The Demon Notebook

The Demon Notebook #1

by Erika McGann

Grace and her four best friends, Jenny, Rachel, Adie and Una, are failed witches – and they have a notebook full of useless spells to prove it. But one night, they stumble upon real magical powers – and their notebook takes on a diabolical life of its own.
The girls watch, helpless, as, one by one, their spells start to work, moving relentlessly towards the worst one of all …

Can Grace and her friends stem the wave of powerful magic … before tragedy strikes?

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Supernatural, Fiction, Juvenile, Paranormal, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Erika McGann grew up in Drogheda and now lives in Dublin. She has a respectable job, very normal friends and rarely dabbles in witchcraft. She loves writing stories that are autobiographical. Sort of.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, fun book. I went into it with low expectations because it has so few ratings, which I can't really account for (surely there aren't that many fundie parents forbidding their kids books with "demon" in the title?) and was pleasantly surprised. I will pass this on to my 12-year-old niece; I think she is done with her witch-craft phase but will like the positive depiction of girls' firm friendships and the characters' attempt to do the right thing despite danger and worse, social embarrassment.

[Jabiz Raisdana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why my 8 year old loves this. High action, fun, middle school kids doing silly immature things, magic, crushes, flying and demons. Not great for middle school kids, but I owed it to my daughter to read. She insisted that I read it. Now we have a lot to talk about.

Do you read books with your parents? Like read the same book? You should. Will give you a lot to talk about. Take a favorite book and insist your parents read it then spend some time discussing it with each other. Makes for good conversation and forces your parents to value what you love.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series. I actually read the second book before this one, but it still made sense! These are actually classified as "tween/teen" books, but I really enjoyed them. If you like magic and spells and things that go bump in the night, you will love them!

[Gülay Akbal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çok keyifli bir gençlik romanı.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you whet the reading appetite of a middle grade student? Give them fantasy, adventure and fun, like the kind that just oozes out of The Demon Notebook by Erika McGann. Five young girls are determined to learn to perform witchcraft, after repeated failures with their spells, they turn to the mystery of the Ouija board and the magic begins! Their carefully documented spell failures become the playground for the dark magic of the Ouija board. Why did they try to cast that one spell? If the entity within the Ouija board gets to that spell, the consequences could be horrifying. Together these girls need to stop the evil, but how? With the help of the crabby old cat lady, they are gearing up to prevent a disaster.

Erika McGann has created her own magic! It is so refreshing for a group of young girls to enjoy friendships that feel solid and positive. Never once did the pace slow or drag, and the tension level, perfect chaos for this age group. Not overly frightening or overly dark, this tale of young witches will work its spell on young readers from start to finish with its high fun frenzy and Ms. McGann’s wild imagination.

I received this ARC edition from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in exchange for my honest review.

Series: The Demon Notebook - Book 1
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
ISBN: 9781402295386
Genre: Children's Fiction - Ages 9 - 12 | Grades: 3 - 6
Print Length: 288 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a group of friends who are interested in witchcraft. They were badly bullied which led them to this life of trying to cast spells on their teachers and peers. When their spell book doesn't work, they decide to make their own ouija board. Things quickly go downhill and they have to find a way to stop it before it's too late.
My favorite character is the "non-Una" because she seems creepy and I love creepiness. She seems creepy because she has this look of no emotion and she can have a very dark aura when you make her mad. Some of the characters felt real, but it seemed the rest of them were over exaggerated. The story did keep me guessing. My favorite part of the book was the end because it was suspenseful and I didn't know how it would end. There were great mysterious scenes that were written out well. This book didn't make me laugh nor cry. The story did keep me on the edge of my seat.
I wish that the book did not end on a cliffhanger because it got so good, but luckily, there is another book after this. I did find it a little difficult to care for the main characters because I found them so whiny. The story was written to my liking, though.
I recommend this book to people who are into thrillers, suspense, horror, supernatural, and aren't afraid to get a little scared.

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars




For Sale on June 2014

Arc kindly provided by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky through Netgalley

Directed to young middle graders, The Demon Notebook is an engaging read, full of thrills and adventurous moments, sure to grab its intended audience.

The writing is direct and to the point, and the pacing is crisp enough to never let sleep get in the way of the reading.

The only thing to point out is that there really isn't a demon notebook in the story.

The girls have a notebook in which they've written their attempted spells, and one night. while playing with a Ouija board (don't do this...), they release a demon who, in turn, possesses one of them, and who, after that, decides to make their spells come true... maybe in a wicked kind of: "Thank you, girls"?

The destined audience will definitely connect with these teens' problems and with the characters' wish to get even with all of those who have given them trouble during school.
Seventh grade is a complicated time... as are the years that follow it. *nightmarish*
The author does a good job with the description of problems and wishes that affect kids during that troublesome phase.
On the positive points, there's girl power and solid friendships galore.

