Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Witches

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Witches by Roald Dahl

16 reviews

buzzinfly's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

srivalli's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

3 Stars

One Liner: Nice… not much, though!

Disclaimer: I picked this for a reading challenge prompt.

The little boy learns from his grandmother that witches are real and look like women. Witches are dangerous and have one goal – to get rid of children. When the little boy comes across the Grand Witch with a master plan to wipe out all the kids in England, he knows he has to find a way to stop the witches. Can he be successful in this attempt?

The story comes in the first-person POV of the nameless little boy.

My Thoughts:

So, my first book by a famous author is a mixed read! I know he wrote scary books for kids, but this one doesn’t seem to be great. Also, I’m super glad I watched BFG (Spielberg’s) instead of reading it.

Right! I did enjoy this in bits and pieces. The relationship between the nameless narrator and his grandmother is beautiful. They love each other, which is easy to see.

The little bits about training mice and mouse circus are fun. Some of the messy parts are fun, too.

I don’t mind the outdated content since that’s when the book was written. Of course, it will have stuff we don’t like. We just explain the differences and steer little ones in the right direction. But…

This one could give kiddos some serious nightmares. I appreciate the nonchalance with which they are presented. That does dilute the creepiness a lot. Still, a sensitive child could be disturbed by some of it.

This seems to be standalone, or is there another book? The loose ends make me wonder if I’m missing something or if that’s how it is written.

The illustrations are rough pencil sketches. Some are cute, and some are creepy. They gel well with the overall darkish vibe.

To summarize, The Witches is an imaginative story, even if it is a bit simple and has outdated ideas. It is a fairly easy and fast read but may not be for everyone. I’d ask parents to read it before they share it with kids (just to be safe).

Content Warnings

lukel's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

swimfast724's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

My favorite Roald Dahl book, and that's saying a lot because he's been my favorite author since I learned how to read. He's a genius.

Content Warnings

james1star's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I’m slowly going back over Roald Dahl’s books as an adult and this was again an enjoyable read. I really like the original movie adaptation with Angelia Houston as the Grand High Witch, having seen it multiple times, and Octavia Spencer as the grandma was probably the best part of the new version. The book is good and I’d recommend giving it a read (or listen as I did - the new narration by Lolly Adefope was great). It follows a small boy who recently loses his parents, going to live with his grandmother in Norway but then they revisit England. Whilst staying at the hotel, the Witches of England are having their annual conference to share a new method of getting rid of all the children. From this there’s a lot more that takes place but I won’t spoil anything. Once again Dahl makes the reader really root for the underdog with a great exploration of his characters. The Grand High Witch is someone that rhymes with the last word but also AN ICON, she’s funny and wicked and on the whole the book made me want to read on. The Witches isn’t a favourite of mine but certainly a decent read and I’d for sure recommend it, a solid 4 ⭐️ book.

Content Warnings