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Wow. We must all be really terrible readers. Or else we are so busy with the holidays that we are taking a break from reading. Or we are so busy with the holidays that we are forgetting to blog about the books we do sneak time to read! I just finished an interesting one and thought I'd stick it up here, along with some others I've finished in the past month or so. Enjoy.

First things first. The Salem Witch Tryouts by Kelly McClymer. Just tell someone you're reading this and you'll automatically get a raised eyebrow and some funny looks. The book is about trendy cheerleader Prudence Stewart who was raised in Beverly Hills and is about to be the youngest head cheerleader ever. Prudence has always known she's a witch (Dad's a mortal though), but she's always been discouraged from using her powers. So when she finds out that her parents are forcing her to move to Salem, MA to go to witch school, she's not so happy. Then she finds out that she's years behind everyone else in the magic department! Definitely not the best way to be "kewl" in her new school! She's pretty confident in her cheering abilities though, until she finds out that cheer leading here involves magic and flying! Prudence sets out to figure out her special witch talents and get in with some of the witchiest witches there are!
This was actually a fun, easy read and interesting because not everything was resolved at the end (I've now got to read the sequel, Competition's a Witch).

I've read all of the books by Gail Carson Levine that I can, but I think this was the least good of them all. It was still an ok book, just not a real keeper. The Wish is about a girl who is on the very bottom of the popularity scale at her middle school. When an old lady on the subway offers to grant her a wish, she wishes to be the most popular girl in school. Almost automatically, she's got celebrity status and is adored by everyone. But how long can this last?
I kept expecting there to be some moral of the story about how popularity isn't all it's cracked up to be and how it's better to be true to yourself. That never really happened, and I was a bit disappointed because of it. Not sure it was really worth reading. I'd definitely pick The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Fairest, or even Ella Enchanted.

I really loved Kate DiCamillo's book Because of Winn Dixie, and I even enjoyed The Tale of Despereaux, but The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (left) was more than a little strange. It's about a porcelain rabbit who is very very very proud of how fine he is and has no need for love. Then he ends up far away from the little girl who loves and cares for him with no chance of return and he is forced to look at his life and choose what is really important.
The book had a nice message (how love can fix everything and everyone needs to have and be loved), but I admit I felt weird reading about a porcelain rabbit. He couldn't move on his own, but he had his own thoughts. Whatever.


I've read so many articles by authors that I love (J.K. Rowling among them) who were inspired by the author Edith Nesbit. The Enchanted Castle was often mentioned as inspiring great contemporary works of fantasy, so I decided a while ago that I should read it. I figured that if I loved all the books that it inspired, I should love it too right? Wrong. I actually couldn't finish the book. I'm sure it's a great one and all, but I couldn't make it past about the 5th or 6th chapter. It seemed very slow and I really didn't understand the point to anything that was going on - almost like the plot was very unclear.
If anyone else has read this book, please let me know! I'd love a positive opinion on it if you've got one!

Witch Child by Celia Rees is supposed to be the recently discovered diary of a young woman named Mary who was raised in 17th century England by her grandmother. When her grandmother is hung as an accused witch, Mary is taken out of the country to avoid the same fate. She finds her way to Salem, Massachusetts posing as a proper Puritan girl, and then to a small town further in the wilderness. She then discovers that America doesn't exactly welcome witches either and she is soon caught up in the superstitious culture of early America. As she learns what is and is not accepted, she is faced with many choices, some that she doesn't feel she can live with, since she truly believes that she is a witch.
The pages of Mary's diary were recently found sewn into a 17th century quilt and have recently been published. This was actually a very interesting insight into life during a volatile and dangerous time period. Also, don't worry. There's no crazy sorcery or curses being put on people. Harry Potter has more sorcery in his books that this one does, so I feel comfortable recommending it. :)