Review: The Good "Witch" of the East
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 19, 2013
I admit I was skeptical of this book's premise. A boy witch? But this first person narration told by Tex drew me in and held my interest. A high school sophomore in the eastern Kansas town of Clearwell, Tex is self-effacing, respectful, at times sardonic, and often does stupid things but for the right reasons. You can't help but like him and cheer for him. He's the kind of person you hope is populating our schools. Unfortunately, Tex has a major problem. No, it's not that he's inherited some witch talent from his deceased mother. That turns out to be an asset. Tex isn't popular at school. He's one of the nameless misfits that make up the sea atop which the popular kids float. Bullying is a sport for the jocks and Tex and his friends take quite a bit of abuse. Much of it is mindless name-calling but some of the incidents involve serious physical assault. The school administration is either on the side of the bullies or too weak and complacent to do anything to stop the madness. Tex learns that the best policy is to keep your head down and fly below the radar.The brutal murder of a popular football player shakes up the school. Another football player is murdered and then one of Tex's friends dies. The novel effortlessly transforms to a thrilling murder mystery and we follow Tex as he struggles to use his witch skills to find the murderer before he and his remaining friends become the next victims. Tex is a teenager though, so he makes a lot of stupid moves along the way.West has created an engaging and authentic character to tell his story. The supporting cast is also noteworthy, particularly Tex's girlfriend Olivia, his mentor Mickey Goldfarb, and his father. If you've ever been bullied, you'll like this book. West gives hope to the downtrodden and forgotten teenager. The author claims this is the first in a trilogy. I'm looking forward to the next ones.