Diary of an Accidental Witch

Diary of an Accidental Witch #1

by Perdita Cargill, Honor Cargill

Monday 20th September

I’M AT WITCH SCHOOL! Now would be a really good time to discover I can do magic…

Bea Black has just moved to Little Spellshire, a town with a magical secret. When her dad accidentally enrols her at the local witch school, she has to get to grips with some interesting new classes, like, NOW! Also on her to do list? Make friends, look after the grumpy class frog AND do everything humanly magically possible to stay on a broom…

But with the Halloween Ball on the horizon, will she be able to master her wand skills in time to WOW? And more importantly can she keep her newfound magical abilities a secret from dad?

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Halloween, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2021

About the author

Come and meet and talk to us on www.facebook.com/waitingforcallback
or via the contact form on the website www.waitingforcallback.com ! (We're running a writing comp right now, check it out on the website)

I used to be the least numerate tax barrister ever to practise at the English bar but now I'm writing at last and it's the best 'job' in the world - not least because I'm writing funny teen books with my 18 year old daughter, Honor Cargill. Hon has just joined Good Reads - go and say hi to her!

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you end up that counts”

Eleven year old Bea Black has just moved to Little Spellshire, UK (AKA, the middle of nowhere) with her father, a weather scientist. She’s supposed to be attending Spellshire Academy with Ashkan (Ash), her new next door neighbour and only friend, but Bea’s father accidentally enrolled her in Spellshire’s other school.

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The Spellshire School for Extraordinary Arts is a school like no other, where physics involves levitation, English is “Incantations and the Language of Spells” and sport involves broomsticks.

“HARD WORK AND FOCUS and you’ll be flying in no time! Flying - hahaha! But remember: don’t tell a soul. Those of us who know, know and those of them who don’t, can’t.”

Bea, who is Ordinary, spends most of her breaks hiding in the broom cupboard with Stan the frog. She can’t wait for her father to finally arrange her transfer to the school she’s supposed to be attending. Until then, try as she might, Bea fails “TRAGICALLY at all things witchy”.

I really enjoyed this book and am trying to figure out how I can enrol myself in this school. Beside the whole witch thing and the opportunity to perfect spells, I’m always in favour of having legitimate excuses to wear a cape.

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Be on the lookout for bats on a sugar high and spiders who can weave pictures. I definitely need to master the “hair-colour-changing trick spell”.

Best homework assignment ever:

Make a model of a medieval witch castle including potion laboratory, high walls for protection from Ordinaries, magical moat, Great Banqueting Hall and broomstick landing pad.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Tiger Group, an imprint of Stripes Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m looking forward to continuing this series.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com

Bea Black has moved to the village of Little Spellshire with her weather scientist father who has come to the village to write a book on the strange and unpredictable microclimate it has.

The village has two schools, the modern academy and ‘the other school’. After making a friend, Ashkan (Ash), who shows her his school, the modern academy, Bea can’t wait to start. Unfortunately, her father forgot to put her name down and now she has to attend ‘The School of Extraordinary Arts’ in which the uniform includes a cape, a broomstick, and a wand. Bea is now nervous about starting a new school, she has no friends there and she is no witch, what is she going to do?

Diary of an Accidental Witch is an entertaining and engaging story featuring the loveable and very sweet Bea Black. She is warm, friendly, and kind. When she ends up at the ‘magic’ school with no magical abilities, well none known, she finds that her lessons are very different from ‘normal’ schools and that she is to study and practice magic.

The story has plenty of hilarious moments as well as very sweet ones too. I adore the relationship between Bea and Ash, plus the weather in Little Spellshire is certainly amusing. I also love how Bea tries to hide everything about her schooling from her father who doesn’t seem to have worked out given the village’s title, the names of the shops, the number of cats roaming around, the strange weather, plus, Bea’s uniform that this town could be magical. 🙂

Written in diary format and featuring amazing artwork throughout this book is one that will keep children intrigued and happy the whole way through.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fabulous bedtime book to share with my 8-year-old, who adored every minute - and especially LOVES Stan, the Year 7 witches' class frog! (Stan was truly adorable in every way. I, too, stan Stan 100% forever!) When Bea Black is accidentally signed up (by her absent-minded father) for witch school instead of normal secondary school, she thinks that it is a disaster - but her adventures there are really fun.

