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A review by marimoose
Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
4.0
So. Girl grows up in a family of witches but doesn't have the Talent to play with the rest. Girl eventually does a lot of reckless, teenage things that get her in trouble, more trouble than lets on, and we find out that this trouble practically affects time and space and the well-being of all of her witchy family. Oh, throw in time travel, an apparently super-smoking-hot romantic interest, and the realization that maybe, just maybe, the girl has some overpowering Talent after all.
That right there has the potential to explode in your face because it could go oh so damn wrong very quickly.
But it didn't. And I enjoyed the book.
Firstly, I think Tamsin had some sense in her. That's a lot to say about most of the angsty characters one gets in a typical young adult book. That's not to say she isn't whiny and jealous and everything one would feel being a teenager who wants...well, usually they think they want it but they really don't. It probably helped having the family that she had. I loved them all, particularly the matriarchs like her Grandmother Althea and even the terribly loopy Aunt Beatrice. And Rowena? Yeah, I don't know about anyone else, but I loved Rowena. Now that's a Talent.
Secondly, after being disclosed about what her Talent winds up being, I thought it would make her an overpowered character. No, seriously, let's tack three Talents in there just to be safe. But while I thought it would turn me off Tamsin entirely, it didn't, and it's because she still manages to put a "greenness" to it all. There are limits to her powers, and it shows with the whole Knight scenarios. They're technically using some other kind of magic to counteract whatever Talent they're up against, Tamsin's as well.
Thirdly, the romance was so frelling secondary. It was so secondary that, yes, it was there, it was acknowledged, but it didn't deter from what needed to be done. There was no pining involved, no triangle to contend with (NO TRIANGLE! YAY!), and yes, it was resolved really quickly. Tamsin has a guy in her life, and he supports her, and yes, there's still some cutesy romantic conversations between them without it interrupting the flow of the plot (And the dancing! Oh the dancing!).
Lastly, the time travel. I'm usually tentative with time travel books, after one really horrid experience with The Time Traveler's Wife (yeah, I really couldn't get into it). And this is coming from someone who watches and enjoys Doctor Who and who really loved the idea of time-bending in Bioshock Infinite. But with Once a Witch, it was well done, and not as confusing as I thought it would be. Thank goodness for that!
So there. It could have gone wrong, but it didn't. And it was great. And I want more. Except I'm horrid at keeping track of series. Yeah.
That right there has the potential to explode in your face because it could go oh so damn wrong very quickly.
But it didn't. And I enjoyed the book.
Firstly, I think Tamsin had some sense in her. That's a lot to say about most of the angsty characters one gets in a typical young adult book. That's not to say she isn't whiny and jealous and everything one would feel being a teenager who wants...well, usually they think they want it but they really don't. It probably helped having the family that she had. I loved them all, particularly the matriarchs like her Grandmother Althea and even the terribly loopy Aunt Beatrice. And Rowena? Yeah, I don't know about anyone else, but I loved Rowena. Now that's a Talent.
Secondly, after being disclosed about what her Talent winds up being, I thought it would make her an overpowered character. No, seriously, let's tack three Talents in there just to be safe. But while I thought it would turn me off Tamsin entirely, it didn't, and it's because she still manages to put a "greenness" to it all. There are limits to her powers, and it shows with the whole Knight scenarios. They're technically using some other kind of magic to counteract whatever Talent they're up against, Tamsin's as well.
Thirdly, the romance was so frelling secondary. It was so secondary that, yes, it was there, it was acknowledged, but it didn't deter from what needed to be done. There was no pining involved, no triangle to contend with (NO TRIANGLE! YAY!), and yes, it was resolved really quickly. Tamsin has a guy in her life, and he supports her, and yes, there's still some cutesy romantic conversations between them without it interrupting the flow of the plot (And the dancing! Oh the dancing!).
Lastly, the time travel. I'm usually tentative with time travel books, after one really horrid experience with The Time Traveler's Wife (yeah, I really couldn't get into it). And this is coming from someone who watches and enjoys Doctor Who and who really loved the idea of time-bending in Bioshock Infinite. But with Once a Witch, it was well done, and not as confusing as I thought it would be. Thank goodness for that!
So there. It could have gone wrong, but it didn't. And it was great. And I want more. Except I'm horrid at keeping track of series. Yeah.