Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

“Once A Witch” is a delightful coming of age story. Tamsin perceives herself as an outsider in her own family. The family universally displays “talent”. Tamsin shows no signs of following the hereditary skill set of her family of witches. How she works through this problem and the relationships she establishes are the gist of the book.

MacCullough captured the essence of teenage angst. As a counselor, I saw many teens searching for personal identity and MacCullough portrayed this search with accuracy and sensitivity. The story line was good, it recognized that even good people may find themselves doing bad things for the “greater” good. The relationships and the soul searching were believable. I suspect this will be a very successful series.

I highly recommend it.

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Tommy wakes up in a nuthouse, or that’s what it seems. Shades of “Lords of the Flies” are alive and well. A no escape prison filled with teens and the mystery of how they got there is the plot of the story.

The story seems to revel in frustration and futility. Tommy vaguely recalls a previous life but can recall no details. The mystery is tantalizing and evasive. That was well done. The tension provides the appropriate mind set for a surprisingly captivating novel. I kept trying to dislike the story and couldn’t put it down. It is book one of a trilogy that I will be forced to buy so I can find out what the heck is going on.


I recommend the book, it is not a warm and fuzzy read but it keeps your attention and makes you want to read the sequel.

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Bleak History by John Shirley

A young man with special skills and mysterious connections to another plane of existence searches for both his identity and his brother in an urban fantasy.   Gabriel Bleak spends his life on the run avoiding entities and agencies that want to take advantage of his special skills.   His experiences and the people he meets help him to define his own purpose.  Ghostly apparitions both plague and guide him on his quest.  A near future terrorist attack fuels the paranoia that creates a government long on control and light on the Bill of Rights.  That paranoid government creates an agency that seeks to gain control of any paranormal assets.

I liked Gabriel Bleak.  He was a reluctant hero facing daunting odds.   His unwillingness to use deadly force in every confrontation made him see more real and less two dimensional Marvel comic material.   The Chinese puzzle of interlocking government agencies with questionable oversight was frightening, precisely because we have seen such manifest fiascos spread over the front page for the less few decades.   I'm not an occult fan or fascinated with the supernatural and I liked this book anyway.  

I recommend the book. 

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