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ktg_420 's review for:
Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel
by A.W. Jantha
I've waited for this day for 25 years. Finally, the book gods have blessed us with a sequel to one of the best things to happen to the Millennial Generation since Wi-Fi.
The movie came out the year I was born and it's been a staple in my life every All Hallow's Eve, ever since.
Part 1: 5/5
The first third of the book is a fun re-telling to a movie I've seen a ridiculous number of times. "Hearing" the thoughts of Max during some pretty pivotal points in the movie, gave me a fresh take on what the character's motivation has been. As I've grown up with the movie, I've always had certain questions about why things occurred in the ways that they did. Excuse the cheesiness: reading this section was like using a new fabric softener on my favorite blanket. Surprisingly, yet comfortable.
Part 2: [Warning Spoilers] 4-4.5/5
I've quickly skimmed other reviews on this and the sequel seems to divide houses. I'll do my best to be honest with the review of the book.
Books like this do not come around often enough for YA readers. The way the story introduces all of the old fan favorites and doesn't hold back on how they've grown. We see Allison and Max, who have come such a long way from the kids they were in the first installment. Max is a US History teacher, who is no nonsense about the "Sanderson subject." Yet, he's retained his California, laid-back, tie-dyed point of view. Allison has become a kick-ass lawyer and mother. Together, they raised their daughter (Poppy) to be vary wary about Halloween. The cameo of Dani/Binx/Emily is too short, but what is lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. A.W. Jantha truly captured the sassy essence of Thora Birch in these pages and I could honestly read an entire series of books based off of Dani/Max/Allison escapades post Hocus Pocus.
Poppy is the quintessential new millennial teen. She's open about her sexuality and of her disregard for the family halloween tale. She's sharp like her mother, witty like her Aunt Dani and compassionate like her father.
After Poppy, we get a diverse cast of characters to love. Travis, a childhood friend and confidante, who is the only other person outside of the Dennison family to know the secret. He's introduced as stating he's the next black president and as the plot untanglings he worries how Stanford will consider this adventure in his life. Then, we are introduced to Isabella. Isabella rounds out the core member of the trio as the eighth great-niece to the Sanderson sisters. She is is also Poppy's love interest and watching their interracial and intersectional love blossom over the pages is one of the most wholesome experiences I've had as a reader to date.
The plot is kicked off by the new trios determination to figure out if what really happened to Poppy's parents was "just a bunch of hocus pocus." Isabella mysteriously received Winifred Sanderson's book after the DNA test results confirmed her heritage. She brings it and a Ouija to the Dennison's Halloween BloodMoon Bash. After a confrontation with the school's version of Regina George, the trio flees to the Sanderson House to test out their theory about the Dennison story. Unfortunately, they find out the story is in-fact true and get tangled up the the Sanderson's all over again. I'm not going to go into the plot much more than that, since that's the entire reason to pick up this sequel in the first place.
As the plot develops, I think the cast of characters gets away from the point a little. We're inundated with characters that are not directly relevant to the overall story except to act as an overwhelming swarm. I think that tackling the behemoth that is the sequel of Hocus Pocus and still maintaining an original voice/story is something that Jantha does quite well. Katie Taylor (Re: Regina George) is a breath of fresh air and her character development over the course of the novel is really entertaining to witness. She's not just a foil character and she's not thrown in to be a love triangle or relationship complicator. Katie is her own fierce firestorm and the incorporation of her father (Jay Taylor - Former bully/current-principal), really allowed for the unresolved tensions at the end of Hocus Pocus to be addressed and show mature development between Max & Jay.
Overall, Jantha's success at telling a different tale is an absorbing read. I couldn't put it down. I don't usually get too involved with the story as I'm reading, yet there were times when I would audibly aw or gasp along with the characters. I loved that the ending allowed for more books to come (and I REALLY hope that they do).
Thank you, freeform. Thank you, Disney. Most of all, Thank you, A.W. Jantha for giving the world a queer, interracial story line that was well developed. Thank you for making it NOT be a coming-out story. Thank you for making this be the book that I wish I had when I was Dani's age. I truly hope we get to see more of this fabulous cast!
