School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Move over Sabrina and Tabitha, there's a new teen witch in town! In Esme Raji Codell's enjoyable story (Hyperion, 2005), Hunky Dory's mother expects her to become the "wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow." Hunky, well on her way to accomplishing that feat, is first in her class at witch's charm school. Through a series of misadventures described in her diary, Hunky realizes that she would rather learn more about wishcraft than witchcraft. When the fact is revealed that Hunky likes granting wishes and is interested in learning how to become a (gasp!) F.G. (Fairy Godmother), she is expelled from school. Full of puns and wicked humor, this light fantasy will appeal to girls looking for a little magic of their own. Allusions to Harry Potter and Queen Mab are intertwined with inclusions of familiar fairy and witch stories, such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. Tinkly fairy-like music floats in the background as Hunky begins reading her diary entries. When she truly accepts herself and becomes a fairy godmother, lush orchestral music signals the end of the story. Listeners are also treated to an appendix of some words of wisdom from the witch/fairy godmother textbook "Be the One with the Wand" and a recipe for "Booger Cookies." Rachael Lillis provides just the right amount of innocence as the voice of Hunky Dory, and extends the effect of the diary by having Hunky do vocal impressions of people she has conversations with. Simply charming!-Stephanie Bange, Dayton and Metro Library, Wilmington Stroop Branch, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Codell (Sahara Special) concocts some playful twists to familiar fairytales and conventional morality in this uneven story about a misfit witch. Hunky Dory, witch in training, is at the top of her class in charm school. Her mother has high hopes of her becoming "the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow." But Hunky, who narrates, secretly aspires to be a fairy godmother; and her Auntie refers to "F.G.s" as "vapid little underachievers." The first time the heroine adjusts a curse (her Auntie's), changing Sleeping Beauty's death sentence into a 100-year snooze, Hunky detects a wonderful, strange sensation: "It was a warm feeling, but it wasn't a sick feeling. It was spreading, though, from my feet and legs and into my hands and up my neck." From then on she's hooked on doing good deeds even though it means getting expelled from school and being disowned by her mother. Young readers may well be tickled by Hunky's encounters with Rumplestiltskin (on whom she has a crush), Goldilocks (whom Hunky transforms into Glinda, the Good Witch of the North) and Cinderella (who is reluctant to marry a prince who is "all hands and sugar talk"). The author's message about good and evil being almost the same thing, however, comes across as somewhat convoluted and perhaps too heavy-handed for this lighthearted tale. Codell more successfully conveys the idea that people rarely wish for what they truly desire. Ages 7-11. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
