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T*Witches #4
Dead Wrong
Alex’s skeevy stepdad has resurfaced… and he wants Alex back. Like, for good. And Evan, Alex’s Montana bud, is crashing. He needs help, stat. Time to 180 to Alex’s hometown.
But there’s more trouble in Montana than the twins ever expected. The powerful warlock Thantos has followed Cam and Alex. And he has a present for them. One that’s six feet under.
But there’s more trouble in Montana than the twins ever expected. The powerful warlock Thantos has followed Cam and Alex. And he has a present for them. One that’s six feet under.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
H.B. Gilmour
67 books56 followersH. B. Gilmour was a bestselling author of children's books. She grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her mother and the extended family and fondly remembered writing her very first poem for Arbor Day when she was just eight years old. As a teenager, she moved to Florida to live with her father. She attended college there and then moved back to New York City.
Gilmour’s first publishing job was at E.P. Dutton. In 1964 she joined Bantam Books where she worked as copywriter, editor, and copy chief and as an associate director of marketing. She was married to Bruce Gilmour in 1968. She had a child, Jessica, with him in 1970. They were divorced in 1972. Her first novel "The Trade", a trashy paperback about the publishing business, was published in 1969.
She wrote novelizations (including Saturday Night Fever) and children's books (including Muppets books) while working full-time at Bantam and raising a child on her own. She published her second original novel "So Long, Daddy" in 1985. The artwork for the dust jacket of the hardcover release includes a photo of her daughter, Jessica. Her third novel was "Ask Me If I Care", a book about a teenage girl who gets in with the wrong crowd.
In 1992 she joined the book division at Scholastic, leaving in 1995 to pursue writing full-time. She focused her energy on books for "tweens" and children which is what gave her the most joy.
She met John Johann, whom she would later marry, in 1992. They later moved to Cornwallville in upstate New York where she happily tended to the garden she never had in the city until her death. She died on June 21, 2009 of pneumonia due to complications from lung cancer. She is survived by her husband John, daughter Jessica, stepchildren Wendy and John, Jr. and step-grandchildren Reef, Riley, John Jr. and Jasmine.
Gilmour’s first publishing job was at E.P. Dutton. In 1964 she joined Bantam Books where she worked as copywriter, editor, and copy chief and as an associate director of marketing. She was married to Bruce Gilmour in 1968. She had a child, Jessica, with him in 1970. They were divorced in 1972. Her first novel "The Trade", a trashy paperback about the publishing business, was published in 1969.
She wrote novelizations (including Saturday Night Fever) and children's books (including Muppets books) while working full-time at Bantam and raising a child on her own. She published her second original novel "So Long, Daddy" in 1985. The artwork for the dust jacket of the hardcover release includes a photo of her daughter, Jessica. Her third novel was "Ask Me If I Care", a book about a teenage girl who gets in with the wrong crowd.
In 1992 she joined the book division at Scholastic, leaving in 1995 to pursue writing full-time. She focused her energy on books for "tweens" and children which is what gave her the most joy.
She met John Johann, whom she would later marry, in 1992. They later moved to Cornwallville in upstate New York where she happily tended to the garden she never had in the city until her death. She died on June 21, 2009 of pneumonia due to complications from lung cancer. She is survived by her husband John, daughter Jessica, stepchildren Wendy and John, Jr. and step-grandchildren Reef, Riley, John Jr. and Jasmine.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 16, 2024
Continuing rereading this series I first read as a teen in middle school. Still loved all the witchy elements of it but man some of the lingo is still so outdated and some of the events now as an adult make me face palm to see teenagers doing.
February 14, 2016
Dead Wrong (Updated)
While the twins work on school assignments, Alex’s mind drifts to Issac Fielding and Cade who have both left Alex. Alex was in grade school when Issac left her and her mother Sarah high and dry. Now he’s back challenging the Barnes petition for guardianship. Cade left because his parents moved to Paris. She tells herself she’ll put both of her mind. Then she gets an email from Lucinda that Even is in trouble and has been suspended from school and arrested. Alex says they’ll be there the day after tomorrow.
Seconds later, Cam has a vision of Evan with two other boys. There’s also a woman with them. There’s a dark aura around them. There’s a red container and one of the boys is trying to hand it to Evan and he keeps handing it back. Cam wants to go to Breanna’s birthday party but she lets Alex convince her to go to Montana. They’re stronger together. Once they arrive in Crow Creek, Lucinda tells them Mrs. Bass saw Evan hanging out around Sarah’s grave and Issac was seen lingering around Alex’s old trailer.
Things got rough for Evan after Alex left. His dad died and his mother started drinking again. She’d show up at the school loaded and embarrass him. So, the other kids would tease him. Thus lead to him getting into fights with the other kids over his mother. Eventually he started taking kung fu. By the end of summer, he started to avoid Lucinda and hang out with Riggs, Kyle Applebee, and Derek Jasper. Evan got suspended for someone saying he wrote a threatening note to a teacher and having a knife in his locker. He spent a couple of nights in jail and he’s on the verge of being kicked out of school permanently. There’s something else but she’s not saying.