This definitely works in the tradition of The Worst Witch and Harry Potter in terms of the setup and a lot of the same familiar archetypes being repeated, but it's all told in a very funny diary format, and it was really fun to read together. We're looking forward to Book 2 (and hoping that Stan will continue to play a large part)!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Bea, a normal average girl… until she is accepted in witch school! What will this girl do next?


I loved Honor and Perdita’s previous series, Waiting For Callback, so I was very hyped for a new series by them, this time a children’s/MG series about a girl who becomes an accidental witch. It took me a bit longer before I had the chance to read it, Amazon didn’t have it in stock for a while and then it was way too expensive. But now it was the right price. dances

In this book we meet Bea, an average girl with a not so average dad. Haha. They moved to Little Spellshire (love the town’s name) which has something magical to it. Not only in regards to the strange school in the forest, or the strange shops, but also with the weather. From one moment it can be both sunny and snow. Then there is a mini-tornado. It’s up to Bea’s father to figure out the whats and hows. I loved the setting instantly and would love to just step inside the book and visit this place. Eat something yummy at Taffy’s. Check out what the grocery store has. Make friends with the kids of the town. Get into that school. I want it all!

I had fun seeing Bea try to understand witch stuff and try the magic herself. I had a laugh at how often she burned something, and laughed that this was apparently fairly normal for a witch to do given the comment from one of the other girls in class. XD I was definitely rooting for Bea because despite her being very normal… she could do something with that wand. Not to mention she had a knack for flying on a broomstick/participating in that sports (which I also wanted to do). That part definitely screamed Harry Potter to me, given how Harry was also so good at it + the magical sport. I loved reading about the subjects at school, while it seemed to be very magical orientated it also seemed to actually teach the kids something they could use in the real life.

I loved seeing Bea make friends. She already had one, a guy from next door who I liked but at other times found a bit judgmental, but with Witch School she makes more.

I did feel a bit for the dad, because Bea just couldn’t say anything about her days at school. Hello, witch = secret. But dad thought she was just acting out. Oh if only he knew. I would have loved dad to take a bit better care of his daughter as now she was thinking of learning to cook and do other things.

I absolutely LOVED that this book was written as a diary, it just made it all even more fun and made me connect with Bea more.

However, there was one thing I would have liked to see. Bea being honest from the start. Now throughout the book she is worried and fretting that someone finds out that she isn’t a witch/that she has zero experience. I just wish she had confided in the teachers or at least that kind head teacher. Now it all popped out at the end and it just felt too late for me. Though I did love the reaction of the head teacher, haha. I hadn’t expected that one.

Can we please just not have mean girls (or boys) in stories? I am just tired of the Blairs in books.

The illustrations in this book were just a pure delight! They were cute and fun and I loved how the characters were drawn.

All in all, give me the second book! I need more! Honor and Perdita have done it again and I cannot wait to read the rest.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Bea moves to a new town, she is mistakenly enrolled in a witch school. She has to pretend to fit in even though she can't do magic, while waiting for her father to send in new enrollment papers to the regular school in town. The witch school has their own culture, their own food and clothing styles. Bea does not fit in at all, and she feels completely lost. Can she make some friends before she gets transferred back to normal school?

I loved the way that Bea struggles so much to fit in, and everything at the witch school is so strange and weird to her. We all feel like that sometimes. She also feels really inadequate with her school work because she can't do magic. But I loved how her teachers encourage her and she begins to discover that she does have certain skills.

