2022 EDIT: Such silly, kiddie, witchy fun! An all-female hijinks adventure book that can be read in a day.
(Why did I say in my original review that there are no cats whatsoever in this book? They are mentioned; they're just off-page and unnamed. So the cover is still false advertising.)
Final Score: 3.5/5
Oh, how to describe 'Witch Wars'? Well, if 'The Worst Witch' and 'The Hunger Games' had a baby which was raised in the settings of every Saturday morning cartoon imaginable, one after another, whilst high on whatever is keeping the Looney Tunes alive and tripping, then 'Witch Wars' might be the spectacular, cracking and goofy result.
I really enjoyed this witchy product. It took me right back to my days of reading female-led middle school books such as 'Jane Blonde' and 'Emily Windsnap'. Also 'H.I.V.E.' and 'Princess Academy'. There's nothing deep here - it can be read in one day - but it is a lot of fun, with fun characters and creative set pieces.
Tiga Whicabim is a nine-year-old orphan girl, living with the abusive cheese water-fanatic Miss Heks. In a garden shed one day, Tiga finds that a slug is not her only company. She is told by a fairy named Fran (the Fabulous Fairy, as she'll never let you forget) that she is a witch and must go down the plughole into an underground world called Sinkville, where all the pipes lead to and where all the witches live. Once landing in Ritzy City, Tiga is made to compete in the Witch Wars, which used to involve killing but now it's a televised scavenger hunt (the Wars in the title was kept because it's catchy), along with other young witches, in order to win the highest honour of becoming Top Witch, ruler of Ritzy City and beyond.
Everything is fast in 'Witch Wars', with plenty of silly jokes left on the pages. There is no use comparing it to well-known franchises in literature like 'Harry Potter' and 'The Hunger Games', because it is much lighter than any of those. Non-sequiturs and random tidbits are 'Witch Wars''s bread and butter pudding. The dramatics are over-the-top and played for comedy only. People get hurt but in a rule reminiscent of slapstick.
The world of Sinkville is black and grey, but in a fun, soft, bewitching way. Considering that the whole thing is a glorified sewer system, that happens to have mountains, towers, docks, islands and coves, Tiga grows to love it pretty quickly. The witch women wear flat hats (they only get pointy, and their faces warty and noses crooked, from going up and down the small pipes), big frilly dresses, and pointy shoes. The illustrations are great and help lend the book that Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic - low budget drawings with funny writing to make up for it.
Tiga is a curious, adorable gothic heroine with her own fair share of humour, understated compared to the rest of the full-on, loud, OTT cast. Fran is a little fairy with the huge personality of a middle-aged, big-haired celebrity aunt; she's a self-obsessed primadonna, and a self-proclaimed "big star" of fairy and witch film and television. Tiga's new best friend in Sinkville is Peggy Pigwiggle, who has dripping black gunk in her fizzy hair, and cares for Tiga deeply, for she is a poor, lonely witch with no discernible gift but a loving family to give her confidence. Apart from that and coming from Sinkville, Peggy has quite a lot of surprising things in common with Tiga. Fluffanora Brew (yes, that is her name; great isn't it?) is a devil-may-care fashion designer's daughter who's as cool as any spoilt rich girl can be. She becomes Tiga's friend too, for Fluffanora is interested in the fashions of the world above the pipes. Simultaneously a bored, grumpy big sister type and a loving, helpful confidante, Fluffanora is instantly a favourite character of mine. Rivals in the Witch Wars include the haughty bully Felicity Bat, from a prestigious and infamous family legacy, and the mean girl Aggie Hoof, obsessed with the fashion magazine 'Toad'. Lizzie Beast and Patty Pigeon also make up the list of creatively silly names in this book.
There's non-stereotypical personality traits to mix in this witch's bowl (cauldrons are out of style now, according to Sinkville). There's friendship, sulky fairies, riddles and shortcuts. Not a lot of magic or spells occur in this witch book, especially one for children, but it doesn't matter. My favourite magical moment is the witches' setting up for camp by growing one of their shoes big and living in it like a house. That and growing wigs together for a bald witch who thinks she is Rapunzel. Caring for others, practical tactics, and brainpower help out our heroes on this journey to becoming the best of the best. No boarding school clichés or lessons, just a reality show contest from the get-go.
And the truly unique part of 'Witch Wars', and what makes it stand out the most? There is not a single male character in it. None mentioned whatsoever in the entire book. No romance crap or catty rivalries revolving around boys - it's a wacky, unruly competition to rule a disadvantaged world all the way. Girls rule this world!
Flaws: Without the illustrations, the reader wouldn't get a clear picture of what each character looks like, and they certainly wouldn't know that Peggy, Fluffanora and Aggie are meant to have dark skin. Nothing is really explained about Tiga's origin and how she came to be adopted by Miss Heks, who hates her but had kept her anyway, but maybe that's for the sequels to explore. And the cover lies! There are no cats in 'Witch Wars' at all, black or any other colour and breed. It's the fairies that fill the role similar to that of the witches' familiars here. Think of the cute and comedic potential lost by not including any cats in a witch adventure! Cats make everything better - just ask the internet!
