Now, there are so many supernatural books out there these days, it almost gets hard to tell one from the other. We've got vampires all over the place, some twinkle, some burn, some are downright creepy. We have werewolves, were-lions, even were-eagles! Not to mention witches, warlocks, wiccans, and any number of other kinds of spellcasters. Then add in the fallen angels, ghouls, zombies, etc. and we are so full of the supernatural, we can't tell where one story ends and the next begins. So when you find one that stands out from the pack, like Once a Witch, by Carolyn McCullough, you get excited!
The story begins in a unique way for a family of witches, because the main character, Tamsin, is the only non-magical member of the family. To rub salt in the wound, when she was born, Tamsin's grandmother foretold that Tamsin would be the most powerful witch of them all. So Tamsin tries to live as normal of a life as possible away from her family, and when she is with her family, she must deal with the fact that she is literally powerless in a family full of the most powerful witches of that time.
When Tamsin is watching her grandmother's magic shop, a young man mistakes her for her very powerful sister and asks her help. Enjoying the feeling of someone thinking she was powerful, she doesn't correct him. In fact, she agrees to help him find a clock that was lost from his family long ago. So Tamsin enlists the help of her very talented and newly returned family friend, Gabriel, to find the clock. When they travel back in time, however, they find there is more to this clock than they originally thought. Now her sister is under a powerful love spell, her grandmother is in a coma, and Tamsin the Powerless must fix what she has done.
This is a really fun story with some new twists and powers that we haven't seen lately. Tamsin is a girl who feels like an outsider everywhere she goes- she is powerless in a family of very powerful people and out in the real world, she has to hide the truth of who her family really is. This "outsider" feeling is one that would really hit home with many teenagers. It is a time when so many feel like they don't belong anywhere, and it is nice to read that they are not alone with those feelings- with a supernatural twist of course! I also think Tamsin is a wonderful character full of spunk, frustration, and conflict between wanting her own life and wanting to fit in.
The book is a middle-of-the-road reading level that would be appropriate for high-skilled middle school students to low-skilled high school students. The story might be a bit too juvenile for a mature high school student, and might be best for 10th grade and under. The coolest thing was the author's website. It has a bunch of information about myths and history about witches, especially about witch trials. It also has a little quiz to test how well you know your witches, including questions about witches from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Harry Potter, Salem, and even "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". So check out the book, and don't forget to look at the website! You won't be sorry!
http://www.onceawitch.com/
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