Wyrd

by Cate Whittle

Wyrd is a light-hearted look at the often tumultuous relationship issues that girls in particular seem to face at end of primary school age, and touches on the situation that many children find themselves a part of, with 'merged' families becoming more normal. However, the solution to Emma's problem (finding out that she has magic on her side) is not a solution that could easily be emulated (at least, I don't think so...). Emma has a very different outlook to Pip's, and the pair just cannot seem to get along. This shouldn't be a problem, and it wouldn't be a problem - if it weren't for the fact that Emma's Dad is getting married to Pip's Mum! Soon to be sisters, they find themselves increasingly flung together, but it is not a very happy experience... Pip is determined to make Emma's life miserable. For Dad's sake, Emma tries to keep the peace, but it is a very difficult task. That is, until a book of spells and wishes finds its way into the household, and she accidentally becomes a witch in a secret ceremony intended to impart magical powers to Pip and her friends. Emma is horrified. She never wanted to be a witch, and there seem to be a lot of difficult responsibilities attached to the job. Pip isn't too pleased either - it was meant to be her. Pip and Emma find themselves working together to reverse the effects of the spell, but nothing they can come up which offers a solution to their problem. It's starting to look as though Emma is going to be stuck like this forever. Horrible! But now Emma has an advantage over Pip, and maybe it would be fun to put it to good use...

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy

272 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2018

Reviews

[Sam Schroder · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and disappointing read, sadly. The cover and blurb had me keen. Emma lives alone with her dad. Her life is close to perfect. The only bad thing is the school bully, Phillipa. And then Dad announces that he is marrying Phillipa’s mum and from there things start to go wrong. Phillipa is crazy about magic and is desperately trying to make spells work when she accidentally turns Emma into a witch... Look, this book is just silly. The first problem is the notion that any parent would have agreed to marry another parent when their primary school aged children had never even met. The second, and bigger problem is that the real story is the magic/witch plot but nothing happens for the first half of the book and once it starts happening it’s just stupid and illogical. Overall, this book has a really implausible plot and a whole slew of ridiculous characters that had me speed reading to make it be over. It’s a definite no from me.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for identity forming mid grade readers. But the promise of the blurb didn't quite live up my esoteric expectations. Young tweens should find it a bit of fun.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma was happy that her dad had found a girlfriend. She still loved being able to sing '60s songs loudly in the car wherever they went. She loved her dad's cooking and living in their little cottage. When her dad announced he and Julie were getting married, she couldn't be happier. Then she met 'Pip' Emmas' nemesis from school, and 'Squeak' her little brother.

Pip was 'Phillipa Wilkinson' at school, with her friends Susannah, Alex, and Caitlin who were always being mean to Emma and her friend Sophie. How could they ever be a happy 'Brady Bunch' family? Pip wore dark clothes and goth makeup. She carried around a book with her all the time. She told Emma she was childish. There was not much chance they'd become friends or be sisterly.

They moved into a new house after the honeymoon they all went on. Emma and Pip were sharing a bathroom. That didn't help when Pip took too long in the shower and didn't leave Emma enough time to get ready for school. Emma thought it was creepy when Pip's friends came over and sat around a five-pointed star reading a new book about Spells and Magik that sat in the middle while they chanted. Two of Pip's friends went home and they were now short two apprentice witches. Julie suggested Emma and Sophie make up the five. Pip reluctantly agreed. That's when Emma became a witch, even though Pip had wanted to be. And all five girls became sisters.

Accidents would happen in the kitchen with salt falling into Emma's cereal. She would have her school uniform drenched when washing the dishes. Pip wasn't trying to be sisterly even though Emma promised her dad, she was finding it very hard to do. Now Emma could accidentally have things happen to Pip. She had an advantage.

The two girls are thrust together into a new family and find it hard to adjust. The magic didn't make it easier for either of them. Becoming a family would continue to be something to work on.

This is a great read for kids as a middle age book. End of primary school girls will relate to how kids can make life difficult for other kids. There could have been more magical accidents, but I found the story a fun read. Many mums and dads probably would find their kids being 'Wyrd' at that age too.

[Byron Bibliotherapy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gentle, loving portrait of a blended family but with scrapes along the way. Emma struggles to maintain her happy-go-lucky nature in the face of her new stepsister, Pip's, obvious dislike of her. The relationship saga is made all the more dramatic when some magic enters the mix, from a Book of Spells found in a secondhand bookstore. Can Emma learn to control the unwanted magic, alongside her big, new unwanted feelings?

[Ari (Head in a Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the book follows Emma who is struggling to get along with her new stepsister (who is mean to her at school), one day, Emma and Sophie are invited to Pip's room and Emma becomes a witch. It's whimsical with a good amount of real things in it. By the end of the book, I was so envious of them!

[Darrel 😏 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was Pip supposed to be a villain? Because I think that’s pretty normal sibling behaviour. Emma needs to find some friends with an actual personality.

1.3⭐️- story was more 2D than a badly shaded sphere

[Belsy]

Personally I really enjoyed this book when I read it at the age of 10-11. It's a great mystery, a little bit of witchcraft and I can definitely see Harry Potter fans enjoying this x

[Charmaine Ohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a cute young YA novel.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this book was probably one of the best I have read it’s quite entertaining would recommend.

[JKAKES619 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books as a kid. Loved the cover design and fantasy style.