not sure why,) in the actual text of the book it is mentioned that witches don't really believe in Satan, that he's a product of Christianity. It also explains that those burned and hung during the witch craze weren't actually witches.