Certain things could benefit from a little more development, such as:
The characters not being very distinguishable from one another, besides their names, and certain physical characteristics.
There could have been more backstory on how their friendship begun.
A little more content regard their relationship with their parents...
The evil demon one could have had... I don't know... dreams, wishes, aspirations that he (lol or she) wished to share with the girls... you know, have more of an active role.

And instead of a young middle grade oriented book, you would have a YA one, lol, sorry.

There's some good ideas in here. Some amusing moments with the spells that the girls made up. For instance, I especially appreciated the: let's get the eight month baby to take take care of herself!
Priceless!

The main adult character in the story _ although a typical stereotype, "the crazy cat lady" _ was also extremely well developed, and interesting enough to read about. I loved her dialogues full of witty and sarcastic charm! lol

An interesting book that takes the: Be careful what you wish for motto at face value.


Author's Official Site

Pre-order "The Demon Notebook"
@Bookdepository.com

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've all heard the saying, "Be careful what you wish for." Five friends learn that the lesson the hard way in this story of magic and middle school. Grace, Una, Rachel, Jenny and Adie decide to form a coven and try out some spells. They keep a record of all the spells in a notebook, even though they never work. Then, one night, everything changes. Suddenly there is a demon loose in their school, Una goes from mischievous to prim and proper, the cutest boy suddenly has a crush on Grace, and the school bully even gets taken down a peg. How is all this possible? The girls have no choice but to seek out adult help to try and return things to normal. Mix in Career Night, a crazy cat lady, continual threats from the bully, an embarrassing game of basketball, schoolwork, and a babysitting job - and you can see why the friends are looking a bit ragged around the edges by the final showdown.

The story captures the fears and concerns that most middle-schoolers face: wishing a crush would notice you, being chosen last for a PE team, being stuck with detention, bullies, boring lectures, and the general dread of being embarrassed. It also shows the way friendships work with all the teasing, whispering, shared secrets, and sleepovers. Most schools don't have demons among the student body (not that anyone will admit to), but those years are always a time of trying out new things and pushing the limits. Readers who enjoy a mix of the supernatural and everyday life will be rooting for the girls to win their face-off with evil.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Margaret Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by Mia age 10

Mia's review of The Demon Notebook

Grace and her four friends want to be witches, but it turns out to be harder than they thought! After a session with a Ouija Board, strange things start to happen and the girls lives are about to change.

This book is definitely in my top three reads of all time. The story is full of mystery and magic. The five friends are in secondary school and often get picked on by the school bully, Tracy Murphy, and want to get even. Unfortunately, things get a bit out of control and the girls need to get help from a local witch, Mrs Quinlan, to get things back to normal. Miss Lemon, their French teacher is also called in to help and she is shocked with all the drama.

I really like the way Erika writes and even though I am in primary school, this was a perfect read for me. I kept turning the pages and tried to read past my bedtime! I have already started the next book, The Broken Spell and cannot wait for the third one, The Watching Wood, due out this September. I will recommend this book to all my friends and would give it 5 out of 5 !!!

[sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, I am on the third but this one is still my favourite. It's full of exciting twists and turns wherever you go. It keeps you on edge till the very last page. When you're done you're like: 'I so wanna read the second!' It's one of the rare types of books that you're sad to finish.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young adult books are refreshing on occasion and I enjoyed this one. Will continue the series.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Grace, and my friends and I just wanted to see if we could cast a few spells. We wrote them in a notebook, but none of them worked. Until... we tried using Rachel's new Ouija board. Una started acting very strangely, and the spells we had written down started to work in reverse order. James fell in love with me, a boy peed his pants, and a blizzard snowed-in our town. However, then we remembered our first spell... for the school bully Tracy to get hit by a bus. We don’t know what we’re doing, and we’re taking turns watching over Una. At first, we thought she simply couldn’t handle the stress, but now the problem may be worse than we thought. Her glowing red eyes are a big clue that something has gone terribly wrong!

This book told a story of young girls messing with powers they didn’t know existed. The first spell was written out of anger, but the other eight were just silly. The spells occurring in reverse order created a countdown to the most serious one and added some suspense. The girls were mad at Tracy, but they didn’t want her dead. Then, Una’s situation transformed her from a victim into an antagonist and really complicated the problem. Even though Grace was the main character, her friends took turns having more important roles in the plot. Adie was more timid, Jenny was more athletic, and Rachel was quicker to take action. Ironically, Adie stepped out of character during the climax to help save Tracy. The girls received support from a couple adults with an interesting back-story of their own. Mrs. Quinlan offered spells to dispose of the demons, but she made it clear that she would not take direct action in the conflict. I was a bit surprised when it took Mrs. Lemon so long to get involved, since she taught in school. Overall, this is a fun book and includes a sequel, The Broken Spell.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

When five friends, Grace, Jenny, Rachel, Adie, and Una accidentally (?) conjure up demons from a well in Block P at their school, suddenly their previous failed attempts at spells and witchcraft start to work. Little do they realize, at first, what dire consequences this will have not only for them, but for classmates and teachers, too.

