Customer Reviews

Book of Shadows (Sweep, No. 1)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I read this book at 32, after seeing an ad for the series in a magazine for school library professionals, and I really enjoyed it. The author treated the high school scene (which hasn't changed much since my day except for the odd henna tattoo and body piercing) with knowledge, realism, and sensitivity. I liked her mix of characters who come together to learn about Wicca. Her lead male character, Cal, who is a witch, is sweet, smart, and believable, and I related to her lead female character, Morgan, who learns to recognize her inner power. I felt Wicca was portrayed positively and realistically, and so was the family scene (with Morgan having a lesbian aunt). The teen books from MY teens years seemed to ignore facts of life like that one. The author picked up on the similarity between realizing you're a witch and realizing you're gay. They don't call it "coming out of the broom closet" for nothing. We're not all the same, people, made from the same mold and destined to follow the same path, and enlightened teens who understand this will appreciate this book. Bravo to a great author. Again, open-minded readers won't be disappointed by this one.

When I first saw this book, I was a little afraid to pick it up. It was by an unknown author and was about a different type of magic. But I picked it up and read the first pages and I was hooked. This book is about wicca, which is something I had never heard of. While the sweep series doesn't give the absolute truth about wicca, it does give you a general overview of what wicca is about, magick, love, nature... just to name a few. This book is such a great book and is followed by a wonderful series. The characters are so well thought up and have very interesting personalities. Ms. Tiernan gave very graphic descriptions of the characters and of Widow's Vale, so that you can just close your eyes and picture it. Morgan, the main character, is what seems like an average girl. She is 16, doesn't have a boyfriend, is smart and like most of us isn't the most stunning and beautiful person in her class. In the book she begins to find wicca coming into her life. As she discovers the magick within her, the relationships around her and with her grow and blossom. She has to find alot of answers for alot of questions that she begins to think up about wicca and about her life. As things heat up in the book, you get to see who each character really is, inside and out. I would reccomend this book to anyone that has an interest in magic(k), wicca, love, or just a really good book. This book and this series are truly a must buy.

Morgan Rowlands considers herself a pretty average, not particularly attractive sixteen-year-old girl. Living in a small town in upstate New York with her parents and younger sister, her life is uneventful. Until Cal Blaire, the best-looking guy Morgan and her friend Bree have ever seen, moves to town. Cal's not just any guy, though - he's a Wiccan. He invites many of the students to a circle in which they perform a magic ritual. He then invites those that show an affinity for magick to join his new coven. The circle awakens something within Morgan that she never knew existed before. Soon, Morgan begins to question herself, her family, and everything that she has believed herself to be for her entire life. Witchcraft has helped Morgan to find her true self - but it has also torn her away from everything she has always known and believed in. Is her newfound talent worth the price she will have to pay for it? I reccomend this series to fans of the TV show Charmed.

Morgan Rowlands is your average plain girl who has always felt that she has been living in the shadow of her best friend, beauty queen, Bree Warren. But then one day the gorgeous and mysterious Cal Blaire comes to Widow's Vale High. He instantly becomes one of the hottest and most popular guys there. Morgan instantly starts to fall for him as does Bree. One night Cal asks a bunch of people to a "party" which turns out to be a potential circle for the celebration of the Wiccan sabbat Mabon. At the circle something strange happens to Morgan and she starts to become a walking physcic. Slowly Morgan is drawn deeper into the beautiful and magickal world of Wicca but problems soon arrise

1.) She and Bree start to fight over Cal.

2.) Her parents are Catholics who dissaprove of Wicca and forbid her to practice it.

But Morgan is starting to realize that Wicca is choosing her as much as she's choosing it.

A great series! It has likeable and well-developed charecters. It gives an accurate portrayal of Wicca and gives you some good information.

Judging from the rave reviews other people have left behind on this site, I expected this to be an amazing, wonderful, really outstanding book. It's not.

Dont get me wrong, I found it to be an interesting enough read, and I will definatly be reading the next few in the series, but there is nothing in it that I havent seen (or rather, read) before.

At a first glance the storyline seems quite cliche. You know the drill, shy, wallflowerish girl with average looks discovers she has magical powers and finds her True Love (who is really, really good looking and seems to only have eyes for her). But as things get going, you'll find that things dont go as you'd expected...

To sum it up, this is a good book to read when you're bored or feel like reading something a little magical. It also protrays Wicca in a positive light (no burning cats or blood-letting here!), although you mut remember that this is a FICTIONAL STORY so dont expect the wiccan details to be spot-on.

I began reading this series in 8th grade and read every one in the entire series (14 books) throughout high school. Every single one was better than the last and I could hardly get enough of them! My sisters and all of our friends read the entire series as well.

These books are a great introduction to following a spiritual path in your life and thinking about your personal religion. They're also great guides for all the regular high school problems - friends, partying, bad boyfriends, bad grades, and parents. Don't let this dissuade you if you are an older reader, however... High school is only a small fraction of the books. There is a full range of real and emotional events. The last book in the series was so emotional I cried for days after reading it!

This is a TERRIFIC SERIES that I would definitely recommend to ANYONE that wants to read a great fiction novel! If you're going to buy the first one, you should probably buy the second and third books too, because you won't want to wait to read them after you put the first one down.

Morgan has never really heard that much about Wicca until she meets Cal, a male witch who she finds herself strangely drawn to it. She has so many questions that she needs answered. Like what is wicca about? And why dose she has these strange reactions to circles? She wants to learn, but even more she wants Cal. Unfortunatly her much prettier friend Bree has a crush on him, amd she's willing to to anything to get him. Including crush their friendship.

Just like the Circle of Three series, the Sweep series provides a more realiztic veiw of wicca. Morgan is easy to relate to and the whole book is a great source of information on wicca. If you liked the Circle of Three series and the Daughters of the Moon series you'll love this one.

This is a super book! I picked it up because it had a cool cover and was about magick, which I'm totally into. I started it one afternoon, and actually read it all night long! Now I'm reading Sweep #2, and I only put it down to write this review! These books are about a girl named Morgan who discovers her own magickal talent with the help of Cal, who just moved to her town. This book is so realistic about Morgan and Bree's friendship, and Morgan's feelings and insecurities. And the scenes with magick in them are just beautiful! I read them over and over. I highly recommend this series to anyone, not just people who are into magick!

I read the Sweep series when it was first published in 2001 and greatly anticipated each new book. In the 8 years since I first read the series, I still find myself going back to reread it on a regular basis. I've been hoping that with the current trends in Supernatural literature (Twilight, Mortal Instruments, Uglies, etc) that Sweep would see a revival. Cate Tiernan creates a world that is based enough in reality that it makes you forget the story is a fantasy.
Book of Shadows is a wonderful start to an awesome series - one that I wouldn't mind another sequel to.

This book me a little bit to get into. It starts kind of slow. I was a pretty good book, but very short. I finished it in one day.