I picked this up because the library branch I went to was supposed to have Witch Child based on a check the night before but it apparently was checked out by the time I got there the next day. Ms. Reese wrote this a lot earlier and it was short so I took it instead kind of as a sample of her writing. I'm glad I did. This seemed to written to a younger age group, more obviously than some I've read, and was a familiar theme but I really liked this short scary story. I liked the way it was developed, I liked the writing/language and I found it interesting how what seemed to be lessons in life and perception and thought (it did not seem didactic to me at all) were being presented through advice given to the main character but with obviously sinister motives. I was curious about how that would be addressed and was satisfied on that count at the end. I liked this. This added to my anticipation of Witch Child, along with Misty's review and Witch Child's popularity among the people I pay attention to. ( )

As fans of supernaturally tinged horror are well aware, the words "I'd give anything" are not to be spoken lightly. Overweight, uncool Lewis finds this out the hard way when he inadvertently promises his soul to a toy maker who hires him as an assistant. Feigning avuncular concern, Lewis' new boss inspires him to a diet, yoga, and exercise regimen that wins him his heart's desire: popular, gorgeous Jennie. Readers will quickly realize that Lewis' transformation "from fat boy to hunk in about a month" has more to do with the dark arts than his own self-discipline. Lewis is slower on the uptake, even after discovering an eerily lifelike replica of the toy maker's last assistant hidden in the workshop. The melodrama of the final showdown is mitigated by the fact that it's not just Lewis' soul at stake but the authenticity of his new identity. Far more mass-market in feel than Rees' historical novels, this British import will satisfy readers looking for something in the Stephen King mode. Jennifer Mattson
p.22 – 24 the policeman discovers a body barely alive. ( )