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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A light, funny, witchy read!
Arriman the Awful is a black wizard born in a good, ordinary family. He carries the burden of Darkness and Evil for many years.
Bored with all the evil doings, he decides to pass the burden to his heir.
To produce a powerful black heir, he needs an equally dark witch for a bride.
But witches these days are ugly, with maggots in their hair, with whiskers covered with lice and scaly legs.
How would he find a suitable bride like this?
His secretary announces a witchy competition where the winner would marry the almighty Arrmin.
Enters Belladona.
A white witch who tries so hard to be black!
She is the whitest of them all.
Even the path she walks sprouts flowers.
This kind, helpful soul sets out to compete against all the evil witches to win the heart of Arrmin.
Will she succeed!
A satirical read that made me smile like a Cheshire cat every 5 min!
4 stars
Arriman the Awful is a black wizard born in a good, ordinary family. He carries the burden of Darkness and Evil for many years.
Bored with all the evil doings, he decides to pass the burden to his heir.
To produce a powerful black heir, he needs an equally dark witch for a bride.
But witches these days are ugly, with maggots in their hair, with whiskers covered with lice and scaly legs.
How would he find a suitable bride like this?
His secretary announces a witchy competition where the winner would marry the almighty Arrmin.
Enters Belladona.
A white witch who tries so hard to be black!
She is the whitest of them all.
Even the path she walks sprouts flowers.
This kind, helpful soul sets out to compete against all the evil witches to win the heart of Arrmin.
Will she succeed!
A satirical read that made me smile like a Cheshire cat every 5 min!
4 stars
Re reading is not among my inclinations or priorities. However, I had to make an exception for Which Witch?. I read it first about 20 years ago, and I liked it so much that I didn't forget the small details for a long time. But recently I have had the urge to revisit past favorites. That's why I broke my habits and read this book again.
The author's style is ebullient and twisty. Her imagination was spot on. She knew, by instinct, what was appealing and whimsical. The book is not of the fantasy genre. The world is real. And though there are magical people in it, there are no portals to other dominions. The magical creatures and wizards and what have yous keep to themselves, mostly. They don't look for a fight, or a battlefield to settle grievances. There is little world building, which is what attracted me towards this delightful and slim and lean book. There is no bloating, no extra filler. It's rare to find a quick and memorable read. Which witch? is definitely a work that manages to combine these two ascriptions.
I managed to find one plot hole here, about the oldest witch being eligible for the contest. And I thought Arriman's volte face towards Sir Simon unlikely. He, who never showed signs of guile, manages to come up with a plan out of the blue. These are minor nitpicks. This is an under appreciated book, both by children and adults. Among all quick reads, this book has more substance than most. It has fallen into semi anonymity. But I have the feeling it will never go out of print, as there always will be people to pass on the fact that the book is a keeper.
The author's style is ebullient and twisty. Her imagination was spot on. She knew, by instinct, what was appealing and whimsical. The book is not of the fantasy genre. The world is real. And though there are magical people in it, there are no portals to other dominions. The magical creatures and wizards and what have yous keep to themselves, mostly. They don't look for a fight, or a battlefield to settle grievances. There is little world building, which is what attracted me towards this delightful and slim and lean book. There is no bloating, no extra filler. It's rare to find a quick and memorable read. Which witch? is definitely a work that manages to combine these two ascriptions.
I managed to find one plot hole here, about the oldest witch being eligible for the contest. And I thought Arriman's volte face towards Sir Simon unlikely. He, who never showed signs of guile, manages to come up with a plan out of the blue. These are minor nitpicks. This is an under appreciated book, both by children and adults. Among all quick reads, this book has more substance than most. It has fallen into semi anonymity. But I have the feeling it will never go out of print, as there always will be people to pass on the fact that the book is a keeper.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This was a delightful romp--honestly one of the funniest children's books I've read in years. Every time Mother Bloodwort turned herself in a coffee table I about peed myself. The plot is very simple, but tightly woven, and the characters are so very dear, even in their evilness. And the humor is spot-on. This would be a fantastic read-aloud book for any child who is not easily perturbed by slightly scary silliness.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
Which Witch is all around such a great book. I fell in love with it the first time I read it in elementary school and rereading it is such a great experience.
The romance made me laugh (but in a good way, of course). The over-the-top, head over heels, love at first sight meeting of Belladonna and Arriman combined with the absolutely tired aura that Lester and Mr. Leadbetter give off makes for a really humorous combination.
Arriman is like "Oh, yes, I've always wanted to be called Arry! Let's get married!!" and Leadbetter & Lester are like "I am feeling illegal amounts of second-hand embarrassment. This is absolutely ridiculous."
I feel like the pitch of this one should be something like [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183] plus [b:The Witches|6327|The Witches|Roald Dahl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351707720l/6327._SY75_.jpg|105046] (but the witches are nice in this book). Maybe I should work on that.
Which Witch is a fun and whimsical middle-grade book that effectively and flawlessly combines humor and a great plot to create just an overwhelmingly lovely tale. There's always going to be a special place in my heart for this book, and for me, it embodies a nostalgic read.
The romance made me laugh (but in a good way, of course). The over-the-top, head over heels, love at first sight meeting of Belladonna and Arriman combined with the absolutely tired aura that Lester and Mr. Leadbetter give off makes for a really humorous combination.
Arriman is like "Oh, yes, I've always wanted to be called Arry! Let's get married!!" and Leadbetter & Lester are like "I am feeling illegal amounts of second-hand embarrassment. This is absolutely ridiculous."
I feel like the pitch of this one should be something like [b:The Selection|10507293|The Selection (The Selection, #1)|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322103400l/10507293._SY75_.jpg|15413183] plus [b:The Witches|6327|The Witches|Roald Dahl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1351707720l/6327._SY75_.jpg|105046] (but the witches are nice in this book). Maybe I should work on that.
Which Witch is a fun and whimsical middle-grade book that effectively and flawlessly combines humor and a great plot to create just an overwhelmingly lovely tale. There's always going to be a special place in my heart for this book, and for me, it embodies a nostalgic read.