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For the first time in her life, Bethany will be attending a school where she doesn’t need to keep secret her powers as a witch. Although the move is difficult for fifteen-year-old Bethany, getting a larger house and being among other witches and hunters (males with powers) is exciting. Bethany quickly makes a couple of friends when she arrives at her new house: two normal children and a hunter. Also, she accidentally ends up texting a boy she thought was one of her new friends, but he turns out to be someone quite different.
Bethany is given a mysterious gauntlet by one of her friends, and the group decides to keep their gauntlets a secret as they try to learn more about them and unlock their powers. Tensions build quickly as the mysterious boy she was texting, Jake, turns out to be the handsome and aloof son of one of the DIA executives. To make matters worse, John—her hunter friend from the first day—and Jake used to be close but had a falling out that resulted in deep animosity between the two.
The writing in Howlett’s novel is crisp and clean and propels this short book towards its conclusion without slowing the pace or losing the reader’s interest with lengthy exposition. Rather than magical adventures and action, the book is more focused on interpersonal relationships. This is seen in passages such as this: “She wondered if her suspicions about John liking her were right, or whether he had changed his mind…. Maybe Jake had feelings for Zoe, and all the attention he was showing Beth was just kindness.” Readers who like a magical setting but one that doesn’t neglect personal issues such as crushes and social standing should find much to enjoy in this book.
A 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award da Vinci Eye Finalist