Review by Booklist Review
Adelaide Goode is part of a powerful witch family, though she isn't a particularly gifted witch herself. Magic is enhanced through family connection, but an old curse forbids more than three Goodes from gathering, so when Adelaide's mother unexpectedly became pregnant, she had to leave the family behind. When the two return to leave Adelaide in her grandmother's care, an impulsive decision by the girl unleashes the curse and sets a supernatural witch hunter in hot pursuit of the magic-makers. Adelaide has until midnight to break the curse and defeat the hunter or face death and the destruction of all magic, but there's hope in the form of a newfound friend, a clever rabbit, and the promise of a perfect spell. It's a terrifically suspenseful and occasionally scary story--chapters told from the hunter's perspective are particularly creepy--though there's enough laughter to keep the tone optimistic. Relationships ring true, full of hurt and love, and a running exploration of worth being based on outward appearances will hit home with readers. A smart, eerie story, perfect for an autumn evening.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The witches of the white Goode family--who share "wide hips, wide eyes, wide smiles"--have long lived in New England's Cranberry Hollow, their presence necessary to maintain its plentiful wild magic, but an old curse forbids more than three Goodes from existing within town limits at the same time. On the cusp of Halloween, the town hosts a tourist-garnering festival, which includes a baking contest and the Miss Preteen Scary Cranberry pageant. It is then that 12-year-old baking enthusiast Adelaide Goode arrives to stay with her grandmother and aunt while her mother starts a new job. Feeling like one of the abandoned "misfit" bunnies her grandmother takes in, Adelaide triggers the curse, which transforms her bones into glass and sees her stalked by a mystical hunter that has possessed one of a local witch-hunting family. Now Adelaide and new friend Fatima, a horror-loving hijabi of Pakistani descent, must undo the spell before the hunter claims Adelaide's soul. Puckett focuses on Adelaide's insecurities around her comparatively weak magical talent, internalized fat phobia, and worries that she's "never been Goode enough" for her family, slowly outlining an arc toward self-acceptance as the tween learns more about her relatives' conflicts. Interstitials featuring the hunter's sinister perspective both contrast and complement Adelaide's internal mix of humor and frustration, highlighting a complex stew of emotions. Ages 8--12. Agent: Samantha Fabien, Root Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young witch needs to break a curse--or it will bring about her family's demise. There's a rule that no more than three Goode witches can be in the town of Cranberry Hollow at a time without unleashing a curse. It has been 5 years since 12-year-old Adelaide Goode, a curvy, White, redheaded witch, and her mom have visited her mother's hometown--where her estranged maternal aunt also lives. Feeling her mom is abandoning her at her grandmother's house to go on a monthslong work trip, Addie does something that accidentally unleashes the curse, turning Addie's bones to glass, awakening a witch hunter, and forcing her mom to stay. Set during Cranberry Hollow's annual Halloween festival, the book follows Addie and new friend Fatima, a Pakistani American hijabi girl with a love of all things relating to monsters and the macabre, as they work together to try to reverse the spell. Featuring fast-paced action and high stakes, this novel also touches on Addie's internal struggle as she strives to embrace her fat mother's body positivity in a way that feels authentic to her age. Fatima is a crucial problem-solver for Addie, and though the friendship between the girls forms quickly, Fatima is bubbly and smart with her own goals and dreams, and she gets to be more than just a sidekick. The worldbuilding can be a bit rushed at times, but overall this is an enjoyable festive, autumnal adventure. A magic-filled treat. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
