Enter Three Witches

by Kate Gilmore

Bren is fearful of having the girl of his dreams meet his family of witches, but after a school production of Macbeth which is attended by his family, who cause startling effects, he realizes a meeting has already taken place

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Witches, Magic, Shakespeare, Paranormal

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read. This is one of my all-time favorite teen books, and I finally found a copy for my very own! It's out of print now, but if you can find it a library or locate a used copy, it's worth it. I love the story of young Bren, who lives with three witches (his mother, grandmother, and their tenant), and has just started dating a girl who plays one of the witches in the school production of Macbeth.

[Mercurybard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been one of my very favorite books since junior high. It's a cute YA romance about a high school theater technician trying to woo the First Witch in their school's production of MacBeth. Also, said theater tech lives with his witch mom, fortune teller grandma, Louise the voodoo queen, a senile opera singer, Luna the Siamese cat familiar, and Shadow, Bren's dog and staunchest ally, in a large and eccentric mansion near Central Park.

The author is clearly in love with New York City as can be seen in the prose. Bren and Erika's romantic fumblings don't go on so long as to be annoying. Bren's father's romantic misfortunes are worth a good laugh. Miranda and Louise's friendship is something I appreciate as an adult.

It's the atmosphere, though, that I love.

[Madame Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and charming from start to finish.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason why I am giving this 2 stars instead of 1 is since there was a part or two that did catch my attention but honestly I wouldn't recommend it. Also I had to check the publishing date a few times just to make sure of what year the book came out since it didn't make sense.

For me the writing was dull and heavy so it was one of those I-really-could-care-less-about-this-book-but-must-finish-reading-it types. The plot didn't have any true driving force behind it but seemed to drag itself to the next point while the characters who were so promising were just a smudge on the paper that made you want to pull your hair out.

The other things that bother me is the showing of voodoo and Wicca wasn't right but that wasn't the irritant below the skin. My main issue was all the drinking the young characters were doing. Yep the book was written in 1992 while there was beer, scotch and who knows what being swallowed by these young teens while the parents were agreeable about it all or commenting about how it wasn't a normal habit or even allowing it to slide when it was illegal. And so I am surprised it doesn't seem to have appeared in any other reviews while it also takes this book out of its custom slot of YA for me.

All in all I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone and if you choose to read it for yourself well I wish you the best of luck.

[Sandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit slow to start for me but towards the last few chapters I was pretty into it.
Its about a high school boy and life basically. A meddlesome family, a girl that he likes, a seperation between parents, all the normal stuff that seems to be the norm these days. Except nothing is normal about this particular family as the mom is a witch as is the grandmother and even the woman who rents the downstairs. I think this wonderful witchy twist made this typical story something unique.
I liked reading from the viewpoint of a boy my own son's age, that was interesting. I was able to relate to the mother in this book on several levels and as I said I really loved the witchy bits and thought they were pretty well detailed.
I have never been a big fan of Shakespeare but after reading this I am a bit curiuos to read or see the play Macbeth which is a main focal point in this story.
It was not the most humorous book I've ever read but it was a very nice story with a lovely, unique twist.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've liked this book since I was much younger. Although, on a re-read the overly descriptive passages were tiresome, the plot still bounced along with young love, embarrassing parents and the troubles of school... all tied to witchery and the supernatural. I'm sure that all the Wiccans out there would be offended as Hell by this book, but as a non-committed reader, I was fine with it. It's a bit vocabulary-rich for a lot of young adults, so be prepared.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting subject, but it did start rather slowly. I connected well with the main character being from a household of Pagans being raised in the Bible Belt, and I understood his reasonings for being secretive and loner-ish very well. It took a couple chapters to really get into it, but once I did I was hooked! One of the books I'm very glad I didn't give up on.

[Gilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this up until the end, where I had to check to make sure pages hadn't been torn out. But the characters were great, the story was interesting. I just would have loved another chapter to close things out!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was cleaning out bookshelves and found this one. It was Halloween themed sorta, so I reread it. It was a cute book. I liked the main characters though I thought Bren's mother was kind of manipulative. It was well-written, though and a cute book.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was very interesting

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very dark and has lots of cussing but I do love the way the other incorporates the play MacBeth into the novel.

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly I DNF this one. It was such a slog for me and I just couldn't do it anymore. So...for the parts I did read half a star. I'm thrilled for those of you who enjoyed it.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book about a high school student in NYC whose mother is a witch, like a real witch, with frogs and wands and spells. His school puts on a production of Macbeth and he meets this great girl, who plays, you guessed it: a witch.

[Lovely Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was cleaning out bookshelves and found this one. It was Halloween themed sorta, so I reread it. It was a cute book. I liked the main characters though I thought Bren's mother was kind of manipulative. It was well-written, though and a cute book.

[Krista Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Miranda is too unpredictable (screaming one minute and then loving the next) for me. Too dated for me. I don't think my high school kids would be able to stay with it long enough to become invested.

[Roberta]

This was just a nice read. I enjoyed the character's alternative lifestyles, and free spirits.
The young adults are portrayed as sensitive, introspective, real people that I could identify with.

[SR · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED this one. Need to read again. (Lists both yafantasy and yarealistic because I can't freaking decide which one it is.)

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in the sixth grade. I enjoyed it, but I was in sixth grade. Still, I don't think it was a bad book by any means.

[Lee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fun, fun.

[Alyce Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t recommend