This was a really entertaining, cozy read with witches and magic galore! Ms Sherwood-Fabre did a great job with Wilhelmina's character development arc, and I loved the little high school drama woven in (especially that little confrontation with Mitch). It's a lovely journey through growing up, and perfectly balances the whimsicalities of magic with the yucky realities of, well, the reality of maturing. Meeting her mother, feeling betrayed - these are quite relatable matters, but the author puts a whole new personal touch which made everything feel new(er). Spoilers ahead!
I definitely didn't see the twists coming at the end, and I was completely taken by surprise! Just about flipped the e-pages of my book as fast as I could, but I do think that they could have been explored more in depth, though, because there's a lot on what happens in Wilhelmina's life adapting to be an Englischer, but not much time spent on developing the return of her father, or the confrontation with Beatrix. The latter, particularly, felt a little bit forced to me, because Wilhelmina's realisation that the necklace was sapping her powers seemed to be so coincidental, plus she kind of just moved on with her life after it? It may be something of a personal preference, but I honestly expected her to have a bit more of a struggle when it came to dealing with her best friend.
All in all, though, this was a quick, fun read and the ending does open up a lot of possibilities for a sequel, so here's to hoping! ( )

Wilhelmina Quigley is a failure at magic. even though she is the granddaughter of the powerful witch, Oma. Now that Wilhelmina has set fire to the school (again), the Council has told Oma that she must be removed from the school and her powers stripped from her. Oma decides to send Wilhelmina to live with her mother in the Englischer world of no magic, Wilhelmina's father, a powerful witch, was dead and she has only disturbing memories of living with her mother. Bitterly disappointed and fearful, Wilhelmina agrees. She soon finds out that nothing is as it seems. She starts attending middle school with other Englischers and makes new friends. She also discovers clues that may explain what happened to her father and why her powers are so weak.
I really loved this book. I'm a paranormal fan, so I loved the world of magical creatures. If you didn't know that Wilhelmina is a witch, this might read as a typical coming-of age novel about young teens learning to navigate the world of adults. The addition of magic makes it much more fun! A dash of romance, mystery, humor, and magic makes this a great read for middle-grade readers and anyone who enjoys magic. ( )

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a cute middle grade book with twists and turns the whole way through! Honestly thinking about buying a hard copy so I can have it for my daughter to read when she’s older!