Rating: 
Summary: witchcraft - Yes. Wicca - No.
Review: It's pretty obvious to me (as it must be to you) that more than a few of these reviews are written by outraged Christian Fundamentalists pretending to be kids. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm an adult Seeker working towards being initiated into the Gardnerian Tradition, which is one form of Wicca. There are many other traditions, mostly broken up into two camps: that of the British Traditionalist and the other of the American (often feminist and/or environmentalist), socio-political Wiccan practitioner. Silver Ravenwolf fits into neither of these categories.
She is, instead, a self-made witch with rather a narrow viewpoint and a bun on herself. (She is also out to make a good buck, as she has on several occasions readily admitted.) It seems to be going around these days. So many of these self-made "Wiccans" are writing books right and left, expounding on this or that theory or technique with great energy and authority, and while some of them really do have magical ability, they are almost never actually Wicca. And because their scope is so limited, they almost never realize this.
If you are interested in Wicca- the religion, the Mystery Tradition, into which you must usually be initiated in some shape or form- ignore this book and others like it (that goes for D.J. Conway, "Lady" Sheba, Raven Grimassi, Edain McCoy and their ilk) and instead concentrate on Ed Fitch, Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Vivianne Crowley, Patricia Crowther, Alex Sanders, Sybil Leek, and the earlier writings of the Farrars and Ray Buckland (specifically, "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" and "A Witches' Bible") for a British Traditional approach. For a more Eclectic approach, read Starhawk, Cunningham, Bonewits, Church of All Worlds stuff (Otter Zell and friends), and Faery Tradition stuff (Victor Anderson), etc. You will notice that none of these traditions will initiate anyone younger than age 18, but that does not mean you can't prepare- you would have to wait years to be initiated into some of these trads as an adult, so use the time wisely- you won't be sorry.
Or, you can just read the tribe of Llewellenites I just mentioned if you simply want to practice witchcraft. Very few of them are accurate in their research, but that doesn't matter. If you have a knack for a spell, you can make up practically what you like and it will often still work, as long as you focus your Will. But I would caution you not to neglect protection for yourself, first (ie: make sure you can cast a mean circle and call up some benevolent protection). Otherwise, some pretty unpleasant things can happen in the ethers that will catch up with you on this level in time. And know that these people you are reading are far, far from the last word in the magickal community.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so terrible
Review: I went into this book with a lot of mental guardrails. A lot of what I've read about Silver Ravenwolf indicated to me that I would not enjoy her books.Truth be told, this book is not absolutely terrible. There is a wealth of information in it on all sorts of things from celebrating the Sabbats, to Astral Projection. This information should not be overlooked. It is very helpful and thought provoking. What I didn't like was her condescending remarks about Christians and other once-borns. I didn't like her pre-occupations with how to tell people you are a witch, and money spells. Personally, my hackles went up every time she used the word "science" as if it were a synonym for magic. This may not bother some people, but personally I find it pretentious of her. This book is a decent book for beginners, but if this is the first or only book you read when being introduced to the craft, I worry about your overall outlook on the religion. One thing that could be dangerous about this book is that it could reinforce anti-social behaviour in those already prone to such behaviours. It almost seems written for people who "don't quite belong". It seems to be a thinly veiled "easy way out" for those who can't gain self-esteem in any other way, which is rather exploitive. I recommend this for a beginner who wants to flesh out their understanding of the basics, but definitely NOT as a full introduction to Wicca, or the only beginners source you use. Basically, only buy this book if you are going to read beginners books by at least two other authors to make sure you get an idea of the full picture. Silver hardly alludes at all to the fact that not all authors will agree with her. Don't decide to follow silver until you know what else is out there.
Rating: 
Summary: For a First Timer
Review: This is the first ever book that I have read on Witchcraft. I have to say that this was not only one of the easiest read books ever but the flow and style makes it one that is difficult to put down. Her open-mindedness and acceptance for everyone along with her ideologies that she offers really helped me in a time of crisis to make some serious decisions. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the craft.
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