The Salem Witch Tryouts [Paperback]

Kelly McClymer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2006

Prudence Stewart had it all at Beverly Hills High: straight A's, the cutest crush, and a sweet gig as captain of the cheerleading squad. Then poof! Mom and Dad announce they're moving to Salem, Massachusetts. Turns out, Pru comes from a long line of witches and it's time for her to learn the craft. Buh-bye, Beverly Hills High -- hello, Agatha's Day School!

But Pru's not about to trade in her spirit stick for a broomstick! She's sure she can keep her kewl at her new school -- until she discovers it's all magic, all the time, and she's failing Witchcraft 101. Worst of all, even the cheerleaders bring a special "spirit" to their routine. As in, triple-back-somersault-with-a-twist kind of spirit.

It's time for Pru to cast a spell and prove she's just as enchanting as the next girl -- and somehow make cheering tryouts a flying S-U-C-C-E-S-S!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9–At Beverly Hills High, Prudence is a big deal: popular, star and soon-to-be head of the cheerleading squad, and a straight-A student. She is also half-witch, half-mortal, and, though she doesn't use her magic in public, her younger brother, Tobias, has been unable to control his abilities. To avoid what could be a major scandal if the family's heritage were to come to light, Prudence's parents have decided to move to Salem, MA, where both children can learn to hone their craft at Agatha's Day School for Witches. There, Prudence discovers that her lack of formal training has made her somewhat of an outcast. She has to attend remedial classes and can't fully participate in the school's cheerleading squad because the routines involve magic. This fish-out-of-water story is truly terrible, and neither Wicca enough nor romantic enough to allow it to fit in either of the genres to which it aspires. Much of the narrative tension and humor are supposed to revolve around the dual existence of magic and mortal worlds and the fact that the pure witch group seems clueless about the lives and lifestyles of the mortals. Because the magic and mortal worlds seem to exist on the same physical plane, this confusion is a little ridiculous.–Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Kelly McClymer was born in South Carolina, but crossed the Mason-Dixon line to live in Delaware at age six. After one short stint living in South Carolina during junior high, she has remained above the line, and now lives in Maine with her husband and three children.

Writing has been Kelly's passion since her sixth grade essay on how to not bake bread earned her an A plus. After cleaning up the bread dough that oozed on to the floor, she gave up bread making for good and turned to writing as a creative outlet. A graduate of the University of Delaware (English major, of course) she spends her days writing and teaching writing. Look for her next book, The Salem Witch Tryouts, from Simon Pulse in Fall 2006.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141691644X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416916444
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 22, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Salem Witch Tryouts (Paperback)

For Prudence Stewart, sixteen, leaving behind her home and school in Beverly Hills to move to Salem, Massachusetts, is more than just an inconvenience. She's worked for years to get where she is--which is near the top of the Beverly Hills High School popularity list. Right before she was to be named the youngest head cheerleader ever, her parents announced the move to Salem. It seems that Pru's younger brother, Dorklock (or, if you prefer, Tobias), needs to attend school in Salem, where he can get a handle on his powers. Yes, powers. Oh, did I forget to mention that Pru and Dorklock are the half-mortal, half-witch children of their four-hundred-year-old mother, Patience?

Yes, Patience Stewart is a witch. And although her husband is a mortal and still freaks at the thought of magic, he's realized that his children need to be in a place where they can attend schools that are specifically designed for witches. So off the family drives to Salem (much to Pru's disbelief; after all, her mom zapped their furniture to their new home, but they have to drive?), where Pru quickly realizes that her former popularity and academic excellence don't mean much at Agatha's Day School for Witches.

It's bad enough that for her sixteen years back in Beverly Hills her mother had discouraged her from using magic. Now she's changed her tune--use magic for this, practice your magic on that. But Pru is woefully lacking in the magic department. She's been put in remedial classes (remedial? the horror!), the students at Agatha's stare at her as if she's some type of mutant freak, she still hasn't manifested a Talent, and she has to actually try out for the cheerleading squad. Try out. Her, Miss Was-Going-To-Be-The-Youngest-Head-Cheerleader-In-History. Yes, Salem is turning out to be a real pain.

I loved THE SALEM WITCH TRYOUTS! A truly original twist on being the new kid in a brand new school, it's fun and interesting to watch Prudence develop her powers, interact with students who think mortals are a new type of abnormality, and learn what it means to be a cheerleader on a squad that uses magic in their routines. I really hope there are more books planned in this series--and if the pimple-inducing spell at the end of the book is any indication, there will be!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...McClymer has created a character who will keep you rooting for her from beginning to end, August 15, 2006

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Salem Witch Tryouts (Paperback)

Sixteen-year-old Prudence "Pru" Stewart knows Beverly Hills, California like the back of her hand. After all, she's lived there since birth, and, even though she's not allowed to practice the magic she was born with, she's always had everything. At least in the bubble of Beverly Hills High, where she was not only popular and smart, but about to be named the youngest captain of the varsity cheerleading squad in Beverly Hills High history. But all that changes when her pesky little brother, the Dorklock, begins having trouble containing his magic. Suddenly, Pru is uprooted from her privileged, posh life, and forced to grow accustomed to Salem, Massachusetts, where her and her little bro are forced to attend Agatha's Day School for Witches. The Dorklock doesn't mind, of course, considering he's been placed in the gifted and talented classes at school. But things are much different for Pru. The fact that she's hardly used magic in the last sixteen-years of her life has left her behind the curve, and suddenly she finds herself in a long list of remedial classes, struggling to keep up with witches half her age. As if that weren't bad enough, cheerleading is practically out of the question. Instead of doing routines on solid ground, the squad at Agatha's is completely magic-driven, leaving Pru on the outs, once again. But that doesn't stop her from heading off to tryouts, and attempting to compete against the best of the best. After all, Pru has been a cheerleader long enough to realize that practice makes perfect. And if she wants to make it at Agatha's, she's going to have to practice 'til smoke comes out of her ears.

The cover illustration of THE SALEM WITCH TRYOUTS is eye-catching enough to grab your attention, but it's Kelly McClymer's fabulous storyline that will keep you reading long into the night. Pru is the girl you'd love to hate, but her sweet personality makes that near-impossible; while her adjustments to leaving Beverly Hills and growing accustomed to Salem, Massachusetts keep you sympathizing with the peppy little witch. From spells gone awry, to in-the-air cheerleading, McClymer keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end, leaving them with a cliff-hanger that will surely have them scrambling after the next book in the series. Mixing a touch of "Bewitched" and a dash of "Legally Blonde," McClymer has created a character who will touch your heart, and keep you rooting for her from beginning to end.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars light magical read, June 23, 2009

By 

Sarah J. Carlin "blinkclear" (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Salem Witch Tryouts (Paperback)

This is a fun light read that will appeal to girls. It follows Prudence Stewart and her family as they move from Beverly Hills to Salem, Massachusetts. They move because Prudence, her mother, and brother are all witches. While they lived in Beverly Hills, they did not practice magic and pretty much lived normal lives. When Pru's brother began to manifest his magic powers, their mother decided it was time for the kids to go to witch school in Salem. So off they went. While Prudence used to be one of the top students and cheerleaders at her old school, she suddenly finds herself struggling to learn magic and barely making the cheer squad in Salem. She meets a few people who help her along the way and also a couple who get her in trouble. This is the first book in a trilogy, so there were a lot of loose ends yet when the book ended, but it was a fast funny read and I recommend it to girls 12+