Brittany Geragotelis

Una bruja adolescente se las apaña para ser la más popular del instituto y ocultar que tiene poderes y además, tiene tiempo de enamorarse. Brooklyn se siente invisible a sus casi dieciséis años. Lo que querría es ser guapa, popular y ser el objeto de adoración de un chico mono. Afortunadamente para ella, está a punto de cumplir la mayoría de edad para las brujas, así que solo unos cuantos hechizos más la separan de sus sueño.
El día de su cumpleaños, los conservadores padres de Brooklyn finalmente le otorgan el uso total de sus poderes, lo que implica que es capaz de hacer hechizos de amor. Brooklyn empezará por usar sus poderes para renovarse completamente, hacer nuevos amigos y llamar la atención del chico que le gusta, Asher. Pero si sigue así, la van a descubrir y le va a suceder lo mismo que a sus antepasados, las famosas brujas de Salem: la acusarán públicamente, la avergonzarán y encima acabará por perder a Asher.
¿Podrá sacarle partido a sus poderes o se quedará sin suerte y sin amor? Cuidado con lo que deseas… (meer)

Hadley Bishop es descendiente directa de la bruja más poderosa y conocida de todos los tiempos. Además, es una adolescente que tiene todas las preocupaciones que corresponden a una chica de su edad: ser guapa, popular y salir con chicos.
La diferencia con cualquier chica de su edad radica en que ella lo tiene todo al alcance de la mano (o de la varita). ¿Le gusta el modelito que lleva una famosa en la revista? Lo hace aparecer en su talla. ¿Granos en la cara? Desaparecen con la rapidez del rayo...
Es, además, una alumna aventajada de las clases de hechizos a las que asiste después de su jornada en el instituto.
Sin embargo, algo está a punto de suceder que hará que Hadley deje las frivolidades a un lado y se dé cuenta de lo peligroso que pueden ser sus poderes.… (meer)

What I Loved

Asher: Now this is a boyfriend any girl would be lucky to have! Kind, considerate, loves his family, hangs out with his little sister, smart…I fell hard for Asher and am very anxious to see what happens with him next. While Brooklyn is the lead here, Asher was the one who impressed me the most and I was none to keen on some choices Brooklyn made in regards to him.

Pacing: I found What The Spell? to actually be a pretty addictive little read. Bright and sparkly, it just had me racing along to see what happened next with Brooklyn (and Asher). I started it pretty late at night, so I only got through a few chapters then, but when I picked it up the next day I didn’t put it down until I was done – basically a matter of a few hours. I was alternately enthralled and appalled by Brooklyn’s actions as she did her darndest to get in with the popular kids. The ending left me hungering for more (author Brittany Geragotelis leaves things up in the air with Brooklyn and Asher), so I will definitely be picking up book two in the series – Life’s A Witch – when it is released later this year.

What I Liked

Consequences: Brooklyn bows to peer pressure and ends up making some bad choices in What The Spell?, but it was nice to see that there were actual consequences to her actions. While they may not have been as severe as I would have liked, she did ultimately decide to do the right thing on her own and tried to set her wrongs right. I’m always happy to see actions having consequences.

An Awesome Guidance Counselor: Frankly, I don’t think I ever even met my high school guidance counselor so I always find it interesting when one has a prominent place in a young adult novel. In this instance, I was especially intrigued by the fact that when the story kicks off Brooklyn’s only real friend IS the guidance counselor Ms. Zia. I really liked that Ms. Zia was one of the “popular kids” in school and had apparently “turned her life around” to become a high school guidance counselor, which gave her a unique insight to what Brooklyn was going through as she attempted to become one of The Elite. Even on the page she seemed warm and approachable, and I felt Geragotelis did a wonderful job with her character. I think she was probably my favorite after Asher.

Cupid Strikes Again: It turns out that Brooklyn is not only a witch, she’s got a special talent for matching up couples – sensing who is perfect for who. I thought this was a cute addition to the story, and provided something a little different in a witch’s tale. It also gave an opportunity for more screw-ups on the part of Brooklyn, as well as some questions regarding her relationship with Asher. How much of it was real?

What I Didn’t Like

Terrible Life Choices: I think Brooklyn may just get the prize in my book for making some of the worst life choices I’ve come across in a young adult novel in a while. Her quest for popularity leads her down some VERY questionable paths including vandalism and breaking and entering. NOT great characteristics in a lead character. As if all of this wasn’t bad enough, her choices include misdirection and outright lies to Asher. While she does eventually redeem herself (for the most part), the whole Asher thing really bothered me and I almost dropped my star rating a bit in response. However, seeing how the quest to “fit in” with the popular kids really did land her in hot water and made her (finally!) question the choices she was making I went with my first instinct and kept it at four stars. It was close, though.

Conclusion

Alternately enthralled and appalled by the adventures of Brooklyn as she attempted to become entrenched at the top of the high school hierarchy and land herself a great boyfriend, I found What The Spell? to be an addictive little read with some really great characters. I struggled a bit with the rating on this one (there were just so many bad choices made by the heroine), but ultimately gave it that fourth star because I did find it highly entertaining and her actions did have consequences that made her question what she was willing to do for popularity. I’m anxious to see what author Brittany Geragotelis comes up with next in book two Life’s A Witch (which apparently underwent some major rewrites after being picked up by a publisher) when it releases later this year.… (meer)