A friend of mine recommended this series to me, which was the way she first heard of Wicca. I read the first 4 books a while ago when she lent them to me and recently I bought the first book to re-read since I liked the new cover designs.
The Good:
Gets the basics of Wicca right, even if over-simplified to make the author’s job easier. While not realistic in its approach to introducing Wicca, it does attempt to navigate those first issues and questions people usually have when first learning about Wicca.
It’s a nice, easy read – fun tweeny mundane & magical issues.
The Bad:
The main character is the epitome of “normal,” since we’re supposed to identify with her. However, she quickly turns out to be quite extraordinary in the first book, again reinforcing the incorrect notion that you need need to be *special* or *uniquely gifted* to practice Wicca effectively.
I also dislike the idea that they stretched the series into 15 books when they’re each ridiculously short with large print. So much for bang for your buck. I’d like to see the publishers group some of these books together, like make the first 3 books into one, etc.
The Ugly:
Since this book series acted as a Wicca primer for my friend (and others, I imagine) I had to field a lot of questions that I probably wouldn’t have had to if she hadn’t read the series. Memorably, she asked me if the “Seven Great Clans” really existed. Nope, sorry! I told her they added that for dramatic effect to make the story exciting. While most Wiccans feel called to the Craft, it makes no difference – if you consider yourself a “hereditary witch,” good for you, but it’s in no way mandatory, my dear. Even though this question comes off silly, I’m all for anything that gets people interested in discussing and clarifying what Wicca really is versus fictionalized movies, TV shows and books.
Overall:
In general, it’s a breezy fun series, recommended for an easy, fast read. I appreciate the author’s general accuracy regarding the tenets of Wicca (beyond the necessary hollywood supernatural and the Seven Great Clans to spice things up of course). I plan on continuing to read the series since I have a soft spot for supernatural fiction, with a refreshing sprinkling of accurate witchcraft beliefs and practices.
