Disclaimer: If you haven’t read the first book in the series, A Tale of Magic…, I would strongly recommend reading that book before delving into this novel. Have you ever dreamed of a faraway land with magic, talking animals, and witches? In this land, magic has just been legalized, or at least that is what everyone thinks. A Tale of Witchcraft… is a one-of-a-kind book! The author, Chris Colfer, grabs readers from the very beginning into a fast-paced, meaningful, and magical tale of friendship and betrayal. The main protagonist, Brystal Evergreen, is known as the Fairy Godmother—the strongest fairy. Brystal’s generosity and optimistic nature fuel her ever-growing passion for teaching young girls and boys how to use their magic for good. The world is calm and happy, and it seems as if no one dislikes magic. The magical community has worked so hard to be accepted by the Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Kingdoms. Acceptance is hard to find when one is different from everyone else. Even if one tries to fit in, only the truest of friends will accept them for who they are. The book opens with the rise of an ancient organization, The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has been in the shadows for millennia. They have a philosophy that states the world is made to be ruled by man, and anything that seems to defy their belief has to be eliminated, which is the magical community! This beginning enveloped me in a sea of thoughts. How would an organization—with no magic—have a chance at ridding the world of magic? In previous books by Chris Colfer, the beginnings always had a significance, so, at the time, I was unsure what the relevance of The Brotherhood would be until I ventured further into the book. How would you handle a deadly curse that subjects you to oppression? Would you listen to the negative thoughts in your head—formed from the curse—or would you fight it? After fixing a dam in the Western Kingdom, Brystal’s conscience starts to backfire on her. For example, when the Western Kingdom praised the Fairy Council—a group of fairies striving to help others—Brystal became clouded with pessimistic thoughts. As the novel continues to develop, the curse aggravates Brystal’s mental state, putting her life on the line. Not by coincidence, a witch, Mistress Mara, arrives from her rival school to recruit new students. As the praised Fairy Godmother, Brystal thought that she was the only one who could fix her problems, and by doing so, she pushed away some of her best friends, especially Lucy. Brystal soon realizes that the only way to break the curse is by fighting the negativity and believing in herself! Brystal guides the reader through the book while she struggles with her rebounding negative thoughts. Similar to Chris Colfer’s other novels, A Tale of Witchcraft… expands on the theme of acceptance within oneself and others, while including a spring of adventure with the turn of every page. A Tale of Witchcraft… by Chris Colfer. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
book review
Wilder Girls, Reviewed by Lucey, 11
Wilder Girls is narrated through the perspectives of two girls. The first is Hetty and the second is Byatt. Both girls live in a quarantined school. An infection, also known as “The Tox,” has been going around for eighteen months. The Tox first murdered the teachers and then it slowly started spreading to some students. Reese, one of Hetty and Byatt’s childhood friends, happens to be in their school as well. Suddenly, The Tox infects Byatt and she goes missing. The outside of the Raxter School’s fence is forbidden to cross. Hetty and Reese have no choice but to break the rules and step outside the fence. This thrilling Sci-Fi novel kept me turning the pages until I reached the end. Rory Power’s writing is so sophisticated, it made me feel like I was inside the story. The authors’ enthusiasm is clear throughout this book and there are no dull scenes at all. The side romance between Hetty and Reese is just enough for me. I am not a fan of fluffy romance scenes, but the dynamic between Hetty and Reese was actually an interesting addition to the story. Wilder Girls is one of my favorite science fiction books. I enjoyed all four hundred pages of this book in one day simply because I could not stand not knowing what happens next. I really loved this read. It makes me view the entire Sci-Fi genre differently. Wilder Girls by Rory Power. Ember, 2020. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
The Outsiders, Reviewed by Daniel, 12
S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders tells the story of a young teenager named Ponyboy, who is a member of the greasers gang, who is ensnared in a battle with the Socs, the richer people in the neighborhood. One day, a group of Socs try to drown Ponyboy, who is a greaser, in a fountain, but his friend Johnny kills one of the Socs, which causes them to run away. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Ponyboy and Johnny are also forced to flee, and they hide out in an abandoned church. It is during this time that a fire starts in the church, and Ponyboy and Johnny go in to rescue the children who are still stuck inside. From this moment in the book forward, things begin to change for Ponyboy. He questions the ideals he has believed for a long time, and it seems that his worldview has changed substantially by the end of the book. At the beginning of the book, Ponyboy believed that all Socs were bad, and that revenge against them was the only option; however, he meets some Socs who show him that’s not true. Many of his friends, including Johnny, had been jumped by Socs before, and they were often very brutal, sometimes even killing greasers. Ponyboy thinks the Socs “jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks.” However, one day when Ponyboy is at the theater, he meets a Soc named Sherri Valance (nicknamed Cherry), who tells him that not all Socs are bad. Ponyboy befriends her, and Ponyboy comes to the conclusion that while greasers are more sensitive, Socs are cold, aloof, and the exact opposite. As Cherry puts it, “we don’t feel.” While Ponyboy begins to realize Socs like Cherry exist, his viewpoint gets conflicted when Cherry’s boyfriend Bob nearly drowns him, driving Johnny, who is known to be kind and perhaps a bit shy, to stab Bob, which kills him. This incident lingers in Ponyboy’s head for a while, but it isn’t until the end of the book that he really changes. After Ponyboy encounters another Soc, he begins to reconsider who’s right and who’s not. After Ponyboy returns from the abandoned church with Johnny, Randy Anderson, who is a friend of Bob, pays a visit to him. He tells him that in truth, Bob was actually a nice guy, and that his parents spoiled him too much. This caused Bob to be very angry, annoyed, and perhaps even sad; all he wanted, Randy said, was for his parents to say “no” to him once. He went out of control and was constantly drinking, and that’s partially what caused him to attack Ponyboy. This was different from what Ponyboy had believed; he thought Bob was simply fueled by hatred for the greasers. Cherry tells him a similar story, which changes him even more, since Cherry was the only friend he had that wasn’t a greaser. Although he still shows up at the big fight between the greasers and the Socs, it is clear that he is a changed person by the end of the book. While many of his friends, such as Ponyboy’s own brothers, remain unchanged from the beginning to the end, a small but certain seed of change is planted in Ponyboy, and grows steadily throughout the book. His encounters with Cherry, Randy, and the other Socs changed him, and this is portrayed well by the last couple pages of the book. During this time, Ponyboy’s grades drop substantially, but he gets over this by writing out what’s nagging him the most: the event that started his of conflict morals, Bob’s death. The change in Ponyboy may have been small, but in the end it was enough to make him think things over again. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Puffin Books, 1988. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
