Review: Witch For Hire

Title: Witch For Hire
Author: Ted Naifeh
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 24, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

When a series of high school pranks get out of hand, teen witch Faye Faulkner is the only one who can solve the case in this spooky YA graphic novel

Faye Faulker isn’t popular, and that’s just fine by her. She spends her lunches at the Loser Table with the other social rejects, aka her best friends, and brushes off the uninspired taunts from the cool kids. But when lonely freshman Cody finds her way to Faye’s corner of the cafeteria, it sets off a peculiar chain of events . . . To Cody’s surprise, these kids aren’t so bad; an overdramatic theater nerd, a handicapable girl in a wheelchair, an overweight boy, and Faye, who comes to school every day dressed like a witch. But it’s no costume, Fay really is a witch!

While high school can be hell for many reasons, this year the ante has been raised when a series of pranks swiftly go from mischievous to downright dangerous. From the lowliest debate team nerds to the prom queen, no one is safe, not even the teachers! When things start to really get out of hand, Cody owns up to Faye: in a moment of desperation, she signed up for an online challenge that promises to grant popularity to those who follow the website’s twisted demands.

Now Faye is faced with a choice: Reveal her witchy nature to Cody and help her or stand aside and keep her secret identity safe. Despite her misgivings, Faye takes on the case, but will her powers be strong enough to solve this mystery? And will people ever stop asking her if she puts newts’ eyes in her homemade baked goods? Witch for Hire is a gothic whodunnit about resilience, magic, and the power of friendship.

Review:

Faye Faulkner isn’t popular. She sits at the “loser” table and wears her witch’s hat. When Cody starts going to that school, her popular older sister sends her to the loser table, so Cody befriends Faye. Then a series of pranks begin happening, targeting students and teachers. The pranks take a dangerous turn, which makes Faye decide to figure out who or what is behind these pranks.

This story showed the dangers of cyber bullying. The students who were targeted by a social media account were told to do dangerous things at school. Some of the pranks became life threatening. This story had a magic side to it as well, but the bullying began with a social media account, which was realistic.

I liked that Faye was unapologetically herself. She was called names because of the witchy way she dressed, but she insisted on being herself and wearing her witch hat. It is so important to show a character in a teen book that doesn’t cave to peer pressure. With all of the cyber bullying that encouraged students to do dangerous pranks in this story, it was nice to see a strong, confident character.

Witch for Hire is a YA graphic novel with an important message.

Thank you Amulet Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Have you read Witch For Hire? What did you think of it?