As this realization takes hold, four of the girls try to 'undo' their spells and un-possess their friend, Una who has been inhabited by one of these demons. With the help of some very unlikely people, the girls try every conceivable trick in the book to right some wrongs, before they become deadly.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Amy McAllister. I love Irish narrators, my main reason for trying this children’s supernatural fantasy. The narrator was great! So much fun.

Four friends Grace, Jenny,Rachel, Adie and Una dabble in magic with spectacular failure with their spells, until one night they actually manage to release some magical power seeing their list of spells coming to fruition one by one.

It might be aimed at children, but it’s quick, light entertaining and funny. I really enjoyed this palate cleanser.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book for young readers - checks all the boxes, easy to read, exciting. Heck, it is a good read for everyone, I am looking forward to reading #2
Warmly recommend this page turner for younger readers.

[Petek Şeyma Başar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadece konusu ilginç...

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and quick read. Very enjoyable. You'll laugh quite a bit. It's a YA book meant for tweens/teens but as an adult, I highly enjoyed it!!

[Tuba Inan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sıkılmadan okuyabileceğiniz bir gençlik romanı.

[arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

It was a fantastic reading, I love it, I was not able to put it down, the story follow a nice plot and the characters as well...

[Kirsten Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly fun book for preteens

[Owlreadingbook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Demon Notebook is a cute story for young readers about a group of friends who stumble upon a book of spells. They are disappointed to discover that none of the spells seem to work, that is until they contact spirits, one of the girls becomes possessed, and all of the spells they had previously tried start to work. Will the girls be able to rescue their friend from possession and stop the spells before someone gets hurt?

The plot of this story is relatively fast paced, but not so fast that you're left reeling in the wake. The book starts out by giving some decent backstory on the spells the girls have tried and what's going on, the girls then go to the school to try and contact spirits in the hopes that they'll be able to get the spells to work, from there the story just escalates. This book follows a good linear storyline, making it an ease to read.

The characters in The Demon Notebook are all realistic and easy to relate to. The dialogue between the characters flows smoothly and realistically; it's easy to tell which character is talking and imagine the characters actually conversing amongst themselves. The characters are also very easy to relate to, especially for a younger female audience. It's easy to remember what it was like to be the age of the characters and easy to relate to the experiences they are going through (despite the possession, etc). Also, one of the characters is named Jenny, bonus points to the author for choice of name. ;)

The writing style of this book was pleasant to read, although nothing really stood out as exceptional. This reads like a typical book written for middle-school aged audiences, simple and pleasant.

Yes, I would recommend this book to any middle-school (or slightly younger) aged ladies that I know. The storyline is interesting and exciting while the characters are realistic, definitely elements that make up a good book.

I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.

[Andi · Rating 1 out of 5]

With the creepy-looking cover and a name like "The Demon Notebook," I was expecting something at least a little spooky. This is more of a fantasy novel crossed with a cautionary fable, and not a particularly original or good one, either.

The characters are uniformly paper-thin. The girls are all completely interchangeable and barely fleshed out at all as characters; one is a scaredy-cat, one is athletic, one has good hair, and one likes makeup, and I couldn't tell you which was which to save my life, despite having just finished it. Oh, and none of these characteristics have any bearing whatsoever on the plot. Una's sole identifying attribute is her propensity for getting into trouble, which we also never really see, just hear the other girls talking about how weird it is that she's not doing it now. The crazy cat lady is purely one-note, and that note is ridiculously obnoxious, particularly given that she's a grown woman speaking to children. The bully character is nothing but stereotype, right down to her dimwitted hench(wo)men, and the kindly teacher is a deus ex machina of the highest order.

