Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

MacCullough, C. (2009). Once a witch. Boston: Clarion Books.

ISBN: 9780547223995 (Hardcover)

Price: $16.00; 292 pages

Other Formats: paperback, eBook, audio book, downloadable audio book

Recommend for ages 14 to 17

Image Courtesy of Goodreads

Awards: None

Annotation: Tasmin is on a mission to retrieve a missing clock for a patron. However, little does she know that she must travel back in time to do find the clock.

“On the day I was born my grandmother said the I would be one of the most powerful witches…a beacon.”

Most witches receive their powers before their 9^th birthday, but Tasmin Greene is seventeen and still has no power. Does this mean that she is normal? In a family full or remarkable witches, “normal” is the kiss of death. How did her grandmother get is so wrong? Tasmin was destined to be one of the greatest witches in existence. Rowena, Tasmin’s older sister, is the family’s favorite because of her magical flair. Tasmin just wishes that she could be more like Rowena. While working at her grandmother’s occult bookstore one afternoon, a handsome professor from New York University walks through the door seeking assistance from Rowena, because he heard rumors that she had a talent for finding things lost long ago. He needs help locating an old family heirloom – a small, ruby-encrusted clock- that was misplaced generations ago. For some reason, Tasmin lies to the professor and tells him that she is actually Rowena. Tasmin knows that she is over her head, but she does not realize by how much. 

What Other Teens are Saying: 

“I am an avid reader of YA books, but now that I am a freshman in college, I do not have a lot of time for leisure reading, and I miss it a lot. On school breaks, I like to catch up on my reading. My favorite genre is horror, and my favorite author is Holly Black. My dad thinks that since I am now in college, I should only read adult fiction. I can’t help it because books for young adults are just more interesting to me.” (Alexis M. age 18).

Be sure to visit the Once a Witch website!