Thank you Scholastic for this book in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
It’s the summer before her sixteenth birthday, and Sabrina Spellman knows her world is about to change. She’s always studied magic and spells with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. But she’s also lived a normal mortal life – attending Baxter High, hanging out with her friends Susie and Roz, and going to the movies with her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle.
Now time is running out on her every day, normal world, and leaving behind Roz and Susie and Harvey is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially because Sabrina isn’t sure how Harvey feels about her. Her cousin Ambrose suggests performing a spell to discover Harvey’s true feelings. But when a mysterious wood spirit interferes, the spell backfires in a big way.
Sabrina has always been attracted to the power of being a witch. But now she can’t help wondering if that power is leading her down the wrong path. Will she choose to forsake the path of light and follow the path of night?
Review:
I am all for the darkness of Sabrina the TV show and I thought it would be interesting to see how that dark element would be delivered into a book but yet still have a light heart feel to the darkness so you don’t feel as though you are in a morbid horror written by Stephen King (not that there is anything wrong with that!) However Brennan pulled it off!
This prequel to the TV show fits in perfect and you can tell that Brannen has researched the characters and they types of personalities they have as well as their mannerisms. She also fills in the details of objects and ornaments that you will find around the house, or specifically, a witches house. The way that Brennan uses descriptive terms is brilliant and is exactly what I look for a in a writer’s work. She doesn’t overload you with descriptions but provides enough to set up an image in your mind with a little use of your imagination or imagery from the TV show.
Writing aside, I found the story highly engaging and really interesting and it laid the ground work perfectly for the TV show. You get to read flashbacks of Sabrina’s childhood from the point of view of other family members and from this you get to see how Sabrina formed and grew into the witch we love.
Overall I couldn’t fault this book, it was beautiful and brilliant. If you are a fan of the original Sabrina comics or the TV show then I highly recommend you read this!!!
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 9781338326048