Bookish Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches is the story of Diana, an American witch in England, who tries to ignore her powers and  live life as  a normal human. However, when she inadvertently summons a magical tome that has been lost for centuries she attracts the attention of witches, vampires, and daemons--and such a gathering of magical creatures starts to attract human attention as well. One vampire in particular starts paying special attention to Diana, but she soon realizes he's a friend, not  a foe, and all her beliefs about magic and supernatural creatures may be wrong. But  witches and vampires are not supposed to be friends--so this starts a whole new mess of trouble...

An enjoyable romp; good vacation read. First  in a trilogy.

Bookish for Kids: Rumblewick's Diary

Book 1: My Unwilling Witch Goes to Ballet School

These books are told through the diaries of a witch's familiar: the cat Rumblewick. Rumblewick's witch, Haggy Aggy, is extremely reluctant to do anything witchlike and only wants to know what it is like to be a regular girl. Rumblewick has to hide Haggy Aggy's unwitchlike behavior from the other witches, lest she (and really, HE) get in trouble. In this book, HA decides to try out being a ballerina, but when the high hags come to check up on her, Rumblewick must find a way to make her act more witchlike, despite her stubbornness.

Book 2: My Unwilling Witch Sleeps Over

Haggy Aggy decides to go on a sleepover with regular little girls. With HA's aunt's familiar, Sassy, on the prowl to catch HA in any un-witchlike behavior, and Rumblewick trying to prepare for the Steeplechase heats--which he needs HA to attend to enter--will he be able to keep her from the sleepover and sure witchy disaster?

Overall, the books are cute, fast reads for kids beginning chapter books. There are black-and-white illustrations to accompany the stories. Sometimes Rumblewick's indignation goes over-board and there are some questions about how witches age, since Haggy Aggy fits right in with the little girls, but she can also drive a car. Overall, the books are cute, and will have some fans out there.

Both books will be available in hardcover from Little, Brown, & Co later this year.