September 3rd 2019 by Aladdin
E ARC from Edelweiss Plus
Moth lives in Founder's Bluff on the east coast, and her town has an annual celebration that celebrations the founders, the Kramers, triumphing over a group of witches. The problem? Moth finds out after a small incident that she and her mother are, in fact, witches! She keeps this fact from her new friend whose father is a Kramer, even though she uses her magic to earn him a role in the school play about the town's founding. The real problem is with her mother, who doesn't want Moth to have anything to do with witchcraft, mainly because of the mother's difficulties during the time of the Salem Witch Trials with her own mother. Moth's grandmother wants to shelter her kin from the difficulties of the world by allowing them to remain in the realm of the witches, which Moth and her mother don't find exciting. Add to this the fact that the town's depiction of witches is offensive, and you have a very interesting take on the festival and play. Things come to a head both in Moth's school and in her family world. How will she find a way forward?
Strengths: I love the Aladdin M!X and MAX books, and so was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a graphic novel. The art is quite appealing, and the story easy to follow, with text that is a good size. There are strong themes of family, being true to oneself, and making friends who might be different from you. I also loved the former shop owner turned cat! Definitely a winner, and one of the rare graphic novels with a character of color. Hooray!
Weaknesses: The noses were a bit odd. I don't know why so many graphic novels depict noses as being a different (darker) color than people's faces, nor why this bothers and distracts me. This was a bit overly angsty with the family relationships, but my readers won't care.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing. Many of my readers like to think that they could be witches or have magical powers, so this will circulate well!
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