Reviews

Beswitched by Kate Saunders

brandypainter's review against another edition

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3.0

Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

Beswitched by Kate Saunders has two elements I love: a boarding school and magic. It made it on to my TBR for that reason. It moved its way to the top when it was shortlisted for this year's Cybils.

Flora is a behaving like a spoiled brat at the beginning of the novel though in a way most MG readers will be able to identify with. She does improve, but it took a little too long for me to ever really warm to her as a character. The story is an interesting one and I like the contrast between modern life and 1935 life. The magic that pulls Flora to 1935 was performed by three of her classmates, fortunately the one she is sharing a dorm with so she has help. I couldn't help but feel really sorry for the other Flora who had lived in India all her life and suddenly found herself in modern day England with no one to explain to her what had happened or why. She has no significance to this story but I couldn't help but feel really sorry for her.

Despite its short length I found myself getting bored several times. There's not a lot of action and a lot of school detail. Normally I would by okay with that, but for some reason I just couldn't be made to care. It was probably due to my dislike for the characters more than that the story was boring itself. I knew the twist at the end was coming, but I think there are many MG readers who will be delightedly surprised with the way it all turns out.

Beswitched was entertaining enough, but not a book I could love. I tried to get Bit to read it to see what she thought. Our library has the version with the cover shown on the right and she took one look at it and said, "Ugh. That's very pink. I don't think I want to read that." There was no changing her mind.

rosalind14's review against another edition

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4.0

I think the best word to describe this book is charming. I picked it up from my younger sister's pile, started to read, and didn't put it down until the last page. It's definitely my sort of book, being set in a British boarding school in 1935; I think I would've loved it had I read it five or so years ago. I hope the author writes a sequel from the other Flora's point of view!

wendymccull's review

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5.0

this book exceeded my expectations!!!

abookishgirl's review against another edition

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4.0

Really sweet.

yinsie's review against another edition

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4.0

A lovely enjoyable easy read

blu_and_her_muses's review against another edition

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Ew, this cover. Why? xD

gabrielle4223's review against another edition

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4.0

It was a pretty good book. It was very interesting learning about the differences between the two centuries aside from the obvious lack of technology. I loved how Flora changed into a better more selfless person during her time in the past and was able to help Pete change as well. What a twist that Pete was Flora’s granny! It makes sense looking back at the clues that Flora highlighted herself, but wow! It was great that Pete managed to get the whole gang together for an afternoon in the present. It was a great ending.

liralen's review against another edition

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3.0

Flora's off to boarding school, which is just about the worst thing she could possibly imagine—until she finds herself in 1935, and present-day boarding school is looking pretty good.

It's a lot of fun. Flora's a horrible toad of a brat at first (okay, not that bad, but it's fun to say), both to her parents as they drop her off at the (contemporary) train station and to her new (1935) friends and classmates. But the more she learns about 1935 and the spell that brought her back in time, the better she understands that she's been called into the past to complete a task, and only then will she be able to go home.

Almost the entire book is spent in 1935, and I admit to a bit of disappointment about that—I'd have loved to see Flora experience the whiplash of going from 1935 boarding school to contemporary boarding school, or (better yet) the 'other Flora' going from contemporary boarding school back to 1935...the latter in particular. What ever became of 'other Flora'? We get only the bare minimum, which is a shame; she sounds like a firecracker.

Delightfully, the romance is left to the bare minimum and limited to secondary/tertiary characters, giving this room to focus on friendship instead.

book_nut's review against another edition

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4.0

Flora was a twat, but I ended up liking it anyway.

avrilhj's review against another edition

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5.0

So much fun. Just perfect light reading for anyone who enjoys Chalet School books, but is aware that life without hot showers would be really difficult.