Review: Witchlings

By Claribel A. Ortega

New York: Scholastic Press, 2022. Fantasy. 334 p.

In the magical town of Ravenskill, the biggest night of the year is the Black Moon Ceremony. On this night, every 12-year-old Witchling in this city is assigned to their coven where they will come into their full powers -- unless they are a "spare." Spares are Witchlings who are not sorted into a coven, never come into their powers, and are treated like a servant class in the community. On the night of the ceremony, we meet Seven Salazar who is devastated when she is made a spare with two other girls. Shocked, scared, and determined to avoid this fate, Seven and the other spares, mean girl Valley and new girl in town Thorn, invoke the Clause of the Impossible Task in order to become witches.

This is a light and fun fantasy novel about three well-developed characters learning to work together and see past first judgements in order to succeed. Claribel Ortega creates a lush, richly detailed fantasy world inhabited by diverse characters. Filled with action and intrigue, readers will rush through this book and start asking for the sequel -- and talking a lot about toads.

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