Review: THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN WITCHES by Lauren Magaziner

The Only Thing Worse Than Witches by Lauren Magaziner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rupert Campbell is fascinated by the witches who live nearby. He dreams of broomstick tours and souvenir potions, but Rupert’s mother forbids him from even looking at that part of town. The closest he can get to a witchy experience is sitting in class with his awful teacher Mrs. Frabbleknacker, who smells like bellybutton lint and forbids Rupert’s classmates from talking to each other before, during, and after class. So when he sees an ad to become a witch’s apprentice, Rupert simply can’t resist applying.

But Witchling Two isn’t exactly what Rupert expected. With a hankering for lollipops and the magical aptitude of a toad, she needs all the help she can get to pass her exams and become a full-fledged witch. She’s determined to help Rupert stand up to dreadful Mrs. Frabbleknacker too, but the witchling's magic will be as useful as a clump of seaweed unless Rupert can figure out a way to help her improve her spellcasting—and fast!

I could drown in the adorableness that is this book. Lauren has such a great grasp on middle grade language. Her characters don't walk, they clip-clomp or slump around. And her character names are THE BEST: Mrs. Frabbleknacker, Mr. Gummyyum, Rupert Archibald Campbell. People don't live on Main Street, they live on Druscle Close. And they don't work as accountants. Oh no. The main character, Rupert, has a mom who works as an ice cream flavor taster and ALSO as a writer of fortune cookies fortunes. Um, yes. Just yes. To all of this. I can't wait to read this out loud to my daughter's third grade class this year!

-Jen