The Hidden Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag
My Rating: ★★★★★
Aster is excited to finally be allowed to formally learn witchcraft, but the adjustment is quite steep for the adults in his family. Only girls can be witches, and he’s now the second boy in the family to be born with a natural talent for it. Aster’s grandmother steps in and offers to help him catch up with his peers, but she has a heavy request: help her care for his great-uncle. Meanwhile, Charlie is doing great, though she’s happily promised to never share that she knows about magic. Unfortunately for her, someone’s cursed her, and she needs Charlie and his family’s help to find who is cursing people in town.
I absolutely loved the first volume of this series, so I was extremely excited to finally start the second volume. Keeping up with the heartwarming feel of the first volume, we follow Aster and his friend Charlie as their lives continue back at school. Aster is finally starting classes for witchcraft, but he still doesn’t fit in. The adults in his family are having a hard time accepting that he’s a witch because, according to tradition, he should be a shapeshifter. However, not everyone has a problem with it, and we start to see that with his peers and his grandma.
It was nice to see what happened with his great-uncle after the showdown in the first volume. Aster is in the unique position of being a witch who was once facing being an outcast for being one. Because of this, he is the one who is able to help heal his great-uncle in ways that his grandmother can’t. It was really nice to see the three of them bond as well as see how helping someone who once tried to harm everyone helped not only Aster, but other people.
I also loved following Charlie again. It was great to see how her bubbly, extroverted, and friendly personality doesn’t stop for anyone. She instantly befriends the new girl at school, Ariel, and doesn’t back down when she lashes out to protect herself from getting hurt. Ariel is also a witch, but she has no training due to being in the foster care system and never being placed with fellow witches as the supernatural world is not shared with the rest of the world. I really loved following how this plot progressed and eventually wound down. I really liked Ariel, so I think she’s a great addition to the series as it continues.
There are some other parts of the book I loved, including a few small plot points that I don’t want to spoil by mentioning them. I’m interested in seeing how those develop as the series continues. The artwork was also absolutely stunning, which I’m not surprised by since the first volume was beautiful. All in all, I’m really enjoying this series and the messages it delivers.
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