This first book in the series felt incomplete because it just ends with nothing resolved. The story arc suddenly stops at the top of the arc with all these loose ends hanging off. It's very awkward. All the open questions about Bea, her rivalries with classmates, and upcoming events that are hinted at in the first book are all resolved in the second book. It would make a lot more sense to have the first and second books of the series published as one book. I don't know what editor decided to cut this story in half, but it was a poor decision.

I really loved the cute writing style! The diary structure is fun and the writing is hilarious! I enjoyed how descriptive the writing is. You can really imagine the whole magical setting of the school. The school does have some inspiration from Harry Potter, but with a fresh imaginative spin on elements like magical sports played on a broom, toad class pets, and using wand spells.

There are really adorable illustrations throughout the book that bring out the comedy in the story!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Iraa ☘️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bea Black gadis dua belas tahun yg baru pindah ke area Little Spellshire bersama ayahnya yg seorang single parent dan seorang ilmuan, dgn tdk sengaja ayah Bea mendaftarkannya ke Academy Extraordinary, bukannya ke Academy Ordinary yg terletak di tengah Spellshire, Bea sedih sekaligus kesal ayahnya mendaftarkannya di sekolah antah berantah di tengah hutan yg memiliki murid2 aneh dan dipenuhi banyak rahasia...

TW CW // bullying , minor spoilers

Hmm ini kyknya cuma bisa dibaca sama target audiensnya deh, aku gak ngerasa apa apa baca ini, karakter Bea kyk kosong gt, gak punya 'thoughts' sendiri, cuma ngikutin apa yg terjadi di luar, gak ada heart felt moment antara teman teman barunya cuma ngerasa diri/batin Bea memaksa untuk adaptasi biar bisa survive disekolah itu, aplg yg berhubungan sm Blair itu, tema sekolah penyihir lumayan ngikutin estetika mainstream, ilustrasinya manis tp kurang ada ciri khas tersendiri, mirip seperti gaya buku diary diary umumnya, komplain terbesar aku cuma ttg Bea sih, kurang berkesan aja sbg main character.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book

[Kacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie said she liked this book, but there were some boring parts. She still wants to read the next one, though.

[BookBairn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book for young fans of bewitching stories! With a contemporary setting and a diary format, you’ll feel like you’ve made a new friend in Bea. Packed full of humour, and doodles, this is a magical tale of friendship, frenemies and finding your place, we love this story so much and are looking forward to more from the series! Perfect for fans of The Worst Witch and Isadora Moon, this is a fun read for Halloween (or for any time of year really).

[Kristina Andreeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много свежа и сладка детска книжка, която усмихва страшно много :) Главната героиня, Беа, е доста симпатично момиче и е забавно да четеш за неволите ѝ, които тя сама разказва в своя дневник. Мислех, че трудно вече ще мога да оценявам този тип книжки, но въобще не се оказа така. И като илюстрации, и като текст е очарователна - надявам се повече деца да попаднат на нея и да я оценят както ѝ подобава. :)

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise is interesting but I don’t like books for kids which normalize bullying and I especially don’t like books where a kid is struggling and is discouraged from talking to trusted adults.

[Cheryl Malandrinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like diary stories, you’ll want to check out New Girl: Diary of an Accidental Witch by Perdita and Honor Cargill, the first book in a new series.

Bea Black and her dad just moved to the town of Little Spellshire. When Dad accidentally enrolls Bea in a magical school, she has to juggle new and different classes, making friends, looking after the class frog, learning to fly on a broom without falling off, and not letting on to her father about the secret of her new school. As if that’s not bad enough, Winter Solstice is only four weeks away, and the School of Extraordinary Arts will be competing against Spellshire Academy, the school her best friend, Ash, attends. Oh, and he doesn’t know her school’s secret either, and if she tells him, it might not end up great for either of them.