Cam and Alex get a ride to Evan’s house and when they get there, his mom is outside. Alex calls to her but she acts like she doesn’t see them and tells her “She’s not there and to go away.” Then when sees them, she freaks out and thinks she’s seeing double. Evan comes out with a shot gun and aims it at Alex demanding to know what she did to his mom. Then he realizes who it is. He’s not interested in bringing up what’s going on with him and says that’s over. Instead, he changes the subject to what *she’s* doing there.
The next morning, Evan comes to get the twins to take them to the cemetery and the trailer. Evan doesn’t want to go in Lucinda’s house and the twins hear in his thoughts he thinks it’s better if she stays away from him because of what’s about to go down. Alex tries to get him to talk and says he can trust her but he says it’s him he doesn’t trust. After visiting the grave (where violets have grown), Alex then shows Cam a special stream where she and Sarah use to go. Alex used to tell Evan that the place was haunted. Cam verifies that it is. She can hear the spirits but can’t make out what they’re saying. Alex speaks to the spirits and asks them to help guide their friends. (Evan has dipped when he heard Cam say its haunted). Cam says she did feel something.
On the way back, Cam sabotages the car and Alex uses mint on Evan-to cool down hot emotions-. He confesses Derek stuck the knife in his locker and a teacher identified him. She wasn’t sure who it was but she knew it wasn’t Evan. He got involved with the rattle snake crew because they knew what it was like to have kids making fun of your mom. So, they helped him. His mom got him in with them and now he can’t get out. She’s like a hostage they keep holding over his head. They won’t hurt her as long as he goes along with them. He won’t tho tell them what’s going to happen the day before school starts.
When they go to the trailer, the Twitches find a body in a rolled-up rug. Then they see a pointy toed boot. Alex identifies the boot as Issac’s. Evan doesn’t want any heat from the cops, so he takes them back to Mrs. Bass’s. Cam identifies the smell as Fredo’s. Mrs. Bass said the man was identified by the police as having a patch of greenish eczema on one arm and his nails were long and yellow like talons. Alex finds out from Mrs. Bass that Sarah also heard voices at the stream. The voices are in Siouan. It was said that a revered shaman died there. She was also psychic and dabbled in the paranormal. It was also the place where Karsh gave Sarah Alex. The twins are at a diner when the Rattle Snake Crew comes in and drags Even away saying they “have stuff to do”. Alex makes a plate of fries at Kyle and Cam warms them up. He gets mad and pulls a knife at Andy but the plice show up and the Rattle Snake’s and Evan quicky run off.
Alex confirms at the morgue that the body is Ike’s. The police say he died from a surge in blood pressure. His brain exploded and his heart gave out. Something scared him to death. There was gasoline and a bunch of rags. Illeana shows up and warns the twins that Fredo is on the loose but that he’s forbidden from turning into a lizard. She also shows them a picture of Thantos visiting a clinic. She leaves a bag of crystals, a spell book, and an herb bouquet. Cam makes hot chocolate -adding a lil something extra called the Truth Inducer- and gives it to Lucinda. Lucinda confides that Evan is trying to keep her away from the football game. Lucinda also knows that Evan said something about getting a tatoo. Maybe at Big Skye. That’s where Kyle is going try to get him to take the red container. Cam gets a message from Illena that their friend is on his way.
Evan shows up and after having some hot chocolate reveals that irst they were just going to scare a teacher and some kids the Applebees had it in for. Then they started to talk about torching the school. He tried to tell Mr. Adamson-the couch but he took it personally and after recognizing Evan’s writing thought he was threatning him. There’s a ceremony tonight. They try to tell Evan they’ll help him, but he says he’ll deal with it on his own. They run out to go with Evan and find out that it’s … Fredo. Lucinda and Evan are knocked out on the back of the truck. Fredo says that he was the one that tried to turn Ike into a lizard but Thantos was the one who took care of him as a gift. He says he has to bring them back to Thantos. They make a deal with him that they’ll go with him if he helps them scare Evan’s friends (by turning again). And they’ll protect him from Thantos.
The twins get another email from Illeana that says meet her at Sarah’s grave in 15 minutes. Only she doesn’t arrange transportation. So, the twins have to do the transporter spell. Only they don’t have mugworth. So, they have to use majoron. Because of this they meet their grandmother Leila, but by the time Illena arrives she’s gone. Alex tells Illeana about Fredo being at the park and she agrees to go and look for him. We find out Evan is the one expected to torch the school. They’re about to give him the tattoo but don’t have any electricity. Alex sends an avalanche their way.
The twins confront Kyle and clutching their crystals and herbs they recite a spell that sends Derek flying backwards n the wobbly cart at the top of the Ole Wagon Wheel. They find Evan in the cabin with his mother who’s crying. Alex finds out they werte at the trailer when she smells the gasoline. But they didn’t do it when they found Issac inside. They say the twins can stick around for the previews but not the show. Riggs pulls out a gun. Then Cam’s vision happens. Evan kicks the gun out of Riggs hand. The twins help him (hold their necklaces) and Evan kicks out and snaps Rigg’s jaw. Kyle tossed the gasoline can to Evan. Automatically, instinctively, Evan caught it. The flammable liquid splashed all over his clothes and face, temporarily blinding him.
