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Jun242011
GUEST REVIEW: ‘The Book of Spells’ by Kate Brian
by Carolyn • Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Authors A-D, Book Reviews, Guest Review, Paranormal, SimonSchusterKidsUK, Young Adult
Title: The Book of Spells (A Private prequel)
Author: Kate Brian
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: February 2011
Paperback: 303 pages
Genre: Paranormal
RATING: 6/10
SUMMARY:
The year is 1915 and sixteen-year-old Eliza Williams has just arrived at the Billings School for Girls, the sister school of Easton Academy, founded to turn girls into dutiful wives. Eliza’s parents expect her to learn the qualities needed to be a graceful and obedient wife, but Eliza has a dangerous secret…she’s a witch! After finding a dusty, leather-bound spell book, Eliza forms a secret coven with eleven other Billings girls, disguising their gatherings as a literary society to keep their teachers from discovering the truth. Bonded in sisterhood, they cast spells – cursing the headmistress, giving blisters to boys with wandering hands and conjuring beautiful dresses out of rags.
The girls taste freedom and power for the first time, but what starts out as innocent fun turns into something more sinister when one of the spells has an unexpected — and deadly – consequence. Eliza realises that magic could bring her everything she’s ever wanted…but it could also destroy everything she holds dear. But is it too late to stop what she’s started? (Goodreads)
REVIEW:
I was unsure about this book because I’ve looked at the other Private novels and then put them back on the shelves because they seemed too girlie, and one thing I detest is a book set around catty teenage girls. I was pleasantly surprised with “The Book of Spells”. Yes, it’s about a group of teenage girls all attending school, they talk about fashion, boys and sneaking out, but it didn’t have that cloying, cringe worthy feel to it that I’ve come to expect from other books of a similar nature.
It’s set in 1915 and gives the history behind the Billings Society that the other novels are set around. Not at any point did I feel like I needed to read those to get a better understanding of the world. This novel can be read alone or as part of the series.
Eliza is a very likeable character, you can practically feel her excitement as she leaves her stifling life and starts a new one at Billings School for Girls. She’s the perfect blend of modern girl in an old fashioned society. She wants adventure and a life of her own, yet she wants to fall in love as much as her new friends do.
Theresa starts out as a pretty ordinary antagonist to create conflict for Eliza, but she really comes into her own and by the end of the book I warmed towards her and started to understand her motivation. I would have liked more characterisation for her, but she definitely helped move the story along.
Catherine is Theresa’s best friend and Eliza’s new roommate. They have lots in common, from literature to their love of adventure; they only differ when it comes to Theresa! She is the peacemaker and is often torn between the two.
Eliza meets Harrison on her arrive to Billings, and there is instant attraction between them, though nothing is as simple as it seems. The romance is secondary to the main plotline which revolves around Eliza, Theresa, and Catherine finding spell books in a secret room. The girls and their friends suddenly realise magic is real and they can be witches. There seems to be a spell for everything, and soon a simple spell to change to the colour of a dress can take a sinister turn.
If you can get past the giggling girls and boy talk this is a really good novel. There’s no annoying teen speak, but the girls do tend to talk about clothes and boys a bit too often for my liking. Whether this is because of the time it’s set in, I’m not sure, but the intrigue, and slow build up to a chilling end make it worth a few giggles.
There seems to be a few things that are left unfinished and it confused me because I wasn’t sure if Brian will write another prequel book, or if these are actually explained in later books. They’re not really important in the whole scheme of things, but sometimes a few little details can stick in your mind. For example, Eliza’s sister who attended Billings before Eliza seemed to have a personality change after she left, and everyone’s response once they knew Eliza was her little sister.
VERDICT:
This was a fun easy read that has a good pace and a set of great characters. It was refreshing to read a young adult paranormal book that didn’t have romance as the focal point, even if the girls were rather obsessed with it! It was a good book, but not overly emotive. I enjoyed about it, but it didn’t get me overly excited. It had a few unexpected twists and turns and is a good basis for the other Private novels to be based around.
You can find out more about the author here:
2 Comments
I've never picked up or come across a private novel before – does that just mean it's a private school or is the series called private (am I being daft here?!). I'm not sure on the whole giggling girls thing to be honest, although interesting that it was set in 1915, I bet that added a nice dynamic to the book
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I haven't heard of Private Novels. Thanks for the review.
Ann
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