Middle-Grade Review: Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega

 

About This Book:

 

Disney’s The Owl House meets Nevermoor, in a brilliant new adventure from New York Timesbestselling author Claribel A. Ortega!
Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches. 

And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can’t wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn’t placed in one of the five covens. She’s a Spare! 

Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn’t work! They’re stuck as Witchlings―and will lose their magic. 

Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they’ll gain their full powers. If they fail… Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever. 

But maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all… 

With action-packed adventure, a coven of quirky witchlings, Claribel A. Ortega’s signature humor, and girl-power vibes, you won’t be able to put down this middle-grade Latine witch story, perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers or Harry Potter.

*Review Contributed by Olivia Farr, Staff Reviewer*

enthralling and charming middle grade fantasy

WITCHLINGS is a charming and enthralling middle grade fantasy that follows 12-year-old Seven, a witchling who aspires to join the most powerful coven. When everything goes wrong, and Seven is designated as a Spare, it feels like things can’t get any worse – until she and other Spares are unable to seal their coven. Their only other option is an impossible task: to fell a Nightbeast. Seven, Valley, and Thorn set out to do the impossible and in the process find themselves.

What I loved: This was such a consuming and engaging story. The combination of quest, sisterhood, and magic was absolutely delightful. Seven is a particularly compelling character, and she develops a lot during the story. Her growth and character arc really made this all the more enthralling, and the fast-paced plot with an impossible quest made it even more unputdownable. Each of the three main witchlings, Seven, Valley, and Thorn are really great characters, and together, they make for a really enjoyable read. The world-building is also really strong and crafts an intriguing new world that I would be eager to see more from.

Final verdict: With compelling characters and a fast-paced plot, WITCHLINGS is sure to enchant middle grade fantasy readers. Fans of Percy Jackson, Morrigan Crow, and The Wizards of Once need to read this new magical book.

 

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