Kyle smells something and falls back into the snow. He gets up and shoves Mrs Fretts against the shed trying to find the lighter he left in the parka she’s wearing. Mrs Fretts is screaming. Cam’s eyes are burning and she’s about to set Kyle’s pony tail on fire but Alex stops her because Evan is running toward his mother and Kyle. Cam aims her gaze at his feet and his boots catch on fire. Alex tackles Evan and gets him to take off his sweatshirt. Then Fredo shows up (in lizard form) and picks up Kyle. He passes out. Ileana shows up and Fredo reveals that Brice use to be one of Thantos lackey’s. Ileana says she’s taking Fredo home. There’s some talk about Fredo being family (so they shouldn’t hurt him) and who Ileana’s mother is -and her not knowing who she is). It’s not Miranda.
Fredo says he’s not Ileana’s father and won’t tell who her father is. Before they leave, Mrs. Bass says Issac didn’t walk away, Sarah made him leave. She wanted them to a family but something made her change her mind.
On the way home, Alex hears Karsh’s voice he tells her that as long as Isaac Fielding was alive, he was a threat to her. Sarah discovered that. he librarian merely did what Sara wanted: promote the idea that Isaac chose to leave. He did take their money. He was furious that she wanted him out. He says that he wasn’t all bad. The gambling was an illness but when he wasn’t gambling he worked really hard. He brought in enough to keep her and Sarah sheltered, feed, and clothed. She did love him and would have put up with all his bull but something happened. When Alex was a child, she wanted a small, silly, but extraordinarily expensive doll, Sara correctly said no. Yet somehow the doll ended up in the shopping cart at the checkout counter.
Isaac had seen you staring at the toy but knew you hadn't touched it. He had seen something with no rational explanation. His greed and scheming took over. He wanted to test you, to see if you could do it again, to train you. To see if he could make money illegally, by stealing stuff. Cam also hears his voice and he tells her to put the pieces together. Cam and Alex realize that maybe Thantos wasn’t a patient at the clinic. Maybe he was visiting “someone” (Miranda)
My Thoughts
This was one of my least favorite books in the series. On first read, I couldn't figure out what had happened to Issac. He's found in a trailer with green, scaly, skin. Now I get why Thantos would off him, seeing that he's a manipulator and is trying to get on his nieces good side "because he cares so much about them.". Probably trying to sway them later. To do what I don't know. But I'm guessing it has something to do with getting them out of the way (or making them puppets) so he himself can control the Dubaur dynasty.
Yet, I don't see what the purpose was for giving him Fredo's green scaly skin. Which was it really necessary for Fredo to come back and do that. I wanna say Thantos finished him off (because of the boot print) and Fredo did the "funeral prep". Whatever the case, GOOD RIDDANCE Issac Fielding! Issac was a douche and not worth any other mention.
I think there was some attempt to tug at our compassionate side when it told us he didn't want to leave. It tried to place the blame on Sarah (or shift it slightly). But then it also showed us he was a user and maybe was trying to use Alex for his own personal gain. Or he would have had he found out about her powers. So let's not blame Sarah for doing what a lot of us women wouldn't have done. WALK AWAY! And I doubt anyone will be shedding any tears over Issac.
Another thing that bothered me when I was reading this story was the twin's guardian (Illeana). I'm so glad she wasn't portrayed like this in the tv movies. Illeana acts like every time she's called out to help the girls that she's supposed to be GUARDING it's an inconvenience to her if it interferes with spending her precious time outside of messing around with her boy toy. She's so half-ass it's not even funny. She does show up, but she acts like she'd rather be anywhere else. Basically, the twins have to figure out all these new responsibilities pretty much on their own. Yet they're scolded by her when they attempt something and it goes wrong. Why the hell isn't she helping them make this new transition in their lives?
And neither Karsh or Illeana have actually sat them down and taken them through WITCH 101. They don't know about their heritage, they don't know about Coventry, they don't understand the different effects of herbs in spells. They aren't even given a book. "It's not like someone wrote this all down." (said tv show Camryn). Don’t they have a Grimoire? And thus I don't really care for Illeana whose showing herself to be indeed her father's daughter.
And then there's "The Cursed Child" twist of the good guy (Evan) turning bad for no reason at all. So Evan is tired of being picked on so to prove himself he joins a gang. You're going to have to give me something better because this doesn't feel like the guy we're introduced to in the first book. Yet people do change. So basically Issac is dead, Fredo is dealt with and taken back to Coventry (and I must say it's impressive how clever the twins are without these Guardians), the gang is dealt with, and the twins are searching for their mother . Which leads into the next book (Don't Think Twice)
Rating: 5
While the twins work on school assignments, Alex’s mind drifts to Issac Fielding and Cade who have both left Alex. Alex was in grade school when Issac left her and her mother Sarah high and dry. Now he’s back challenging the Barnes petition for guardianship. Cade left because his parents moved to Paris. She tells herself she’ll put both of her mind. Then she gets an email from Lucinda that Even is in trouble and has been suspended from school and arrested. Alex says they’ll be there the day after tomorrow.
