Witchlings by Ortega, Claribel A.

An instant New York Times Bestseller! Disney's The Owl House meets Nevermoor, in a brilliant adventure from Claribel A. Ortega!

Every year, in the magical town of Ravenskill, Witchlings who participate in the Black Moon Ceremony are placed into covens and come into their powers as full-fledged witches.

And twelve-year-old Seven Salazar can't wait to be placed in the most powerful coven with her best friend! But on the night of the ceremony, in front of the entire town, Seven isn't placed in one of the five covens. She's a Spare!

Spare covens have fewer witches, are less powerful, and are looked down on by everyone. Even worse, when Seven and the other two Spares perform the magic circle to seal their coven and cement themselves as sisters, it doesn't work! They're stuck as Witchlings--and will lose their magic.

Seven invokes her only option: the impossible task. The three Spares will be assigned an impossible task: If they work together and succeed at it, their coven will be sealed and they'll gain their full powers. If they fail... Well, the last coven to make the attempt ended up being turned into toads. Forever.

But maybe friendship can be the most powerful magic of all...

With action-packed adventure, a coven of quirky witchlings, Claribel A. Ortega's signature humor, and girl-power vibes, you won't be able to put down this middle-grade Latine witch story, perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers or Harry Potter.

Author: Claribel A. Ortega
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 04/05/2022
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.83w x 1.26d
ISBN: 9781338745528
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.6
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 515920 / Witchlings


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2021
Booklist 01/01/2022 pg. 76
Publishers Weekly 02/28/2022
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2022
Shelf Awareness 04/08/2022
School Library Journal 05/20/2022 pg. 1

About the Author

Claribel A. Ortega, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, and Pura Belpre and Eisner Award-winning author of the graphic novel Frizzy, is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she's co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club and coaching authors on how to navigate publishing. Claribel has been featured on BuzzFeed, NPR, Good Morning America, and Deadline. You can find her on social media at @Claribel_Ortega and on her website at claribelortega.com.