Spellbinding - Softcover

Gold, Maya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545433800 ISBN 13: 9780545433808

Publisher: Point, 2013

Synopsis

There's more than one way to be powerful . . .

It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.

Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.

A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.

About this title

About the Author

Maya Gold is the author of the middle-grade series Cinderella Cleaners. She writes books for adults under a different name. Her eyes are a mix of hazel and gray, and though some of her ancestors come from New England, she doesn't think they were witches. She lives in upstate New York with her daughter.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up–Readers are likely to be familiar with the general storyline here: a 16-year-old girl who has been a gawky, invisible outsider her whole life suddenly discovers that she has magical powers and blossoms into someone “stunning” with “curves where I've never had them.” In this case, the girl is Abby, and she finds out that she is the descendant of a Salem witch. She meets Rem, an enigmatic, gorgeous boy who protects her when other witches need her to help them take revenge on the people of Salem. Also in the mix are the usual suspects: an absent dad, a substitute parental figure who takes Abby under her wing, Abby's childhood crush, and a trio of mean girls. Plot contrivances run amok: a full moon, the summer solstice, midsummer night, a witches' circle, and the prom are all on the same night. Abby is described as geeky and awkward about a dozen times too many; she's another klutzy female character who feels “a sense of surrender” when kissed. The similes are frequent, unoriginal, and awkward; Rem's skin is described as looking “like butterscotch” when “the glow of late-afternoon sun” shines on it, and gossip travels through the high school “like a run through a stocking.” Offensive racial stereotypes are the final straw. Stick with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's “Beautiful Creatures” (Little, Brown), Cassandra Clare's “Mortal Instruments” (S & S), or Sophie Jordan's “Firelight” series (HarperCollins) for paranormal romance recommendations.–Laura Lutz, Pratt Institute, New York Cityα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A rather pedestrian history class assignment has left Abby Silva a little . . . twitchy. Charged to find her first-generation American ancestors, Abby finds that she is descended from accused witches in Salem, and she may have more in common with them than she knows. When she goes to Salem to find out more, she casts aside her sensible friend Rachel after she meets Remy, a boy who can help her unlock the mystery of her past. While the story line seems to borrow heavily at times from other stock teenage tales (the movies Teen Witch and Carrie, among others), readers who have not yet been exposed to witchy lore may use this as their springboard to explore more in the supernatural genre. Recommend this to those craving lighter fare after Stephanie Hemphill’s Wicked Girls (2010) and Marc Aronson’s Witch-Hunt (2005). Grades 6-8. --Erin Downey Howerton

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From SPELLBINDING: Tourists stroll up and down toting shopping bags from the Witch Dungeon Museum. A couple of reenactors in colonial costumes and powdered wigs walk past, talking into their cell phones. "Your drinks?" says a low voice. I let out an actual gasp. It's the boy we saw sweeping the sidewalk. He is stunning. I'm stunned. He's dark-browed and lanky, with butterscotch skin and a thatch of unruly dark hair that bristles like sea grass. He's also got a couple of dimples that work overtime with that mischievous smile. But that's not what's socking me right in the gut, so hard I'm not sure I'll be able to breathe. It's his eyes. They're a clear, sparkling green, and splashed across one is a wedge of bright blue. They're the eyes in my dream.

Edition details

• Publisher: Point
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545433800
• ISBN 13: 9780545433808
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272