This first book in the Diary of an Accidental Witch series is a fun one. It will appeal to readers 6 – 9 because it takes a main character struggling with a lot of what they do–new school, making new friends while trying to stay connected to old ones, fitting in, balancing responsibilities, and embarrassing parents–and puts all that in a magical setting filled with unique characters. The Sports Day competition and the Winter Solstice Bonfire Party add an additional hurdle for Bea to jump as she struggles with being the new girl. Great illustrations by Katie Saunders add a fun element to the story.

I look forward to more adventures from Bea Black and friends.

[Teaching Little Fishies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Potter meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid… I really enjoyed reading this one! This spellbinding adventure is full of humour and it will not fail to impress.

We live through the life of Bea Black who has recently moved to the intriguing town of Spellshire. Each new diary entry brings a sense of joy. There are plenty of funny moments as we are shown through the daily life of an ‘accidental witch’. Bea has to deal with the struggle of keeping her new school a secret and the want to share her excitement with those close to her.

The little sketches throughout the book are just another way the author makes this book even more engaging.

This will surely be a hit in your library and it is a great start to a promising book series. I would recommend this for children aged 7 and up. It would make a great bedtime story!

Teaching Point:
DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE - This book is filled with great descriptive phrases such as similes and metaphors. There is plenty of great adjectives and verbs used throughout. It could be a great book to teach those skills during a guided group or conferencing.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Били ли сте някога в Малко Заклинаево? Не? Ето, че имате случай да се отбиете! И ви уверяваме, че това е възможност, която не бива да пропускате. Ще се убедите в това и сами ако разгърнете „Дневникът на вещицата по неволя“ (изд. „Асеневци“) – духовит детски роман, дело на чаровно творческо дуо от майка и дъщеря. Симпатичното младежко четиво явно е написано с много желание и Пердита и Онър Каргил изглежда много са се забавлявали в процеса на работа. А прекрасната работа на художничката Кейти Сандъс само засилва този ефект. Началото на едноименна поредица, „Дневникът на вещицата по неволя“ ще ви отведе в едно по свое му китно градче, чиито жители си живеят така, сякаш всеки ден е Хелоуин. Как обаче си живее младата Беа Блек? И дали ще ѝ допадне ежедневието в училището за вещици? Имаме възможността да научим всички зловещо-забавни подробности директно от самата нея! Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[John Naylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this is a book about someone going to a school of magic. It would be easy for me to make comparisons to another one that is probably famous but I can say this is nothing like Christina Clarry's "The Great Wizard Wars". It is also by an co-author I am happy to follow on Twitter which also rules out comparisons to another series.

The title is as much of a spoiler as you need. Magic abounds in Little Spellshire. The plot is told as a diary but it doesn't drag or get caught up in the mundane. The characterisation is good even for non-human characters. There is humour and a relatable main character.

I fully expect this to be a series. Possibly a long one. I can recommend that it will be a series worth following. There are some unanswered questions I have that might get answered in the future.

One final note is that after reading these authors first novel I started acting classes. I wasn't that successful but maybe I should think about being a witch.

[Janette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. Bea Black has moved to Little Spellshire with her scientist father and accidentally gets enrolled in The School for Extraordinary Arts. She is also given her first ever diary which tells us the story of her first term as a non-witch in a school full of witches.
Disaster follows disaster as Bea struggles to find even the smallest spark of magic but despite this, she gradually manages to fit in and begin to make friends. Her adventures are funny and brilliantly described in her diary which reminded me in style of Clarice Bean.
The book is illustrated perfectly throughout by Katie Saunders and would be perfect for all would be witches of 7 years and up.
I read this as an advance copy from Net Galley. Thank you both to them and the publishers Little Tiger for letting me read this in exchange for my honest review.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bea Black has just moved to little Spellshire, where her father enrols her at the Extraordinary school and not the Spellshire academy.
Little does he know that it's a witch school.
Bea is struggling with her first term at at Extraordinary where she finds it hard to fit in and cope amongst the other more advanced witches.
Her solace is telling her daily woes to her diary.
But can she make it in the witching world?
Will she want to stay Extraordinary or move to the academy?
The Halloween party is coming up and finally she learns that she can do magic and she has more friends that support her than she thinks.
This was a cute story I read with my youngest niece and we are both looking forward to the others in the series.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is the first in a series. What would you do if you moved to a new town, named Spellshire? Bea Black and her father are new residents. As it turns out, Bea's father has enrolled her in the wrong school! She learns she'll be attending the School of Extraordinary Arts rather than than the well-respected Spellshire Academy. Now what? Bea realizes she has no family who have attended the school before her so she has no precedent for what will be taught and expected to learn. Each day brings new challenges, most of which she is not suited for. Written in a diary format, this is a fun read for elementary age girls.