Seconds later, Cam has a vision of Evan with two other boys. There’s also a woman with them. There’s a dark aura around them. There’s a red container and one of the boys is trying to hand it to Evan and he keeps handing it back. Cam wants to go to Breanna’s birthday party but she lets Alex convince her to go to Montana. They’re stronger together. Once they arrive in Crow Creek, Lucinda tells them Mrs. Bass saw Evan hanging out around Sarah’s grave and Issac was seen lingering around Alex’s old trailer.
Things got rough for Evan after Alex left. His dad died and his mother started drinking again. She’d show up at the school loaded and embarrass him. So, the other kids would tease him. Thus lead to him getting into fights with the other kids over his mother. Eventually he started taking kung fu. By the end of summer, he started to avoid Lucinda and hang out with Riggs, Kyle Applebee, and Derek Jasper. Evan got suspended for someone saying he wrote a threatening note to a teacher and having a knife in his locker. He spent a couple of nights in jail and he’s on the verge of being kicked out of school permanently. There’s something else but she’s not saying.
Cam and Alex get a ride to Evan’s house and when they get there, his mom is outside. Alex calls to her but she acts like she doesn’t see them and tells her “She’s not there and to go away.” Then when sees them, she freaks out and thinks she’s seeing double. Evan comes out with a shot gun and aims it at Alex demanding to know what she did to his mom. Then he realizes who it is. He’s not interested in bringing up what’s going on with him and says that’s over. Instead, he changes the subject to what *she’s* doing there.
The next morning, Evan comes to get the twins to take them to the cemetery and the trailer. Evan doesn’t want to go in Lucinda’s house and the twins hear in his thoughts he thinks it’s better if she stays away from him because of what’s about to go down. Alex tries to get him to talk and says he can trust her but he says it’s him he doesn’t trust. After visiting the grave (where violets have grown), Alex then shows Cam a special stream where she and Sarah use to go. Alex used to tell Evan that the place was haunted. Cam verifies that it is. She can hear the spirits but can’t make out what they’re saying. Alex speaks to the spirits and asks them to help guide their friends. (Evan has dipped when he heard Cam say its haunted). Cam says she did feel something.
On the way back, Cam sabotages the car and Alex uses mint on Evan-to cool down hot emotions-. He confesses Derek stuck the knife in his locker and a teacher identified him. She wasn’t sure who it was but she knew it wasn’t Evan. He got involved with the rattle snake crew because they knew what it was like to have kids making fun of your mom. So, they helped him. His mom got him in with them and now he can’t get out. She’s like a hostage they keep holding over his head. They won’t hurt her as long as he goes along with them. He won’t tho tell them what’s going to happen the day before school starts.
When they go to the trailer, the Twitches find a body in a rolled-up rug. Then they see a pointy toed boot. Alex identifies the boot as Issac’s. Evan doesn’t want any heat from the cops, so he takes them back to Mrs. Bass’s. Cam identifies the smell as Fredo’s. Mrs. Bass said the man was identified by the police as having a patch of greenish eczema on one arm and his nails were long and yellow like talons. Alex finds out from Mrs. Bass that Sarah also heard voices at the stream. The voices are in Siouan. It was said that a revered shaman died there. She was also psychic and dabbled in the paranormal. It was also the place where Karsh gave Sarah Alex. The twins are at a diner when the Rattle Snake Crew comes in and drags Even away saying they “have stuff to do”. Alex makes a plate of fries at Kyle and Cam warms them up. He gets mad and pulls a knife at Andy but the plice show up and the Rattle Snake’s and Evan quicky run off.
Alex confirms at the morgue that the body is Ike’s. The police say he died from a surge in blood pressure. His brain exploded and his heart gave out. Something scared him to death. There was gasoline and a bunch of rags. Illeana shows up and warns the twins that Fredo is on the loose but that he’s forbidden from turning into a lizard. She also shows them a picture of Thantos visiting a clinic. She leaves a bag of crystals, a spell book, and an herb bouquet. Cam makes hot chocolate -adding a lil something extra called the Truth Inducer- and gives it to Lucinda. Lucinda confides that Evan is trying to keep her away from the football game. Lucinda also knows that Evan said something about getting a tatoo. Maybe at Big Skye. That’s where Kyle is going try to get him to take the red container. Cam gets a message from Illena that their friend is on his way.
Evan shows up and after having some hot chocolate reveals that irst they were just going to scare a teacher and some kids the Applebees had it in for. Then they started to talk about torching the school. He tried to tell Mr. Adamson-the couch but he took it personally and after recognizing Evan’s writing thought he was threatning him. There’s a ceremony tonight. They try to tell Evan they’ll help him, but he says he’ll deal with it on his own. They run out to go with Evan and find out that it’s … Fredo. Lucinda and Evan are knocked out on the back of the truck. Fredo says that he was the one that tried to turn Ike into a lizard but Thantos was the one who took care of him as a gift. He says he has to bring them back to Thantos. They make a deal with him that they’ll go with him if he helps them scare Evan’s friends (by turning again). And they’ll protect him from Thantos.
