I enjoyed reading this book jam-packed with magic and familial love. Mup is such a caring, brave heroine, and I adored the ending.

The beginning was quite scary—I hate to admit it, but this children's book actually gave me nightmares after I read it before bed the first night. The rest was pretty intense too, as far as scariness levels (throughout) and also emotions (near the end).

So: magical, exciting, action-packed, but maybe not for the very sensitive or easily frightened child. I would definitely recommend it as a well-written, creative book.

The Raggedy Witches are my absolute new favorites! I love how they glitter, and I adore Mup and her love of color. Stories about witches and goblins and other fantastical creatures abound in juvenile (and adult) literature these days. Celine Kiernan has succeeded in creating a new type of witch and a new world that is reminiscent of some magical lands (I was actually most reminded of The Hazelwood), but full of lovely, imaginative details all her own. I adored the dance and vocal magic concepts, and even the “curse” of speaking in rhyme. The absolute best thing about this book, though, is Mup. She is a character to remember, and one who I hope to see in future stories. Mam is also a character to watch. She seems to waver between the “good” of The Duchess and the “bad” of The Queen, so her development in future stories could be quite entertaining. Recommended!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

This utterly charming middle grade novel is bright and dark all at once, embodying a classic fairy tale vibe with a modern approach. Mup is a smart, compassionate young girl. As her aunt is dying in the hospital, she spies raggedy witches gliding from tree to tree to chase her family's car. It turns out her mother is the heir to the throne in the witch's realm--and her grandmother is a cruel tyrant. When Mup's father is kidnapped by witches, the entire family launches a rescue operation into a realm that is magical and terrifying. 

There are so many things I love about this book. Foremost, Mup. She's a fierce, brilliant spark of a girl. Her chosen attire--a clashing rainbow of clothing, complete with tutu--feels realistic for a child her age. Her compassion is central. Her family sparkles with diversity, too. While her baby brother is pale and blonde like their mom, Mup takes after her father. As she describes it at one point, her father is Irish, too, but his parents came from Nigeria.

Mup's mom is awesome, too, a mother who is not defined by her motherhood alone. She's in an awful spot as she always felt ill-fit in the real world, but realizes much of what she was told about her mother's world wasn't quite right, either. She does take her two young children into a dangerous place and puts a lot of responsibility on Mup, but I like how she does trust Mup in that way. Mup thrives under that sense of respect and independence.

Kiernan has created something special in this book and I am excited that this is the first in a new series.

On the night that Aunty dies the Raggedy Witches come for Mup's mam. Pale, cold, relentless, they will do anything to coax Mam back to Witches Borough. When they kidnap Mup's dad, Mup and her mam must leave the mundane world to rescue him. But Mam is strange on this side of the border - striding, powerful, and distant. Even if they can save Dad, Mup is not sure anything will ever be the same again.
What I a magical, easy reading story! Full of twists, and surprises. Mup is an adorable girl, full of courage and hilarious comments.
The writing is simple but beautiful very appropriate for young middle graders, though at some stages might seem dark, I am sure children will love reading it.
The pace is fast and you cannot skip any line, as something is for sure going to happen.
Looking forward to the next book.

Uncommon and Surprising - In A Very Good Way

So, I read the blurbs for this and figured it would be fairly predictable - heroine girl travels to a magical world to save her kidnapped dad. That's not a bad frame, but it's not the most original premise either. Well guess what? From page one this is a gorgeous, clever, surprising, feast, and every aspect of it is fresh and surprising.

I won't try to summarize the plot beyond a very basic outline. Basically, Mup is the heroine, her Mam is the heir to some witchy kingdom, and her Mam's mom is the evil Queen of the witchy kingdom. Mam has been hidden in our world, but she's been forced to return to the witchy kingdom because dad has been kidnapped and is being used as bait. After the kidnapping Mam gets mad, grabs Mup and her baby brother, and they cross the border into the kingdom to kick some witchy butt, take some names, and get dad back.

Here's the thing. This is all beautifully well written, creatively magical, and yet muscular and no nonsense. 

As to the writing, the opening, during witch a flock of evil witches first tries to kidnap Mam, is one of the creepiest slow burn scary episodes I've read. The mood, the odd details, the unnerving moonlight, the flapping raggedy witches flying hand over hand through the treetops, the growing dread as they pursue Mam and Mup, is intense. (They make the flying monkeys from "Wizard of Oz" look like plush toys.) Descriptions are elegant. The pages are filled with funny, scary, insightful, or edgy observations and throwaway lines. 

The magic here isn't wands and spells. It's powerful Earth magic. Once they get across the border and into the witch kingdom, Mom regains her memory of what her powers were. Mup, who is totally new to this, is exhilarated by the energy that courses through her. (She is, after all, the evil witch Queen's granddaughter.) Now this is girrrrl power. Mup's confused about and a bit awed by this new, angry, powerful version of Mam, but through it all Mup keeps her common sense, her kindness, her deadpan sense of humor, and her old-fashioned spunk.

And that leads to the other thing that's going on. Nothing here is cutesy. Mam is angry, and she's in a bad mood about this kidnapping. She's on a mission, and it's not a touchy feely mission. Mam's also not very happy about having been hidden in our world and separated from magic, and she's ready to step up and settle this whole evil Queen deal. Mup is floored by what a tough cookie her Mam is, and Mup steps right up and pulls her weight. Talk about a coming of age story. The first time Mup feels magical power rise up through her is actually stirring. 

So, elegant, stylish, touched with humor but still no nonsense, this is a book that just whacked me between the eyes, and I loved it.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

A wonderful, fast paced, and highly memorable fantasy novel. This is one of those works that had me immediately order the author's back-catalog of works.