Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads: "It is the story of Kendra and her first 300 or so years of life. In Bewitching, Kendra ponders whether to help out a modern day plain-looking stepsister, while also reflecting on her experiences in the 1666 British plague, the court of Louis XV, and on the Titanic."


My take: What a delightful book! I did not read Flinn's Beastly but my daughter informed me that Kendra is the starring witch in that one, as well.

Fairy tale retelling, when done well, is an art. Kendra is born a witch. She discovers it by accident and then, with the unsuspecting help of her captor, a witch who captures children with her gingerbread house, she learns a lot of tricks. Kendra is old. She's a misunderstood witch from a lot of the fairy tales from days of yore. She'll drop a couple in for you. And they are fun. But they can backfire and it's not pretty.

Which is why Kendra is reluctant to step in to help Emma. It's a retelling of Cinderella but the fairy tales definitely have it wrong. There are some misunderstandings all around. It's a well developed story with strong characters and a satisfying twist at the end.