The twins get another email from Illeana that says meet her at Sarah’s grave in 15 minutes. Only she doesn’t arrange transportation. So, the twins have to do the transporter spell. Only they don’t have mugworth. So, they have to use majoron. Because of this they meet their grandmother Leila, but by the time Illena arrives she’s gone. Alex tells Illeana about Fredo being at the park and she agrees to go and look for him. We find out Evan is the one expected to torch the school. They’re about to give him the tattoo but don’t have any electricity. Alex sends an avalanche their way.
The twins confront Kyle and clutching their crystals and herbs they recite a spell that sends Derek flying backwards n the wobbly cart at the top of the Ole Wagon Wheel. They find Evan in the cabin with his mother who’s crying. Alex finds out they werte at the trailer when she smells the gasoline. But they didn’t do it when they found Issac inside. They say the twins can stick around for the previews but not the show. Riggs pulls out a gun. Then Cam’s vision happens. Evan kicks the gun out of Riggs hand. The twins help him (hold their necklaces) and Evan kicks out and snaps Rigg’s jaw. Kyle tossed the gasoline can to Evan. Automatically, instinctively, Evan caught it. The flammable liquid splashed all over his clothes and face, temporarily blinding him.
Kyle smells something and falls back into the snow. He gets up and shoves Mrs Fretts against the shed trying to find the lighter he left in the parka she’s wearing. Mrs Fretts is screaming. Cam’s eyes are burning and she’s about to set Kyle’s pony tail on fire but Alex stops her because Evan is running toward his mother and Kyle. Cam aims her gaze at his feet and his boots catch on fire. Alex tackles Evan and gets him to take off his sweatshirt. Then Fredo shows up (in lizard form) and picks up Kyle. He passes out. Ileana shows up and Fredo reveals that Brice use to be one of Thantos lackey’s. Ileana says she’s taking Fredo home. There’s some talk about Fredo being family (so they shouldn’t hurt him) and who Ileana’s mother is -and her not knowing who she is). It’s not Miranda.
Fredo says he’s not Ileana’s father and won’t tell who her father is. Before they leave, Mrs. Bass says Issac didn’t walk away, Sarah made him leave. She wanted them to a family but something made her change her mind.
On the way home, Alex hears Karsh’s voice he tells her that as long as Isaac Fielding was alive, he was a threat to her. Sarah discovered that. he librarian merely did what Sara wanted: promote the idea that Isaac chose to leave. He did take their money. He was furious that she wanted him out. He says that he wasn’t all bad. The gambling was an illness but when he wasn’t gambling he worked really hard. He brought in enough to keep her and Sarah sheltered, feed, and clothed. She did love him and would have put up with all his bull but something happened. When Alex was a child, she wanted a small, silly, but extraordinarily expensive doll, Sara correctly said no. Yet somehow the doll ended up in the shopping cart at the checkout counter.
Isaac had seen you staring at the toy but knew you hadn't touched it. He had seen something with no rational explanation. His greed and scheming took over. He wanted to test you, to see if you could do it again, to train you. To see if he could make money illegally, by stealing stuff. Cam also hears his voice and he tells her to put the pieces together. Cam and Alex realize that maybe Thantos wasn’t a patient at the clinic. Maybe he was visiting “someone” (Miranda)
My Thoughts
This was one of my least favorite books in the series. On first read, I couldn't figure out what had happened to Issac. He's found in a trailer with green, scaly, skin. Now I get why Thantos would off him, seeing that he's a manipulator and is trying to get on his nieces good side "because he cares so much about them.". Probably trying to sway them later. To do what I don't know. But I'm guessing it has something to do with getting them out of the way (or making them puppets) so he himself can control the Dubaur dynasty.
Yet, I don't see what the purpose was for giving him Fredo's green scaly skin. Which was it really necessary for Fredo to come back and do that. I wanna say Thantos finished him off (because of the boot print) and Fredo did the "funeral prep". Whatever the case, GOOD RIDDANCE Issac Fielding! Issac was a douche and not worth any other mention.
I think there was some attempt to tug at our compassionate side when it told us he didn't want to leave. It tried to place the blame on Sarah (or shift it slightly). But then it also showed us he was a user and maybe was trying to use Alex for his own personal gain. Or he would have had he found out about her powers. So let's not blame Sarah for doing what a lot of us women wouldn't have done. WALK AWAY! And I doubt anyone will be shedding any tears over Issac.
Another thing that bothered me when I was reading this story was the twin's guardian (Illeana). I'm so glad she wasn't portrayed like this in the tv movies. Illeana acts like every time she's called out to help the girls that she's supposed to be GUARDING it's an inconvenience to her if it interferes with spending her precious time outside of messing around with her boy toy. She's so half-ass it's not even funny. She does show up, but she acts like she'd rather be anywhere else. Basically, the twins have to figure out all these new responsibilities pretty much on their own. Yet they're scolded by her when they attempt something and it goes wrong. Why the hell isn't she helping them make this new transition in their lives?
And neither Karsh or Illeana have actually sat them down and taken them through WITCH 101. They don't know about their heritage, they don't know about Coventry, they don't understand the different effects of herbs in spells. They aren't even given a book. "It's not like someone wrote this all down." (said tv show Camryn). Don’t they have a Grimoire? And thus I don't really care for Illeana whose showing herself to be indeed her father's daughter.
