Witchy Women

I've always had witch envy. It began with my first Halloween costume at the age of three. I was a witch, obviously, and I strutted around with cocky toddler confidence in my very special black pointed hat and miniature broomstick for a home video that is not available for the public. A few years later I read and fell in love with WHAT THE WITCH LEFT, a children's book by the wonderful Ruth Chew --- who is the author of many other supernatural-esque children's books which are unfortunately out of print. Getting back to my obsession, after reading this book until the pages became soft and the type blurred, I discovered a wonderful afternoon cartoon called "The Good Witch" and fell in love with the classic Bewitched reruns. At this point I was only ten years old and I already knew I wanted to be a witch, or at least read and dream about them.

A few years later --- OK fifteen years to be exact --- I still indulge in the genre. I love the girly film PRACTICAL MAGIC, based on the book by the lyrical and imaginative Alice Hoffman and I am a sucker for silly shows like the WB’s Charmed. I suppose I'm just drawn to all things witch-ish so I decided to share it with Teenreads ala our Witchy Women feature.

As you know, witches have long struggled against a bad rap --- um, do the words 'Salem witch trials' ring a bell? Sharpen your witch wit and wisdom by checking out our review of the historical book, WITCH: The Wild Ride From Wicked to Wicca by Candace Savage. This review breaks down the myth and lore from the 16th century to modern times. People also erroneously assume that all witches are evil --- think the Wicked Witch of the West and the stereotypical image of wart-covered noses and green faces --- but they are not. For a full lesson on spells and witch lore check out THE BOOK OF SHADOWS: The Unofficial Charmed Companion by Ngaire E. Genge. The title is deceiving because the book has nothing to do with the WB show except that it contains a series guide in the back and it's often mentioned in the program. Speaking of the wonderful WB…we would be bereft if we didn't mention the silly and frivolous but delicious Charmed book series based on the hit show about the Halliwell sisters. Peruse the latest installment by reading our review of THE GYPSY ENCHANTMENT by Carla Jablonski.

There are lots more where this came from, including our past Wicca feature, not to mention a recent review of TEEN WITCH: Wicca for a New Generation by Silver Ravenwolf. If you know of any great witch-inspired books you think we should mention in future updates of this feature, please drop me a note at Teenbooks@aol.com.

--- Dana Schwartz, aka my witch name Aubrey Wood