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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow Author: Emma Steinkellner Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Year: 2021 Good for Grades: 3-8 Genre/Type of Book: Supernatural/Graphic Novel
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Bullying Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: It is a cute graphic novel, sequel to one I liked previously, with a character of color at the helm!
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Review:
This graphic novel is the sequel to the first in the series, simply titled "The Okay Witch." The main character, Moth Hush, is back in another adventure trying to survive middle school, bullying, and her newfound magic powers. This time, she has found a spell that will make her a "new, improved, confident" Moth and she starts to fall into using it all the time, even against promises made to family and friends. When the spell turns out to have really consequences, Moth has to make a choice- be the real Moth, or the one that she thinks she should be?
This is another lovely middle-grade graphic novel to add to your collection. Moth is a under-confident, shy, gawky middle-school kid that most adults can remember being. She really hates being bullied by her classmates, and to top it off, her mom is dating the teacher everyone bullies, too. She takes the easy way out and uses magic to fix the problem, not realizing the true consequences of her actions. Throughout the book, she discovers what the magic is really doing and then makes the hardest choice for a middle schooler- to be her own self or the one she wants to project to everyone. For a kid who is going through their own issues with wanting to fit in, they will really identify with Moth's struggles and hopefully be guided to making the right choice, too. The style of this graphic novel is whimsical and very endearing, with the characters' expressions practically leaping off the page. You could do some fun Halloween or autumn activities surrounding shadows- "What would your shadow look like?" possibly connecting to the art of shadow-silhouettes.
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