And then there's "The Cursed Child" twist of the good guy (Evan) turning bad for no reason at all. So Evan is tired of being picked on so to prove himself he joins a gang. You're going to have to give me something better because this doesn't feel like the guy we're introduced to in the first book. Yet people do change. So basically Issac is dead, Fredo is dealt with and taken back to Coventry (and I must say it's impressive how clever the twins are without these Guardians), the gang is dealt with, and the twins are searching for their mother . Which leads into the next book (Don't Think Twice)
Rating: 5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2020
This book really felt together - the story was streamlined, events logically moved from one to the next, and there is evolution in the characterization/people which actually starts to organically feel deeper and more complex. There is also significantly less teen-speak and cringe-worthy acronyms (book 2 seemed to be the worst offender) so it reads much better, too.
Winter break is coming up, and while Cam wants to attend her fellow Six Pack-er Bree’s 15thbirthday bash (thrown by her father, who has a habit of dropping the ball on his daughter in favor of his Hollywood career), Alex wants to visit her buds in Montana, who she hasn’t seen since the summer. When Cam and Alex get a vision indicating that Alex’s friend Evan is in trouble, though, they decide that he needs their help more than Bree does. His trouble could be dangerous for himself and those around him, while Bree’s just in danger of another big let-down. So with a T*Witch ingenuity, they finagle their way to getting Emily and Dave Barnes’ (Cam’s adoptive parents) approval to spend the week with the Crow Creek Montana librarian, Mrs. Bass, and see Alex’s friends.
Things are not all hunky-dory in Crow Creek: Evan’s gotten himself backed into trouble with some bad kids in town, and he’s not willing to open up to Lucinda or even Alex for help. On top of that, Alex’s dad Ike was spotted in town at her mother’s grave, and she wants to know what he’s trying to do by getting custody of her. But there are more surprises waiting in Crow Creek than the twins expected, and few of them are good. They will have to be more resourceful and cleverer than they have been so far if they want to help Evan, prevent the trouble from going down, and still avoid Thantos or Fredo catching them.
Where the last book felt somewhat slapped together and propelled by what needed to happen instead of what the characters were inclined to believably do, this one sees Cam and Alex really taking things into their own hands effectively and naturally. With Cam out of her element and Alex in hers, it gives Cam a chance to see what Alex has been going through fitting in in Marble Bay, allowing her to better relate to her twin. Alex gets the mixed comfort and discomfort of being back in Crow Creek, where her and Sara struggled to make a living, but also where she had really close, fellow-outcast friends, Evan and Lucinda, in whom she could count on for everything. What’s more is the T*Witches are doing much better at planning and acting together, and it shows. They’re cooperating more closely together, and while they still call out for help from Ileana and Karsh, it’s more in the spirit of needing assistance to accomplish what they have in mind, instead of needing them to swoop in and solve their problems for them as adult/authority/guardian figures.
The most unbelievable believable bit is probably the teen crush drama interspersed throughout – there’s almost no end to Cam and/or Alex observing just how hot someone is, how they’d totally go for it if that person wasn’t already interested in someone else, or they didn’t already have someone back home to be interested in, that sort of thing. I think it was Alex who even points out following Cam’s remarks on Andy in Montana how Cam has Jason the senior back home very interested in her, though Cam is more interested in mysterious Shane (who had been close to Beth for a time in the last book) who may or may not be a good warlock – so even if the Shane boat doesn’t sail, Cam still has a solid fallback in Jason. I guess that’s how teen crush stuff goes down?
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, while I didn’t really feel any quotes were really worth pulling for value, there was this passage which caught me off-guard in its rather casual delivery and somewhat harsh passing of judgment:
[Cam said,] “Maybe not [tell] the cops yet because Evan’s in the middle. But think of all the kids who knew what was going on before things went down at other schools. Big things, with guns and bombs. The kids who knew could have prevented it if they’d only told a teacher about it –” (page 110)
It’s a loose yet clear reference to the Columbine shootings/attempted bombing of 1999, in keeping with pulling contemporary events and cultural references to liven up the text as the Harry Potter references did in the last book. However, that last sentence throws a bit of blame/guilt on some of the kids who experienced it and victim-shaming, neither of which is okay. While I’m sure that was a feeling and a sentiment shared by many at the time, to phrase it in such black-and-white terms does the complexity of the situation a disservice. Especially considering how Karsh himself make some comment about no one being wholly evil in this book (I don’t count the revelation about Thantos’ being enough to redeem him sufficiently/make him less than “wholly evil” from his nefarious methods of getting what he wants/the twins). So there is an attempt, though it falls short, by the authors to introduce some complexity of good and evil in this book through various characters familiar and new (the kids Evan gets mixed up with). I’ll be curious to see how things go from here, if things get more complex or keep falling back to near over-simplification.
