6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written, for Teenagers!, September 20, 2006
This review is from: The Witches of Willowmere: Book 1 in the Chronicles of Fairie (Willowmere Chronicles) (Paperback)
This is a well-written book about high school witchcraft but should be advertised for teenagers. Some of the dialog, action and reactions are juvenile, some of the situations were overly predictable, and the ending leaves one of the situations unfinished. There should have been one more chapter to bring it all together. Suggest the target audience should be teenage girls.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A neglected girl comes into her own, December 3, 2010
This review is from: The Witches of Willowmere: Book 1 in the Chronicles of Fairie (Willowmere Chronicles) (Paperback)
A wonderful and well-written account of Claire, a neglected and solitary latchkey child, who finds strength, friends, and powers as she comes into her own as a good witch.
The subtext might be that every girl needs to believe in herself, do the right thing, and not just follow the crowd - important messages for the 12+ crowd (and adults, too).
Other messages are about adults (learning to trust the trustworthy, not counting on the indifferent ones, and defending against those who are evil).
Also: being strong-minded enough to resist the power of suggestion - an important premise for bullied/excluded youngsters.
The present-day story is grounded in the historical past of 1605 Scotland, when Alice Ramsay was persecuted as a witch. Aside from drama, this is a good way to introduce the history of persecution of witches, and perhaps pique girls' interest in history.
One subplot, which evidently continues into the next book of the series, includes the disappearance of Claire's mother. The book leaves the reader wondering, Will Claire find her mother? Will her disapproving father find out about Claire's special abilities? How will things develop with Nick and the evil coven? Or with the friendly Wiccans?
I ordered this book for my granddaughters, and read it to make sure it would be appropriate, then got caught up in the story. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
loved the book, July 28, 2004
This review is from: The Witches of Willowmere: Book 1 in the Chronicles of Fairie (Willowmere Chronicles) (Paperback)
loved the book so much because it was different from any book i read so far. Claire is a 16-year old living on her own with her dad after her mother ran off to join some New Age group. as she is trying to move on from the situation and the loneliness of not being able to make friends, she starts having dreams about the past to early 17th century Salem where the witch trials occur dreaming of a girl accused of being a witch and was hanged for the accusation along with her familiar, her cat Leo. Claire later discovers that she is the reincarnation of the accused girl and must find the answers of why someone wants to hurt her and why her mother left her. this is a really truly great book because the plot is different from other books there is a book 2 and three the second book called the warding of willowmere which is only available in Canada at the moment and the third book doesnt have a title yet as it is coming out in January 2005. cant wait to read the 2nd book
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