Customer Reviews

The Witch Returns

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I love the Witch Saga books, but I definitely feel that the first three (The Witch's Sister, Witch Water, and The Witch Herself) were the best. The ones that came after were progressively weaker, and the last one was really a miss. I read the books as a child, and what made them so spooky was the fact that you never did know, really, exactly what Mrs. Tuggle was. It was just the girls and their suspicions, and a creepy old lady with power over animals. Once Mrs. Tuggle was dead, and especially after the parents realized that hey, they were wrong about the girls and Mrs. Tuggle really WAS a witch, that dynamic was lost. What made Mrs. Tuggle so interesting in the earlier books was how sly and crafty she was; she could appear to be a sweet old lady, but it was all an act and her true nature was terrifying. In the later books, when she's been "revealed," she just becomes sort of a one-dimensional bad guy. There's no more mystery, just episodes where she attacks them and they defend themselves.

There are also continuity problems in this book. In earlier books, it was established that Mrs. Tuggle's brother's last name was "Pritchard" which, one assumes, would have been her maiden name as well. Why, then, are we now told her prior name was "Martin?" It also paints a picture of her as a sweet, good person whilst back in England, though it was made clear previously that she was already a dark, wicked figure by the time she arrived in America. I wish Naylor would have focused on writing a prequel, where we'd learn the true story of Elnora Tuggle and how she came to be a witch, and ended up in Indiana, instead of beating a dead horse as was done here.

For anyone following Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's "Witch Series," this book was more than I could hope for. It was cleverly written to bring Mrs. Tuggle's evil back, and was a great way to end the series. Except, I hope it's not over yet!!!

The Witch Returns is the last book in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Witch series and the best. After going through a tough time with Elnora Tuggle, Lynn and Mouse believe that after she "died" in the fire. Her "sister" Greta Gullone(which can be turned into Elnora Tuggle) turns up and is interested in the rare book Spells and Potions(a book about witches) which is stored in Lynn's house. The bad part is Stevie(Lynn's five-year-old brother) is drawn to Mrs. Gullone's "rabbit" Delcy, which can be rearranged into Clyde(Mrs. Tuggle's "grandson" who earlier when Lynn's sister, Judith, was involved with witchcraft helped try to sacrifice Stevie when Lynn's parents were gone and Mrs.Tuggle had baby-sat). Lynn's mother continuously goes up to Mrs. Tuggle's. The family, Beasly's, and Dr.Long haven't told Lynn's mother any of this because of previous encounters with witchcraft. Finally Mother surprises them by telling them the reason for going up there is to give the family a chance to bring it up but they wouldn't. They join together to stop "Greta" or Elnora. But can they beat her at her own game? As a seventh grade girl, I enjoyed the suspense and mysteries in the whole series, but mostly this book. I recommend it to 5th through 8th grade girls.