I watched Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I’ve read Sarah Mlynowski’s Bras and Broomsticks trilogy. I’ve lived vicariously through these TV and book witches imagining my ability to zap myself places, fly on a broomstick, freeze time, make myself invisible and all of the other cool things that witches could do.
But reading Kelly McClymer’s The Salem Witch Tryouts, I found myself sympathizing with Prudence as she is uprooted from the life she knows and loves in Beverly Hills to Salem, Massachusetts where she is now free to live her life as a witch. For her entire life, she has walked a fine line of being half-witch, half-mortal, but now her mother wants to fully immerse her in the life of a fully practicing witch.
She’s at witch school where everyone is a witch or warlock. The cheerleading team has ways of kicking up the stunts in cheers due to their magic. Think Bring It On’s national cheerleading competition, but even better.
Pru has a lot to learn in Salem, at witch school, and about what it really means to be a witch. There’s a whole other way of life for her to live. Why cook when you can just zap up a fully cooked roast beef, potatoes, and peas? There’s no need to brave the cold weather of Salem, Massachusetts when you can just pop from your house to your school in mere seconds.
I wish being a witch was possible because it would have made my high school years so much more fun. Spill something on your clothes that you can’t wash out? Zap up a new and better outfit. Presto chango!
