Out now by Scholastic Press; 352 pages
Content Warnings: Mention of death of a loved one, child abuse, starvation, bullying
About the Author: “CLARIBEL A. ORTEGA is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she’s not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcasts Celebrity Book Club and Write or Die. Claribel has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline.
Claribel’s debut middle grade novel GHOST SQUAD is out now from Scholastic and is being made into a feature film. Her forthcoming books include Witchlings (Scholastic) and the graphic novel Frizzy (First Second.)” (Bio taken from author’s Goodeads profile.)
Seven Salazar has been waiting her whole life to find out which of the five witch covens she will be placed into. Her world quickly falls apart when on the night of her ceremony, Seven isn’t put into any of the covens—she’s a Spare. Things only get worse when she is unable to perform the ritual of sealing her coven with the other two Spares. They are forced to remain as witchlings, unless they can complete an impossible task. Together Seven, Valley, and Thorn must complete the task to seal their coven, but working together proves to be a difficult task in itself.
The fast-paced adventure in Witchlings kept me hooked and wanting to know what was going to happen next to Seven. I particularly enjoyed Seven’s character and was really impressed with how she handled some heavy and difficult topics that she was forced to face. One of the most difficult topics this novel covered was friendship. Seven is left wondering who her true friends are when she is separated from Poppy, who got into the most powerful coven, and she has to accomplish the impossible task by working with her bully. But Seven remains admirably strong and is able to work past these struggles, and in turn, she learns the true power of friendship. For readers who love Percy Jackson and Amari, check out this witchy and magical read!
PRR Writer and Editor, Taylor Quinn
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Sounds amazing for the kiddos.