Customer Reviews

Witch week

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Diana Wynne Jones. Now, I don't want to say anything bad about dear old Harry, in fear of being deluged with hate mail. So, a disclaimer: I *liked* Harry Potter. Well, moderately. I don't think Harry Potter is a god or anything. After reading The Sorcerer's Stone, I thought "There has got to be more than this", and so I went out to find Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series.

Now I've read two of them: Charmed Life, and Witch Week. Both books surpass Harry in depth of character (etc.) and in quality of writing, but Witch Week is the better of the two. The plot is intriguing: in a world exactly like ours, except that they still burn people as witches, someone in a sixth-grade class is accused of being a witch. It sounds pretty serious for a children's book, but Diana Wynne Jones treats her subject with sensitivity and humor. (Some parts are actually hilariously funny.) By the end, all the questions you had are answered, and everything is resolved in an unexpected but satisfactory way that only Diana Wynne Jones could pull off. Overall, an excellent book.

If you think Harry Potter is the center of the universe--excuse me (don't insult anyone), let's start over, If you liked the Harry Potter books, you must try Diana Wynne Jones. If you're really devoted to Harry Potter, you'll probably never allow another book to take its place. But keep an open mind, and try to see that there are more great books out there.

Every page of this enchanting third book of the Chrestomanci Quartet is captivating, and wonderfully humorous! Charles and Nan are two dull kids on a strage world where witches still around, and ilegal! If you're a witch, you are going to be burned at the stake! This is a comical book about the ways choices effect peoples lives, and how we can sometimes (if we're lucky) go back and fix them. The wackyness of riding a mop and a garden hoe to escape the privet school for troubled childern, and the whole dress up of the cross examining room (black material draped along the walls, a chair with a wired cap to go on someone's head, sharp objects, and containers that say do not open! Danger!) that Chrestomanci uses when he pretends to be a government official looking for a witch are charming. I reccomend this book to any HARRY POTTER fan, because Diana Wynne Jones has got a magical touch in her fingers.

One day Mr. Crossley, a teacher at Larwood House (an English boarding school for witch orphans) finds a note on his desk: SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS IS A WITCH.

In a world where witches are still burned over bone-fires this is one of the most serious accusations a person can make.

Is it just a joke?

Or is there really a witch in the class?

If so, who?

And can they find out before the Inquisitor arrives?

As the story progresses, we discover that there is more to it than first meets the eye. New subplots continuosly pop up. The question becomes not so much who is the witch, as who isn't?

This story is more than just a story about magic, or parallel worlds. It's a story about real people in a world as real as our own; a world inhabited by people, who can be stubborn, nasty, selfcentered, shy, stupid, and smart. The characters are all people who have reasons for being the way they are. The villians are rarely evil, but instead just plain stupid and narrow-minded.

This is a book written for kids of all ages. It can be easily read and understood, no matter who you are or where you are from

First off this is an excellent book. Diana Wynne Jones has a knack for spinning humourous, engaging stories around sympathetic characters. In the Chrestomanci series, I would rate this as my second favourite, "The Lives of Christopher Chant" being my first.

On the connection between the Harry Potter books and Diana Wynne Jones' books: the Harry Potter books are strongly influenced by Jones' books (the Chrestomanci series in particular). I don't remember any references to "Witch Week", but Harry Potter #3 refers to "The Lives of Christopher Chant" (Crookshanks = Throgmorten), "Dogsbody"(Sirius Black is named after Sirius Dogstar, a 'murderer'who takes the form of a dog in order to clear his name), etc. And I think Harry Potter is modeled a little on Christopher Chant, the boy magician with uncontrollable hair and horrible relatives.

So if you're a Harry Potter fan, you should definitely check out this series, and the rest of Diana Wynne Jones'books, because there are probably a lot of connections I've missed.

One of the four (five if you count the new multi-story book) Chrestomanci books, this tale displays a unique and imaginative outlook on history, on prejudice, on tiny events that shape our futures. And the story's good too. *wink*

A note is left on a teacher's desk: SOMEONE IN 6-B IS A WITCH. To the kids in this school's class, in a rather dreary part of England, it's not entirely clear whether the adults take this seriously. Being a witch in this parallel universe is a bad thing: Witches are found, interrogated, and burned at the stake. To make things worse, students are beginning to suspect each other -- and themselves -- of being witches.

Odd occurrances continue, such as a flock of birds inside the school, shoes vanishing, and one particularly bizarre speech spell. Several lonely students form alliances, and soon they encounter the one man who might be able to help them -- Chrestomanci the magician.

A little less sprightly than Charmed Life or Magicians of Caprona, this is nonetheless a stirring and well-crafted tale of magic and parallel universes. We are treated to a unique view of how the kids in Larwood House both torment each other and protect each other, and a unique magical twist near the end.

Nan and Charles are the recognizable Charlie Browns, an angry young boy and overweight, much-teased girl. The clique of perfect, snobby Teresa and her hangers-on is something that any girl will recognize, in their constant mockery, jeering, and exclusion. Charles has to deal with equally perfect, snobby boys in his wing, led by Simon, who also kick around scrawny Brian.

Other accompanying characters, like Brian's father Mr. Wentworth and Nirupam, a low-key, intelligent boy from India who wants all his classmates safe. Prepare to hate Miss Hodge, for I promise you that you will. And if you have read of Chrestomanci before, you will not be disappointed. If this is your first book, then he is charming, witty, intelligent... but never boring.