The plot is predictable, and surprisingly dull; none of the girls have any agency in moving things along; they very conveniently and without any real effort happen to find adult characters who know what's going on, and then literally wait around for the adult characters to tell them what to do. Ten-year-old-me would have HATED that. Not enough backstory is given to make the adults sympathetic or believable, and not enough detail is given about the mechanics of magic in this world to make it interesting. Maybe more of these details are fleshed out later in the series, but I don't think I'll bother finding out. Pass.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Demon Notebook
Erika McGann
Supernatural

Review: This book is definitely written for a younger age group so it was hard to relate to. Five girls want to be witches and have performed many failed attempts at spells. Until one night they decide to use an Ouija board at the school during a career night. Unfortunately for the girls they do it on a demon well and now they must do all they can for their demon possessed friend and stopped their failed attempts at casting spells from being fulfilled.
I did have a hard time relating to the girls in many ways, but I do remember from my own school days being bullied and wishing something could be done to stop the bully. I don’t think I went as far in my wishing as these girls did but we all do stupid things when we are angry. Until the girls summoned the demon by accident I couldn't get into this story, but afterwards I really started to enjoy it. I couldn't wait to see if they would be able to free their friend and save a fellow classmate in time. I have to admit that my favorite character in the whole story is Mrs. Quinlan, the crazy cat lady. She has so much spunk and doesn't have a problem telling the girls just what she thinks, even when she can’t remember their names. She is just so funny.
I recommend this to young girls who like stories about witches and the supernatural. It is a good cautionary tale for avoiding Ouija boards and the like.
i received a free ecopy of this book from netgalley for my honest review.

[Carrie Ardoin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I like it when books launch right into the action, but in this case it made for a very confusing beginning.

First of all, there are five girls who are best friends in this book. This seems a lot of main characters for a middle grade novel, but the most frustrating thing about it is that no one girl emerges as the leader, and as a matter of fact they all just blended together for me. No individual girl shows any personality, and we don't even get descriptions or even their likes or dislikes--I would have taken anything to give each girl a little tidbit to differentiate them.

The second thing is that the girls are doing magic and talking about spells and past things they have tried right on the first page. We don't even know if they're real witches, or just girls goofing around, or anything really about the magic or why they're trying to cast spells. This information doesn't even come up until about 3 chapters in. I was somewhat lost until then.

This book is a classic case of what can happen when you actually get what you wish for, and I think for younger readers this is a lesson they need to learn. Younger girls who may think witches are fun might enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me as an older MG reader.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so refreshing to indulge in a magical middle grade story every now and then, and The Demon Notebook does not disappoint. It’s such a fun and spooky read! A close-knit group of pre-teen girls dabbles in magic, trying out a variety of spells that refuse to work for them. They document all of their failed spells in a notebook, and move on to the next. That is, until they’ve had a big enough taste of failure and decide to use a Ouija Board. Their spells begin to work, but they quickly learn they’ve made a grave error, one that must be remedied before the demon reaches the final spell in the notebook.

The Demon Notebook is quite an adventure, filled with lovable characters that remind me of the ridiculous things I did at that age. I’m glad no one wrote a book about our adventures, although there are pictures — hehe — but it thrills me to immerse myself in a well-written, fabulously paced story that breathes life into those memories. I’ve always said you don’t mess with a Ouija Board, because you never know what kind of trouble you’re inviting. Ha!

I highly recommend The Demon Notebook to all fans of magic and adventure with just the right amount of creepy. This is awesome storytelling right here!

* Ages 9 and up.

[Ava M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Demon Notebook by Erika Mcgann is about five girls. Grace, Una, Adie, Rachel, and Jenny are struggling with school and doing spells. None of their spells work no matter how hard they try. If anything could get any worse they have to fight off a bully who is hurting their friend. But when something bad happens they are going to need help from people who they didn't even care about at all. The conflict in this book is character vs character because the bully is fighting with Una so the girls have to help. This book is horror because demons and ghosts do not exist and this stuff is in the horror genre. I think this book had really good humor even though I did not find it that scary. It was a good book and it was a great on the go book for car rides or something quick. I think anyone who is interested in the horror genre would enjoy this book and people who like books where there are fights between characters. You may also enjoy this book because there are things that happen to characters like Grace losing her identity that you can relate too. I think anyone who is 8 to 14 would like this book. I would rate 4.5 stars out of 5.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter received this book in her LitCube Junior and asked that I read it first to make sure it wasn't too scary-- the cover of hers is a little different than the Goodreads one. I did-- it wasn't long. The chapters were short and I admittedly skimmed some of it. It was scary-- I promise! Overall, a good read. Too many characters and I had a hard time keeping track of all of the little girls. It wasn't bad and I'd recommend it to a middle school reader looking for something "spooky" at Halloween.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five friends in school are dabbling in magic and spells and they do want it to work until an experiment with an Ouija board goes horribly wrong, one of them is posessed and the other four have to work at helping their friend and stopping the last spell in the notebook from coming true.

It was a laugh, some very funny characters and the situations were often hilarious. Features good witches as well as demons, and good witches who are cranky, and I loved her to bits.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing scares me more than demons and possession, but this book somehow made that subject cute.

This was incorrectly shelved in the YA section at my library, but I realized it was for a much younger crowd the second I started reading. I went ahead and finished it anyway, and it was cute. It was hard to get into the story because it was so simple, however, and the characters were all interchangeable. It was an easy way to pass the time, though.