Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Wicked: Witch and Curse
Wicked Series - Books I and II

by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

     

Holly Cathers lives an ordinary enough life in San Francisco until her parents are killed in an accident. She is sent to live up in Seattle with her Aunt Marie-Claire and twin cousins Amanda and Nicole. But things are anything but ordinary here. Why do the wishes only her cat hears come true for one thing, and why is she drawn towards a boy she does not know? Waiting in the wings, ready to engulf the family, is an ancient family feud that has been going on for rather a long time...

This is a somewhat uneven pair of books that are the start of a five book series. The story gets off to a flying start in the first, but then becomes somewhat lost in the second volume. I couldn’t put the first book down, as there was just so much happening and had high hopes of the second part, but was rather disappointed. For one thing, there is a scene involving an animal being killed, which seems unnecessary and very out of character.

For a teen book there are some adult themes, including suicide. The magic itself has a darker tone than in many other books aimed at this age group. There is a lot in here and it veers from being impressive to being rather the opposite, which is a pity. If you like your books dark and don’t object to reading about animal cruelty then this might be up your dark alley. Overall, however, the word that kept coming up when I read it was uneven.

The Book

Simon and Schuster UK
3 September 2009
Paperback
1847386628 / 9781847386625
Teenage Fantasy / Contemporary / Seattle
More at Amazon.com US || UK
Excerpt
NOTE: Some animal cruelty and adult themes
US imprint is different (Simon Pulse)

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2010
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