Winter break is coming up, and while Cam wants to attend her fellow Six Pack-er Bree’s 15thbirthday bash (thrown by her father, who has a habit of dropping the ball on his daughter in favor of his Hollywood career), Alex wants to visit her buds in Montana, who she hasn’t seen since the summer. When Cam and Alex get a vision indicating that Alex’s friend Evan is in trouble, though, they decide that he needs their help more than Bree does. His trouble could be dangerous for himself and those around him, while Bree’s just in danger of another big let-down. So with a T*Witch ingenuity, they finagle their way to getting Emily and Dave Barnes’ (Cam’s adoptive parents) approval to spend the week with the Crow Creek Montana librarian, Mrs. Bass, and see Alex’s friends.
Things are not all hunky-dory in Crow Creek: Evan’s gotten himself backed into trouble with some bad kids in town, and he’s not willing to open up to Lucinda or even Alex for help. On top of that, Alex’s dad Ike was spotted in town at her mother’s grave, and she wants to know what he’s trying to do by getting custody of her. But there are more surprises waiting in Crow Creek than the twins expected, and few of them are good. They will have to be more resourceful and cleverer than they have been so far if they want to help Evan, prevent the trouble from going down, and still avoid Thantos or Fredo catching them.
Where the last book felt somewhat slapped together and propelled by what needed to happen instead of what the characters were inclined to believably do, this one sees Cam and Alex really taking things into their own hands effectively and naturally. With Cam out of her element and Alex in hers, it gives Cam a chance to see what Alex has been going through fitting in in Marble Bay, allowing her to better relate to her twin. Alex gets the mixed comfort and discomfort of being back in Crow Creek, where her and Sara struggled to make a living, but also where she had really close, fellow-outcast friends, Evan and Lucinda, in whom she could count on for everything. What’s more is the T*Witches are doing much better at planning and acting together, and it shows. They’re cooperating more closely together, and while they still call out for help from Ileana and Karsh, it’s more in the spirit of needing assistance to accomplish what they have in mind, instead of needing them to swoop in and solve their problems for them as adult/authority/guardian figures.
The most unbelievable believable bit is probably the teen crush drama interspersed throughout – there’s almost no end to Cam and/or Alex observing just how hot someone is, how they’d totally go for it if that person wasn’t already interested in someone else, or they didn’t already have someone back home to be interested in, that sort of thing. I think it was Alex who even points out following Cam’s remarks on Andy in Montana how Cam has Jason the senior back home very interested in her, though Cam is more interested in mysterious Shane (who had been close to Beth for a time in the last book) who may or may not be a good warlock – so even if the Shane boat doesn’t sail, Cam still has a solid fallback in Jason. I guess that’s how teen crush stuff goes down?
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, while I didn’t really feel any quotes were really worth pulling for value, there was this passage which caught me off-guard in its rather casual delivery and somewhat harsh passing of judgment:
[Cam said,] “Maybe not [tell] the cops yet because Evan’s in the middle. But think of all the kids who knew what was going on before things went down at other schools. Big things, with guns and bombs. The kids who knew could have prevented it if they’d only told a teacher about it –” (page 110)
It’s a loose yet clear reference to the Columbine shootings/attempted bombing of 1999, in keeping with pulling contemporary events and cultural references to liven up the text as the Harry Potter references did in the last book. However, that last sentence throws a bit of blame/guilt on some of the kids who experienced it and victim-shaming, neither of which is okay. While I’m sure that was a feeling and a sentiment shared by many at the time, to phrase it in such black-and-white terms does the complexity of the situation a disservice. Especially considering how Karsh himself make some comment about no one being wholly evil in this book (I don’t count the revelation about Thantos’ being enough to redeem him sufficiently/make him less than “wholly evil” from his nefarious methods of getting what he wants/the twins). So there is an attempt, though it falls short, by the authors to introduce some complexity of good and evil in this book through various characters familiar and new (the kids Evan gets mixed up with). I’ll be curious to see how things go from here, if things get more complex or keep falling back to near over-simplification.
June 14, 2020
This was another good installment in the series. The action was intense at times, but what I really loved was the deep character development. This series may be just a guilty pleasure for me, but I can't wait to read the next book!
December 23, 2024
It was slow at parts and other parts really intense i love the plot twists and everything in it
June 23, 2017
In the fourth installment of the teen witch series, Alex returns to her hometown in Montana to rescue her best bud from a bad decision and to confront her father.
Dead Wrong takes us back to Crow Creek, Montana where spunky and punky Alex grew up. She and Cam have come on a mission to save Alex’s best bud, Evan. Not to mention deal with her dad, who is trying to gain custody of her.
Naturally, they find a lot more trouble than what they bargained for. Thantos and Fredo have been skulking around and now Alex’s dad is six feet under. Evan is tangled up with a group of jerky punks who are threatening to burn the local school to the ground. So the girls have got to get all their magic together and save the day.
There’s a lot of coincidental moments that get them out of trouble quite often I’m not exactly fond of, but also have learned to expect from this particular target age group. Again, my favorite part of the whole series is who the girls deal with real-life issues. It’s almost like the book was intended to be contemporary, dealing with issues you see more in real life… and then magic is thrown in for the twist. Cam and Alex may be silly teenage girls, but they’re real enough that I’d want them to be my friends.
All in all, this is another great book in the series.
Dead Wrong takes us back to Crow Creek, Montana where spunky and punky Alex grew up. She and Cam have come on a mission to save Alex’s best bud, Evan. Not to mention deal with her dad, who is trying to gain custody of her.
