Witchy Woman

Jinx
By Meg Cabot

As usual, I found this as I was perusing the library shelves in the teen section. I loved the cover, and I felt it was high time to delve into another Meg Cabot book!

Summary
Sixteen-year-old Jean “Jinx” Honeychurch earned her nickname at birth. Wherever she goes, bad luck or little accidents seem to occur. Jinx bumps into things, people forget important information when she’s supposed to meet them, etc. Nothing horrible, but a number of little misfortunes can add up to a great deal of annoyance for anyone. She’s also supposed to be the descendant of a witch, Branwen, and is one of two daughters born to the current generation of her family who is destined to have Branwen’s powers. The other daughter is her cousin, Tory, whose family Jinx just happens to be moving in with in New York. But where Jinx doesn’t want anything to do with magic or witchcraft, given a failed spell in the past, Tory is determined to prove her power as a witch, and will stop at nothing to do so, including using black magic to win the heart of the boy she and Jinx are both crushing on.

Worth staying up past bedtime?
Rating: Up ‘Til Dawn

If you could have seen me yesterday, you’d have noticed the bags under my eyes that I earned by reading this book waaaay beyond the time I intended to go to sleep. But it was worth it! This was my second non-Princess Diaries Meg Cabot book and I loved it! Jinx is such an endearing character and I fell in love with her right away. I loved her innocence and friendly nature, and I thought she was a great example of a teen that didn’t have to be wild, complicated, or extremely unusual. Okay, yes, she might have some witch powers, but she didn’t flaunt them, and was quite educated about the whole religion of witchcraft.

This story could easily have been hokey. Witchcraft, voodoo dolls, spells to make boys fall in love with you. But Cabot did an excellent job of making the story accessible, fun, and yes, informative. And as she did with her descriptions of Washington, D.C. in All American Girl, Cabot did a perfect job of evoking the feel of New York City in Jinx. I love it when an author really knows the characteristics of a setting and can make you feel like you’re right there with the characters.

Enthusiastically recommended for ages 14 and up!