Witch Class Volume 1

Dorothy, our cute heroine, becomes a witch to live out a romantic life that every girl wishes for: turning the world into a dark hellish cauldron, making everyone bow to her, and summoning cute zombies! Her hyperactive group of crazy characters make the heroine seem like a senile old lady in comparison. First, you have Dorothy's close friend Remi who doesn't seem to understand you're only supposed to take just one Prozac a day. Then you have Lilly, the witch whose fashion sense would make Madonna and Britney Spears blush. And finally, we can't forget about Dorothy's main love interest, a cute boy who's only problem is that he's a werewolf who wants to eat her alive!

Grade 8 Up–Dorothy is running late for school when she decides to follow a strange boy into the woods, hoping both to find a shortcut and to satisfy her curiosity about him. Instead, she makes her way through a magical barrier erected by a witch, Lilly, who is looking to set up a magical shop in Dorothy's village. Lilly claims to be impressed that Dorothy could make it through her barrier, and flatters the girl into believing in her magical potential. However, Dorothy can see no point in being an apprentice to a witch, and is only convinced to take on this duty under threat of being turned into a toad. So begins a comical story about a reluctant, naive apprentice; a scheming witch; an overachieving classmate (who wants to be an apprentice in order to outshine Dorothy); and the witch's nephew, who is both a werewolf and a potential love interest. This book successfully uses many conventions common to manga, including big-eyed girls, comic asides straight from the author, and various styles of black-and-white drawings incorporated into each page. The writing is straightforward, and the flow of the design is easy to follow for anyone familiar with the format. The text does contain a sprinkling of strong language. Teens who appreciate manga with supernatural themes will enjoy this lighthearted tale.–Dawn Rutherford, Kings County Library System, Bellevue, WA
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