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Rating: 
Summary: fun for young fans of fantasy
Review: Beatrice is the girl next door, just trying to fit in. Just like almost every "tween" she feels like she'll never quite fit in - her parents are a bit odd, she has to go to a "special school" once a week, she doesn't feel like she's smart enough, pretty enough or special enough to be noticed and she's trying to deal with the changes in her friendships that happen at 12 years old. Of course, unlike most tweens, she really is more than a bit different. You see she's a witch, complete with witch parents and witch lessons on top of all the normal middle school stuff. Beatrice is about to turn 12 years old and find out if she's powerful enough to be classified as "classical" witch with special powers or if she'll stay a reformed "everyday" witch, like her parents and her friends. This (hopefully) first book in the series introduces you to Beatrice, her family and friends and follows the kids through their first leg of a "noble quest" that only they can accomplish. It's a fun read that draws you into the story with every page. Except for the fact that they are witches, Beatrice and her friends could be any of my daughter's friends (or for that matter, any of my friends when I was that age) trying to figure out where they are going to fit in the world they are trying to grow into. Each of the four friends have relatively unimportant, but unique, skills that will prove that there is more to them than meets the eye and "more to magic than spells".I didn't find the book at all like Harry Potter (except for the fact that there are witches in it). Beatrice has a loving family and friends and is happy with the way her life has been up until the Witches council gives her this task. Throughout the first book she has to make choices, rely on her better judgement and think of ways to use her and her friends' talents to help others. Beatrice seemed real enough to my daughter to make her talk about how she sometimes feels the same way about school and friends. When the book was over we both moaned,"What's going to happen next? What's going to happen in the next book?" We can't wait for the second story!
Rating: 
Summary: A "Magical" treat of a read!
Review: Beatrice is the girl next door, just trying to fit in. Just like almost every "tween" she feels like she'll never quite fit in - her parents are a bit odd, she has to go to a "special school" once a week, she doesn't feel like she's smart enough, pretty enough or special enough to be noticed and she's trying to deal with the changes in her friendships that happen at 12 years old. Of course, unlike most tweens, she really is more than a bit different. You see she's a witch, complete with witch parents and witch lessons on top of all the normal middle school stuff. Beatrice is about to turn 12 years old and find out if she's powerful enough to be classified as "classical" witch with special powers or if she'll stay a reformed "everyday" witch, like her parents and her friends. This (hopefully) first book in the series introduces you to Beatrice, her family and friends and follows the kids through their first leg of a "noble quest" that only they can accomplish. It's a fun read that draws you into the story with every page. Except for the fact that they are witches, Beatrice and her friends could be any of my daughter's friends (or for that matter, any of my friends when I was that age) trying to figure out where they are going to fit in the world they are trying to grow into. Each of the four friends have relatively unimportant, but unique, skills that will prove that there is more to them than meets the eye and "more to magic than spells". I didn't find the book at all like Harry Potter (except for the fact that there are witches in it). Beatrice has a loving family and friends and is happy with the way her life has been up until the Witches council gives her this task. Throughout the first book she has to make choices, rely on her better judgement and think of ways to use her and her friends' talents to help others. Beatrice seemed real enough to my daughter to make her talk about how she sometimes feels the same way about school and friends. When the book was over we both moaned,"What's going to happen next? What's going to happen in the next book?" We can't wait for the second story!
Rating:
Summary: fun for young fans of fantasy
Review: I read this book with my nine year old son. He really enjoyed his journey into Beatrice's magical world. It is fast paced and has just the right amount of adventure without being overly frightening. As to one reviewer's reference to the "wiccan-ness" of this book I would somewhat agree. My son didn't pick up on any of that. He just loves tales of magic and mystery, and he understands this is fiction. I believe younger Harry Potter fans will enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: very interesting if not completely original.
Review: I'm amazed to have even been able to read this one. I mean the christain groups were spinning around about Harry Potter teaching satanism to our kids and it was pure fantasy witchcraft. The witchraft in this book fits in a border between fantasy and realistic wicca. Anyways this book is still a fun fun fun read. The plot is simple, Beatrice Bailey (aka Bailiwick) is a witch and on her 12th birthday, the great witch committee (or something like that) can't decide whether she is an everyday witch or a really powerful classical witch so they test her by bringing her to the witch's sphere and getting her to break an ancient curse. There is alot of Harry Potter similarities. The two worlds, one for humans one for witches, teenage witch heroes, etc... but there are also enough differences to make this a book well worth reading. For one, Beatrice already knows of her witchy ways.
I'd advise parents to be okay with alternate religions before letting their kids read it. I myself am not religious at all, but was still pretty amazed at the wiccan-ness of the whole book (for instance anytime one of the kids ends a spell they usually end it by saying "so mote it be" exactly like wicca). I think Forrester might have made a mistake with this, lots of people are going to have problems with their kids reading this. On the other hand, I'm really really happy, its about time there were books out there that express other religious views than christianity. Don't misunderstand this though, the book has enough fantasy elements to keep it on the fiction friendly side.
Overall a book that has a fun story line, likeable characters, and if it ever gets famous enough...loads of controversy. Buy a copy before the frenzied mobs torch them all!
