Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
pages: 352
released: April 2022
publisher: Scholastic
cover love: ♥♥♥♥♥
Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches. And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can’t wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn’t placed in one of the five covens. She’s a Spare! Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn’t work! They’re stuck as Witchlings—and will never be able to perform powerful magic. Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they’ll gain their full powers. If they fail… Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever. But maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all… (from Goodreads)
Review:
Going into Witchlings, I was fully aware that it was a middle grade novel and not really my thing.
BUT I literally couldn’t help myself!
I follow Claribel Ortega on Twitter and as soon as she started posting about her upcoming book, I was all in.
First off, I LOVEEEEE stories about witches. And Ortega’s campaign for Witchlings had me so excited!!!!!
(Ok, ok, enough gushing)
Witchlings takes place in the wonderful world of Twelve Towns, in the town of Ravenskill. We meet our MC, Seven Nightshade Salazar, a 12 year old aspiring witch who is super nervous about the upcoming Black Moon Ceremony, where she will be sorted into one of five covens:
She hopes to be placed in House Hyacinth with her bestie, Poppy. But honestly, Seven would take any coven as long as she’s not one of the unlucky 3 Spares! Spares are leftover witches that will never progress to more powerful magic. They’re also shunned and looked down upon by other members of their society.
Unfortunately, the night of the ceremony, her fate as a Spare is sealed as every coven is filled by other witches (even Poppy). To make matters worse, Seven is now stuck FOREVER with her bully, Valley Pepperhorn and newcomer, Thorn La Roux, who just moved to Ravenskill. During the final part of the ceremony, where the town’s Gran casts a spell to seal each coven for good, Seven notices something is wrong and the spell isn’t working. She knows if the Spare coven doesn’t close, they will remain Witchlings and lose all their magic. She panics and invokes the Impossible Task: The trio will have to kill a Nightbeast to stay witches or suffer a fate worse than she thought possible.
What did I love about Witchlings?
The world-building was my favorite aspect of Witchlings. Ortega has spun an enchanted, witchy world full of whimsy and cute! Like, I wanna go to cozy little Ravenskill! The specific details of everything and everyone was definitely appreciated and lovely to read about. The names, magic systems, spell ingredients, toad races, animated robes! Ortega mixes meaning and style into every part of the town and its inhabitants. Everything is done with purpose. She wants us to be immersed in her characters’ world and she succeeded! The fun details about every coven; down to crests, dedicated colors, crystals and personalities was superb. Ortega shows you who Seven is and who she wants to be just by taking a tour of her room: the band posters, the book series, the saved articles (she dreams of being a journalist), plants everywhere, etc. Oh, did I mention she has a skylight?
Sorry, but I’m super impressed. I could go on and on but let’s move along shall we?
Ortega weaves bits of her own culture into Witchlings and tho it’s never said, I suspect that Seven is Dominican or at least part. Many of the spells are in Spanish and after reading an interview with Ortega, I know that Seven’s favorite cake was inspired by a similar Dominican delicacy. Witchlings also deals with the heavier topic of minority groups not having the same rights as everyone else. Seven, Valley and Thorn are fighting to stay Spares, even though they’re aware of the limitations it will give them. The work they will have to endure and never getting to fulfill the futures they dreamed of. When you read about how other Spares in Ravenskill are treated, it makes you so angry!
But there’s also lighter themes of ambition and friendship. Seven isn’t friends with Thorn and hates Valley in the beginning but by the last page, the trio has formed a real bond, something they didn’t have before and probably the reason they couldn’t seal their coven. Seven and Valley’s blossoming friendship reveals Valley isn’t who she’s perceived to be and needs help getting out of an abusive situation. Thorn is the upbeat and neutral bridge Seven and Valley sometimes need during their squabbles. They had to believe in each other before they could become true coven sisters! They also aspire to prove everyone wrong about them and work hard to accomplish their fated task.
Where was Witchlings lacking?
So even though I really loved many aspects of this book, there were some issues. The first half of the book had me hooked for sure. However, as the story headed towards the middle and end, it started to lack the strength it needed to be what I consider a great read. I started to see problems within the plot structure, it was becoming sort of…soft. The course of events and the characters’ pursuits weren’t holding together well and becomes repetitive after awhile. The second half of the book concentrates more on the task of finding a Nightbeast and the corruption lurking in the town, especially within its wealthier sectors. There’s more action taking place but it lacks the meticulous details found in the writing at the beginning. It kind of hops over that and tells instead of shows what’s going on. There are some plot points/twists that were just explained at the end, like a wrap-up of “why this happened, why that happened”. It felt rushed and over-simplified. Some of the situations the characters were put in then gotten out of, would come across as highly convenient at times.
On a personal note, I would have liked to see the other covens incorporated more into the story line, they all seemed so interesting, I would’ve loved to read more about the dynamics in those groups.
And more toads please (lol).
I thought Witchling’s lush world-building, girl power and overall cozy vibes were magnificent! But, the dwindling dazzle in the last half of the book and some plot issues, play a factor in why I didn’t give the book a higher rating. Overall, I think children will definitely enjoy Witchlings, its unique and beyond cute!
Am I going to continue the series?
Ummm…yes. I’m very curious what book 2 will be about…and there better be Pineapple Jam Cake!
BTW, if you wanna see what coven you’d be sorted into, just take this quiz!
(Moth House, where y’all at)?
p.s. I gave Witchlings the creative badge solely because witches in Ravenskill measure in toadstools, not inches.
(ok, ok, I’m going, bye)
3.5