KTG
The movie came out the year I was born and it's been a staple in my life every All Hallow's Eve, ever since.
Part 1: 5/5
The first third of the book is a fun re-telling to a movie I've seen a ridiculous number of times. "Hearing" the thoughts of Max during some pretty pivotal points in the movie, gave me a fresh take on what the character's motivation has been. As I've grown up with the movie, I've always had certain questions about why things occurred in the ways that they did. Excuse the cheesiness: reading this section was like using a new fabric softener on my favorite blanket. Surprisingly, yet comfortable.
Part 2: [Warning Spoilers] 4-4.5/5
I've quickly skimmed other reviews on this and the sequel seems to divide houses. I'll do my best to be honest with the review of the book.
Books like this do not come around often enough for YA readers. The way the story introduces all of the old fan favorites and doesn't hold back on how they've grown. We see Allison and Max, who have come such a long way from the kids they were in the first installment. Max is a US History teacher, who is no nonsense about the "Sanderson subject." Yet, he's retained his California, laid-back, tie-dyed point of view. Allison has become a kick-ass lawyer and mother. Together, they raised their daughter (Poppy) to be vary wary about Halloween. The cameo of Dani/Binx/Emily is too short, but what is lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. A.W. Jantha truly captured the sassy essence of Thora Birch in these pages and I could honestly read an entire series of books based off of Dani/Max/Allison escapades post Hocus Pocus.
Poppy is the quintessential new millennial teen. She's open about her sexuality and of her disregard for the family halloween tale. She's sharp like her mother, witty like her Aunt Dani and compassionate like her father.
After Poppy, we get a diverse cast of characters to love. Travis, a childhood friend and confidante, who is the only other person outside of the Dennison family to know the secret. He's introduced as stating he's the next black president and as the plot untanglings he worries how Stanford will consider this adventure in his life. Then, we are introduced to Isabella. Isabella rounds out the core member of the trio as the eighth great-niece to the Sanderson sisters. She is is also Poppy's love interest and watching their interracial and intersectional love blossom over the pages is one of the most wholesome experiences I've had as a reader to date.
The plot is kicked off by the new trios determination to figure out if what really happened to Poppy's parents was "just a bunch of hocus pocus." Isabella mysteriously received Winifred Sanderson's book after the DNA test results confirmed her heritage. She brings it and a Ouija to the Dennison's Halloween BloodMoon Bash. After a confrontation with the school's version of Regina George, the trio flees to the Sanderson House to test out their theory about the Dennison story. Unfortunately, they find out the story is in-fact true and get tangled up the the Sanderson's all over again. I'm not going to go into the plot much more than that, since that's the entire reason to pick up this sequel in the first place.
As the plot develops, I think the cast of characters gets away from the point a little. We're inundated with characters that are not directly relevant to the overall story except to act as an overwhelming swarm. I think that tackling the behemoth that is the sequel of Hocus Pocus and still maintaining an original voice/story is something that Jantha does quite well. Katie Taylor (Re: Regina George) is a breath of fresh air and her character development over the course of the novel is really entertaining to witness. She's not just a foil character and she's not thrown in to be a love triangle or relationship complicator. Katie is her own fierce firestorm and the incorporation of her father (Jay Taylor - Former bully/current-principal), really allowed for the unresolved tensions at the end of Hocus Pocus to be addressed and show mature development between Max & Jay.
Overall, Jantha's success at telling a different tale is an absorbing read. I couldn't put it down. I don't usually get too involved with the story as I'm reading, yet there were times when I would audibly aw or gasp along with the characters. I loved that the ending allowed for more books to come (and I REALLY hope that they do).
Thank you, freeform. Thank you, Disney. Most of all, Thank you, A.W. Jantha for giving the world a queer, interracial story line that was well developed. Thank you for making it NOT be a coming-out story. Thank you for making this be the book that I wish I had when I was Dani's age. I truly hope we get to see more of this fabulous cast!
KTG