Izzy Hoffman is Not a Witch
by Alyssa Alessi
GENRE: Middle-Grade Horror
BLURB:
Twelve-year-old
Izzy has been haunted by the shadow of her ten-times-great
grandmother for as long as she can remember. This is no ordinary
ancestral ghost: This great granny was the first woman to be hung for
witchcraft in Izzy’s small New England town.
Every
October first, tourists flood the streets of Marblehead.
Unfortunately, this year so do a mysterious man and a possessed town
psychic. When the man shows up at Izzy’s family-run bookstore,
making odd demands and threatening her mom, she must find the
connection between this creep and her ghostly visions.
Trying
to make sense of this chaos, Izzy roams into secret rooms, holds
seances at the local tarot parlor, and digs through the old family
cookbooks that sit on her shelves. When she discovers that she may be
a part of a once-in-a-century ritual, Izzy must decide whether it’s
going to take baking magic or blood magic to protect herself and her
parents from the return of the witch hunt.
Purchase Izzy Hoffman is Not a Witch on Amazon
Excerpt:
The tarot reader is only a few blocks down. The cheesiness of her storefront makes me second guess coming here. A neon crystal ball flickers in the window. I open the door and I’m hit in the face with the scent of incense. She has floral tapestry hanging from literally everywhere. It’s so dark in here I’m surprised she can even see her cards.
“Hello?” No answer. What am I doing? I turn to leave but hear the faint sound of a woman talking from a distance. Miss Clara is walking a client out of her back room.
“Thank you so much.” A young woman sniffles while wiping away tears.
“You are very welcome, love and light.” The client leaves and Miss Clara stops when she sees me. The old woman wears a pair of small rectangular purple sunglasses. They match her black-and-lilac colored robe, which flows freely around her frail ancient body. Her white fluffy hair gives her a frazzled appearance that doesn’t match her sudden robotic tone.
“Izzy, I’m so happy you came to see me. That crystal looks great on you.”
“Yeah, well it doesn’t work. You should give my friend her money back,” I snap.
“Well, I think you know it isn’t instant magic. You must believe in things for them to work.”
I had a really hard day so far and I’m not in the mood to play her games.
“Oh my god! Will you stop? What is with you? Why did you tell my friend I’m a witch?” I get made fun of enough by kids my own age and don’t need some crazy old lady spreading rumors about me.
“Well, aren’t you?” she asks.
My Review:
Izzy Hoffman has been haunted by her dreams ever since she was a little girl. Izzy keeps bumping into a man who runs away from her every time. Izzy chases after him trying to find out who he is and what he wants or what he is doing in her little town.
When Izzy finally starts to open up to her mom and her best friend about her dreams she starts to figure out things that have been hidden from her, her whole life. Her mom has been keeping Izzy in the dark about their past and who they are. She has been trying her best to protect Izzy.
Izzy finds a secret room in their home. Her mom has known about this room for a while now. Izzy finds out that her mom has been hiding things from her. One day Izzy finds this man that she has been bumping into in the street in the secret room going through her mom’s things.
When Izzy enters the room the man disappears in a cloud of smoke. Who is this man really? What is his motive for being here and why had he broken into their home?
Izzy Hoffman is Not a Witch but packs a lot between its pages. The descriptions of the town and the characters living in it make it feel so warm and cozy. I had no problem picturing it all in my mind. I could see Izzy and her friend as they walked down the street. I could see all the stores. In ways it sort of reminded me of the little town on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman but in a more modern way.
Izzy Hoffman is Not a Witch kept me hanging on page after page as I got to know Izzy, her family, her best friend, and the whole town. I really enjoyed reading Izzy Hoffman is Not a Witch and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy read for a few hours. Grab your copy today!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Alyssa Alessi is a writer of middle grade, young adult and short stories all inspired by the unsettling macabre aesthetic of New England. As a child she was on a constant hunt for ghosts, vampires, and her own powers as a witch. When she couldn’t find them, she settled for writing them into existence. You can find her hiking any trail in the Northeast said to be haunted, roaming old cemeteries with a camera in hand, or thrift shopping anywhere antiques are sold. She resides in Boston, MA with her husband, three children and their mini dachshund.
Connect with Alyssa Alessi
3 comments:
We appreciate you hosting and reviewing this book today. Thank you.
The blurb and excerpt sound good.
This sounds like a good book.
Post a Comment