'Witch Wars' is a hilarious new cartoon--er, I mean kid's book. Maybe I will check out the sequels, for I enjoy these characters and this world, and I have nothing to lose by diving into these quick reads.
Final Score: 3.5/5
I really enjoyed this witchy product. It took me right back to my days of reading female-led middle school books such as 'Jane Blonde' and 'Emily Windsnap'. Also 'H.I.V.E.' and 'Princess Academy'. There's nothing deep here - it can be read in one day - but it is a lot of fun, with fun characters and creative set pieces.
Tiga Whicabim is a nine-year-old orphan girl, living with the abusive cheese water-fanatic Miss Heks. In a garden shed one day, Tiga finds that a slug is not her only company. She is told by a fairy named Fran (the Fabulous Fairy, as she'll never let you forget) that she is a witch and must go down the plughole into an underground world called Sinkville, where all the pipes lead to and where all the witches live. Once landing in Ritzy City, Tiga is made to compete in the Witch Wars, which used to involve killing but now it's a televised scavenger hunt (the Wars in the title was kept because it's catchy), along with other young witches, in order to win the highest honour of becoming Top Witch, ruler of Ritzy City and beyond.
Everything is fast in 'Witch Wars', with plenty of silly jokes left on the pages. There is no use comparing it to well-known franchises in literature like 'Harry Potter' and 'The Hunger Games', because it is much lighter than any of those. Non-sequiturs and random tidbits are 'Witch Wars''s bread and butter pudding. The dramatics are over-the-top and played for comedy only. People get hurt but in a rule reminiscent of slapstick.
The world of Sinkville is black and grey, but in a fun, soft, bewitching way. Considering that the whole thing is a glorified sewer system, that happens to have mountains, towers, docks, islands and coves, Tiga grows to love it pretty quickly. The witch women wear flat hats (they only get pointy, and their faces warty and noses crooked, from going up and down the small pipes), big frilly dresses, and pointy shoes. The illustrations are great and help lend the book that Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic - low budget drawings with funny writing to make up for it.
Tiga is a curious, adorable gothic heroine with her own fair share of humour, understated compared to the rest of the full-on, loud, OTT cast. Fran is a little fairy with the huge personality of a middle-aged, big-haired celebrity aunt; she's a self-obsessed primadonna, and a self-proclaimed "big star" of fairy and witch film and television. Tiga's new best friend in Sinkville is Peggy Pigwiggle, who has dripping black gunk in her fizzy hair, and cares for Tiga deeply, for she is a poor, lonely witch with no discernible gift but a loving family to give her confidence. Apart from that and coming from Sinkville, Peggy has quite a lot of surprising things in common with Tiga. Fluffanora Brew (yes, that is her name; great isn't it?) is a devil-may-care fashion designer's daughter who's as cool as any spoilt rich girl can be. She becomes Tiga's friend too, for Fluffanora is interested in the fashions of the world above the pipes. Simultaneously a bored, grumpy big sister type and a loving, helpful confidante, Fluffanora is instantly a favourite character of mine. Rivals in the Witch Wars include the haughty bully Felicity Bat, from a prestigious and infamous family legacy, and the mean girl Aggie Hoof, obsessed with the fashion magazine 'Toad'. Lizzie Beast and Patty Pigeon also make up the list of creatively silly names in this book.
There's non-stereotypical personality traits to mix in this witch's bowl (cauldrons are out of style now, according to Sinkville). There's friendship, sulky fairies, riddles and shortcuts. Not a lot of magic or spells occur in this witch book, especially one for children, but it doesn't matter. My favourite magical moment is the witches' setting up for camp by growing one of their shoes big and living in it like a house. That and growing wigs together for a bald witch who thinks she is Rapunzel. Caring for others, practical tactics, and brainpower help out our heroes on this journey to becoming the best of the best. No boarding school clichés or lessons, just a reality show contest from the get-go.
And the truly unique part of 'Witch Wars', and what makes it stand out the most? There is not a single male character in it. None mentioned whatsoever in the entire book. No romance crap or catty rivalries revolving around boys - it's a wacky, unruly competition to rule a disadvantaged world all the way. Girls rule this world!
Flaws: Without the illustrations, the reader wouldn't get a clear picture of what each character looks like, and they certainly wouldn't know that Peggy, Fluffanora and Aggie are meant to have dark skin. Nothing is really explained about Tiga's origin and how she came to be adopted by Miss Heks, who hates her but had kept her anyway, but maybe that's for the sequels to explore. And the cover lies! There are no cats in 'Witch Wars' at all, black or any other colour and breed. It's the fairies that fill the role similar to that of the witches' familiars here. Think of the cute and comedic potential lost by not including any cats in a witch adventure! Cats make everything better - just ask the internet!
'Witch Wars' is a hilarious new cartoon--er, I mean kid's book. Maybe I will check out the sequels, for I enjoy these characters and this world, and I have nothing to lose by diving into these quick reads.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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