Rating:
Summary: very interesting if not completely original.
Review: I'm amazed to have even been able to read this one. I mean the christain groups were spinning around about Harry Potter teaching satanism to our kids and it was pure fantasy witchcraft. The witchraft in this book fits in a border between fantasy and realistic wicca. Anyways this book is still a fun fun fun read. The plot is simple, Beatrice Bailey (aka Bailiwick) is a witch and on her 12th birthday, the great witch committee (or something like that) can't decide whether she is an everyday witch or a really powerful classical witch so they test her by bringing her to the witch's sphere and getting her to break an ancient curse. There is alot of Harry Potter similarities. The two worlds, one for humans one for witches, teenage witch heroes, etc... but there are also enough differences to make this a book well worth reading. For one, Beatrice already knows of her witchy ways.
I'd advise parents to be okay with alternate religions before letting their kids read it. I myself am not religious at all, but was still pretty amazed at the wiccan-ness of the whole book (for instance anytime one of the kids ends a spell they usually end it by saying "so mote it be" exactly like wicca). I think Forrester might have made a mistake with this, lots of people are going to have problems with their kids reading this. On the other hand, I'm really really happy, its about time there were books out there that express other religious views than christianity. Don't misunderstand this though, the book has enough fantasy elements to keep it on the fiction friendly side.
Overall a book that has a fun story line, likeable characters, and if it ever gets famous enough...loads of controversy. Buy a copy before the frenzied mobs torch them all!
Rating:
Summary: Well written story about a young girl in a magical world
Review: My daughter was excited about a new book she had read, "The Everyday Witch." She was so excited that after returning the book to the library she said she wanted to buy her own copy. She had read and reread the book several times over the three weeks. I was curious and so I read it.
The story is about a young witch, Beatrice Bailey, who lives in our world. When she turns twelve she is given a quest to rescue some relatives who have been placed under a spell by an evil witch. This book, the first, is about Beatrice's venture into the world of magic and with the help of some friends tries to break part of the spell.
There have been some comparisons between these books and the Harry Potter books. The Beatrice Bailey stories have some of the same richness of a detailed world of magic. So far the world is lighter that the Harry Potter world. Beatrice grew up knowing that she was a witch, and she comes from a healthy family that loves her.
If you enjoy, or your children enjoy, light fantasy, then this is a good book to get. It reads well. The book has a well fleshed out magical world that entertains and enthralls.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling Tale of Magic and Adventure
Review: Tall, skinny, Beatrice Bailey is about to turn twelve-years-old. Sure she's excited at the prospect of getting another year older, but the fact that she will be getting her official witch classification makes her dread the day, and hope that it will never come. For on her twelfth-birthday, the Witches Executive Committee will classify her as either an "Everyday" witch, or a "Classical" witch. However, Beatrice is a special case, for the Witches Executive Committee can't make up their mind about which classification Beatrice rightfully deserves, so they assign Beatrice to a Noble Quest that will test her Maximum Magic Level. Before they know it, Beatrice and her closest friends (Teddy, Cyrus, and Ollie), are sent to an enchanted country called Bailiwick where they must try to succeed in breaking a spell that was cast by an evil sorcerer known as Dally Rumpe. There they must get past a fire-breathing dragon, and an enchanted hedge of thorns, to undo the spell that has covered the town in nothing but snow and ice.
Sandra Forrester has created an exciting new series with THE EVERYDAY WITCH. Beatrice is a fun character, who is intelligent and talented, even if she doesn't know it yet. Her friends make the story even better, as they all have certain quirks about them that make the reader laugh. Teddy is obsessed with what true witches are wearing, as she always wants to be up-to-date in witch fashion; Cyrus is constantly shrinking himself to retrieve items in sewers, vents, and any other tiny place that you can imagine; and Ollie is the problem solver. Together they create an enjoyable group of characters that will satisfy even the most reluctant reader. All in all this is a thrilling tale of magic and adventure that will capture the hearts of both male and female middle readers looking for an exciting fiction novel.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book That's NOT Just For Kids
Review: The Everyday Witch is a very good book, it tells the tale of a young witch and her three friends and their adventure in the magical place called "The Witchs' Sphere." In this book the four have to go on an adventure which brings them to a dangerous land, gives them an unforgetable encounter with an evil villian, and gives them a chance to learn a little more about themselves and their desires. I liked the book because it is a lot like a fairy tale, except more exciting and modern. You get to know the characters quite well and the authors' description of everything paints a wonderful picture. This book is up on the level of Midnight for Charlie Bone and Harry Potter(any of the four that have been published as of yet.)
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book That's NOT Just For Kids
Review: The Everyday Witch is a very good book, it tells the tale of a young witch and her three friends and their adventure in the magical place called "The Witchs' Sphere." In this book the four have to go on an adventure which brings them to a dangerous land, gives them an unforgetable encounter with an evil villian, and gives them a chance to learn a little more about themselves and their desires. I liked the book because it is a lot like a fairy tale, except more exciting and modern. You get to know the characters quite well and the authors' description of everything paints a wonderful picture. This book is up on the level of Midnight for Charlie Bone and Harry Potter(any of the four that have been published as of yet.)
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