[Borislava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Приятна книга за момичета, които харесват вещерски истории. Написана под формата на дневник. Отнемам една звезда (макар че може и повече) заради използването на същия модел като в Хари Потър: дете от „обикновения“ свят попада в училище за магия и се сблъсква с различните предмети, изучавани там, намира си приятели, намира си и неприятели. Дори уроците по летене са много подобни на тези на книгата на Роулинг. Нещо като Хари Потър, но за момичета. Все пак си мисля, че поредицата не започва лошо, даже напротив. Може би ще бъде много полезна за „зарибяване“ на млади читателки да се влюбят в книгите.
Вече и с въпросник в Книговище.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the look of the cover of this book, and the concept was appealing, so I decided to give it a go.

I really enjoyed this book. Bea Black accidentally ends up enrolled at a school for witches. Lots of funny things happen as she tries to settle in, and the ending is lovely.

The illustrations are excellent, they really bring the story to life, and add to the humour.

Overall, I think this story is an excellent and entertaining read for younger children.

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

[Kate Poels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accidental Witch has been likened by many to Jill Murphy’s iconic Worst Witch stories. High praise but 100% earned in my opinion.

The story of young Bea Black and her move to a new school certainly has hints of Mildred Hubble about it.
However the diary format and contemporary style of writing, along with Katie Saunders charming illustrations, give the Cargills’ series a fresh edge that definitely elevates to the top of the witch school genre.

I’m already counting down the 6 months we have to wait for the second book in the series to hit shelves!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bea's Dad accidentally enrols her in the witch school of Little Spellshire and she's pretty sure no amount of practice and homework will make her perform actual magic. She'd be happy enough if she could at least make some friends in this weird place.
This was an enjoyable book to read with great illustrations and a fun layout of a diary. Bea is a very humorous main character who makes you root for her throughout the book.

[Auro Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will fall in love with Bea Black, the main character of this amazing book!

Diary of an Accidental Witch is written diary-wise, which makes it a lot easier to read for kids aged 7-8.

Not only she is a very lovable character, but learning about her feelings, how she faces the situations she sees herself in and how much she cares for her family and friends, will make you want to be her friend!

Definitely, a highly recommended book!

[Paula Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading kids books, regardless of the intended readers age. I find them so entertaining and more often than not so unique, something that can not always be said about books intended for adult readers.
The format for this book was inspired as was the storyline, and I look forward to enjoying more of the books in this series, because, yes, I am just a big kid at heart!

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

A witchy school adventure in the ‘Wimpy Kid’ style, double-spaced and peppered with illustrations and marginalia. Bea Black’s mishaps skirt the edge of being too cringey to read, but the vivacious narration and her fatalistic fortitude combine to carry the reader through.

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!!! Fingers crossed there are more to come!

[Kate Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. It's got everything a young me would have loved - fun and magic, and is wonderfully imaginative. Highly recommended and I'm looking forward to reading the next!

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of surprises, a really good book. I’d recommend it to people who like diary-style stories.

[Hollylovesbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Short, fun and entertaining!

[Laura Fowler-Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun sweet witch school story