Fast-Paced Fun and Fright with Contemporary Witches and Sorcerers

The first-person narrator and main character will definitely be a hit with YA readers ; Tabatha Zeng is a 17-year-old high school senior and a fortune-telling sorceress (in training) who lies to her parents in what she calls a “Perfect Asian Daughter voice.” She is well aware that in centuries past she would have been drowned or burned at the stake, but the alure of living a totally beyond-average life is too much to decline. However, there seems to be a hint of danger in the future as she works with Sorcerer Solomon. Part of the charm of this book, however, is the fact that Solomon also has a private life which sounds fairly normal. He’s a father of three children who has been married twice, and ex-wife number one is a witch, albeit a beautiful one, in her own right. Her witchy skills evidently don’t help her understand common courtesy, for when she confronts Tabatha she accentuates the pronunciation of her last name and makes a comment about “Chinese girls or Korean girls or whatever it is you are…”

These very human relationships and characteristics along with regular-human rude comments add interest to the characters' development, perhaps making some of them easier to dislike but even more - easier to fear!