This is part of my loot from Tez, you should read her blog as well. We have similar views on reading but hers are expressed more eloquently. It’s a Harlequin Teen book but I was assured before I picked it up that it’s not romance and Tez was mostly right as there is a little romance but not terribly much and very much glossed over.
My name is Kestrel. Kestrel Murphy. NEVER call me Susan.
Who ever heard of a witch named Susan?
A year ago, I was on the white-magic side. Lately, I’ve been leaning toward the black. I blame the universe. What’s the point in being a nice little white witch in the universe I’ve got? If I could choose my own universe, I’d be a white witch in it. But black makes a lot more sense in this universe.
Not that I’m complaining. A witch never complains. But if I did, I’d have a lot to complain about. For instance: Richard Milhous Nixon High.
What’s a teen witch to do when she’s stuck in the most unmagical high school in the universe? Create her own “majix.” Take notes. And above all, avoid nasty classmates, heartless grown-ups and and boys who may prove a little too distracting for a serious teen witch to handle…
An interesting premise and one dealt with quite nicely. Kestrel is sent to live with her aunt for an unspecified length of time as her father has had a heart attack and needs some quiet…for some reason Kestrel is not peaceful I’m sure this has nothing to do with her being a teenager. Kestrel doesn’t want to go to her aunt’s but goes along and finds she’s a much better parent than her parents. This is the biggest lesson in this book and one I’ve seen happen on many occasions, sometimes we’re not the best parents for our children. Aunt Ariel believes in standing up for people’s rights and is very firm about it so Kestrel learns many lessons about standing up for oneself and also for others.
She also learns that sometimes the bad kid in school just needs a bit of steering to become good. Blake Cump is the bad kid who is out to get Kestrel and anyone who stands up for her i.e. Laura and José, but when José gets his big brother to help out things change and Blake becomes a nice person who helps others.
There is magic in this book but it’s focussed on assisting the universe to flow in the right way rather than forcing things to happen. To me the magic is incidental despite there being a lot of it, this book is more about fitting in and change within a teenager’s life rather than the magic. We do see things from Kestrel’s point of view, including how angry she is and how she feels she’s been thrown out of home because her parents don’t understand but she comes around in due course.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any teen.