Naturally, they find a lot more trouble than what they bargained for. Thantos and Fredo have been skulking around and now Alex’s dad is six feet under. Evan is tangled up with a group of jerky punks who are threatening to burn the local school to the ground. So the girls have got to get all their magic together and save the day.
There’s a lot of coincidental moments that get them out of trouble quite often I’m not exactly fond of, but also have learned to expect from this particular target age group. Again, my favorite part of the whole series is who the girls deal with real-life issues. It’s almost like the book was intended to be contemporary, dealing with issues you see more in real life… and then magic is thrown in for the twist. Cam and Alex may be silly teenage girls, but they’re real enough that I’d want them to be my friends.
All in all, this is another great book in the series.
February 24, 2012
I worked harder to get into this book than in some of the others. But I stumbled over the writing and style of the authors. Page one has one sentence 42 words long with four or five different ideas in it. Then a response of "Excuse Me?" includes a lot of description about clothing, issues of identical twins, etc which again disrupts the flow of the dialogue and story at least for me. And so it goes all through the story which for me never settles down to a nice flow I could follow. It is not the issue of long sentences or misplaced descriptions it is that the read is disrupted and the story lost in a rambling writing style. If that sort of writing/style doesn't bother you than you might find this book more interesting than I did.
I found this story a little slower and boring compared to other's in the series. And the non-regular characters seemed superficial. The attempt of the step father going after guardianship of Alex is obvious poorly disguised extortion. And so most of the story is pretty superficial with not much depth. The location of the story in Montana offered a chance to lift the interest but the authors failed to take advantage of Montana to help build more interest.
It is still worth reading if you are into the series. Once hooked on the "Twitches" series one can put up with less than exciting writing and story lines to still enjoy the read and what happens to Alex and Cam next.
I found this story a little slower and boring compared to other's in the series. And the non-regular characters seemed superficial. The attempt of the step father going after guardianship of Alex is obvious poorly disguised extortion. And so most of the story is pretty superficial with not much depth. The location of the story in Montana offered a chance to lift the interest but the authors failed to take advantage of Montana to help build more interest.
It is still worth reading if you are into the series. Once hooked on the "Twitches" series one can put up with less than exciting writing and story lines to still enjoy the read and what happens to Alex and Cam next.
March 5, 2010
Teen me: 5 stars
Adult me: 5 stars
*For the first book in a "child/teen/middlegrade/nostalgic" book, I am going with the rating younger me would have gone with, then if I read on in the series, I will rate the books what adult me believes it should be rated. If the book is a stand alone, I will go with whatever rating I feel most comfortable giving the book. Please note, I do not really think books should have an age limit. People should read what they want to regardless of the intended age group, except for kids reading erotica or something, of course.*
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I really liked this as a teen and I have not read it as an adult yet, but I would like to believe that my feelings and rating would be the same. I will see upon a reread.
Adult me: 5 stars
*For the first book in a "child/teen/middlegrade/nostalgic" book, I am going with the rating younger me would have gone with, then if I read on in the series, I will rate the books what adult me believes it should be rated. If the book is a stand alone, I will go with whatever rating I feel most comfortable giving the book. Please note, I do not really think books should have an age limit. People should read what they want to regardless of the intended age group, except for kids reading erotica or something, of course.*
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I really liked this as a teen and I have not read it as an adult yet, but I would like to believe that my feelings and rating would be the same. I will see upon a reread.
October 15, 2011
There are a few good points in this book where both the reader and the main characters learn things about their magic and people they know. This helps the story from becoming cliched and/or stagnant. The biggest problem I had with this entry in the T*Witches series is Alex's stepdad. He's mentioned in the third book and then just disappears. In my last review, I said that it could have been a good overarching plot line if the author's had stuck with it. Unfortunately, he comes back in this entry.
January 16, 2016
In this fourth novel of the series, Cam and Alex go to Montana to investigate Alex's father, who is trying to adopt her. As usual, wherever the girls are, trouble is sure to follow.
In this case, Thantos is not actually directly involved; rather, Fredo is. In addition, there's a plot to set the local school on fire, whether or not kids are inside. There's also various little tidbits of the girl's history that they are able to learn, a still-somewhat sick Karsh, a still sort of nasty Ileana, a very mean cat, the spirit of their grandmother, etc.
It's a pretty good addition the series, with lots of room left for further plot developments.
In this case, Thantos is not actually directly involved; rather, Fredo is. In addition, there's a plot to set the local school on fire, whether or not kids are inside. There's also various little tidbits of the girl's history that they are able to learn, a still-somewhat sick Karsh, a still sort of nasty Ileana, a very mean cat, the spirit of their grandmother, etc.
It's a pretty good addition the series, with lots of room left for further plot developments.
October 26, 2009
I read all these books about 4ish years ago (I think). It was right after the last one came out..anyways, they are WAY better than the movie!
December 8, 2017
Official Rating:
5/5 stars 🌟
5/5 stars 🌟
July 26, 2010
Its been a while since I've read this. It was ok.
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July 3, 2017Review scheduled for this Saturday, stay tuned!
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