Jones' writing style is near-perfect -- things do go a bit undescribed at times, but not severely -- and she gets effortlessly inside the characters' heads, while offering sometimes-absurd situations that fit well into the plot. At a few points during the plot, the pace does lag a bit, but never severely; the complexity, however, is truly wonderful in a piece of juvenile literature and never hits inconsistencies.

Enter the tangled world of Larwood House, and become addicted instantly to the Chrestomanci Chronicles!

Although intended for a younger audience, the sheer power of this story, and the sinister alternate universe it creates has made it one of my all time favourites. It's one of those books in which you care so much about the characters that you want to know what happens to them after the novel is finished. What does Charles become, if not an enchanter? I hope the author writes another Chrestomanci story soon.

Diana Wynne Jones was writing "Potteresque" fantasy long before we ever heard of Harry Potter. "Witch Week" is one of her best and most accessible fantasies, with fully dimensional characters and an enjoyably complex plot.

This book is very intresting and imaginative. It is about another universe where in the modern day, witches are still burned and is set at a boarding school called Larwood House where a lot of the children are 'witch-orphans'. It has an unusual plot and is a good read, but one thing which spoiled it for me is I didn't really like or identify with any of the characters. Charles Morgan was probably my favourite character. Lots of other people who have reviewed this have compared it with Harry Potter, I read this book before I read Harry Potter and don't think they are much alike at all. I prefer Harry Potter, however but I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy stories about magic, and other Harry Potter fans would probably enjoy it.

So says the note that Mr Crossley finds hidden between the exercise books in class 2Y. In any other world, this would be seen as a harmless joke, but at Larwood House for witch orphans, in a world run by Inquisitors and where witch-burnings still take place, such things are taken deadly seriously. Who is the witch? Chubby Nan Pilgrim, named after the most famous Arch-Witch? Sullen Charles Morgan, who holds a sympathetic view toward witches? Or weird Brian Wentworth, who behaviour gets stranger by the day?

Then the anonymous witch starts having some fun - a flock of exotic birds in music class, a removal of all the shoes in the school. The hunt is on among students and teachers to find the culprit, with the threat of the merciless Inquisitors visiting the school at the back of all their minds. But as the mystery deepens, several of the students seem to find that they themselves have magical powers, and that any one of them could be arrested for witchcraft and burnt at the stake. They'll need some expert help...

"Witch Week" is part of the Chrestomanci quartet, though unlike "Charmed Life" and "The Lives of Christopher Chant", Chrestomanci is not a main character, and in fact does not appear until over halfway through the book. In this way, it is more like "The Magicians of Caprona", where Chrestomanci appears as a powerful, helpful figure to sort out the problem at hand (with a little help from the children, of course).

Diana Wynne Jones is almost *too* good at creating the atmosphere and feeling of boarding school for these young people, where even the misfits are at odds with each other rather than banding together to oppose the Theresas and Simons of the school. Each student is a little gem of character study, whether it be the perfect Theresa and her `new crazes' (in this case, it's knitting), Charles and the complicated code he makes in order to demonstrate how much he hates the school, or Brian's complete and utter selfishness.

Likewise, are Wynne Jones's humorous moments of vivid human life - such as Theresa's friends escorting her to detention, but abruptly abandoning her when the teacher invites them to join her, or Nan wishing she was dead, then realising that with the Inquisitors coming she may very well end up dead...and immediately realising that she *doesn't* want to be dead. Make no mistake, these students are thoroughly miserable, and Larwood House is a long way from Hogwarts.

And I mention Hogwarts, since Diana Wynne Jones's novels are undoubtedly the most influential books in the creation of J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, especially "Witch Week" in its use of a boarding school with magical pupils. If you consider yourself a loyal follower of "Harry Potter", then this book should be read - Rowling's books have more intricate mysteries, but Wynne Jones is right up there with Rowling in terms of clever twists - an example here, is how a foolish spell ends up being vital in the saving of the world. Furthermore, Rowling tends to be more sentimental, and Wynne Jones has not an ounce of this in her books - they are (despite the magical workings) realistic to the core, and written in Wynne Jones's droll, almost sarcastic narrative.

So not every fan of "Harry Potter" might necessarily enjoy these books, but for those trying to extend their reading, look into the literary history of Potter, are fans of Diana Wynne Jones, or just want a funny, sinister and clever read, look no further than "Witch Week". However, I do suggest reading either "Charmed Life" or "The Lives of Christopher Chant" beforehand - it'll give you a clearer idea of who Chrestomanci is and what he does.

At first I thought this book wasn't interesting, but after reading this I realized that this book was an enthusiasting book. Witch Week is about witches in the 6-B Class of Larwood School. One day when Mr. Crossley was checking some geography books a note fell onto his desk. " Someone in this class is a witch." The students in 6-B gets curious of who was a witch. A boy named Charles Morgan discovers that he was a witch and starts to cast spells and a girl called Nan Pilgrim whose ancestor was a famous witch named Dulcinea Wilkes rides on a broomstick and also casts spells. The story flows along with these witches casting spells, such as "Simon says..." whatever a character Simon says comes true........
Then afterall a rescueir comes to this world by Nan and Estelle. They casts a spell on a piece of paper and from that spell Chrestomanci comes and figures out this witch problem. The witches in the Nan's world are chased by inquisitors and burned.
Why don't you read this book and find out the amazing conflict by yourself.