Poltergeeks
- Sean
Cummings
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
– To Be Published on 2nd October
E-Arc courtesy of
Netgalley and Strange Chemistry
15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn't all it's cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it's pretty obvious to Julie there's a supernatural connection. In fact, there's a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie's high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it's a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won't just lose her mother's soul, she'll lose her mother's life.
Julie
is a teenage witch, apprenticed to her Mum, but when she and her best friend
Marcus run into a Poltergeist terrorising an old woman, she finds herself involved
something much bigger. Julie is a typical teenager – over confident in her abilities,
keen to prove herself to her mother and figuring out what is important to her.
The fact that she happens to be a witch adds an interesting twist. At its heart
this is a book about relationships with Julie trying to figure out how her
relationship with her Mum and her best friend is evolving.
Poltergeeks is bags of fun – the plot is
fast-paced, funny and with some genuinely exciting moments. The writing is deft
with a light touch that perfectly portrays the personality of a teenage girl –
hormones and school worries included. There are some great confrontations with
Julie’s magic being put to the test. The fight scene in the cemetery was creepy
and well placed to balance out a lot of recent info-dumping.
This
is one of those books that makes you feel excited about being a reader again –
flicking through the pages quickly and leaving a smile on your face. While
there are emotional aspects to the story, it doesn’t overwhelm the plot or hold
it back at all. It’s nice to read a book without being overwhelmed by angst and
instant teenage lust. This is like a breath of fresh cleansing the cobwebs away
and leaving you with a massive smile on your face.
Recommended
for fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and 8 out of 10
