lissysadventures's review
DNF
The main character acts and thinks very immaturely for her age. I found her to be really annoying and the events were predictable. I think this book would be good for younger audiences, 4-6th grade.
The main character acts and thinks very immaturely for her age. I found her to be really annoying and the events were predictable. I think this book would be good for younger audiences, 4-6th grade.
liralen's review
2.0
Kind of perplexing. I read this for the promise of a magic school, but the school part of things doesn't really come into play. There is a magic school, but Clarissa is just...constantly told that she's too evil a witch to learn magic there, basically, and that she'll be a terrible person if she ever tries to use the magic that she can't control. (Meanwhile, her sister just turns into a terrible person who is terrible, in an entirely non-magical way.) It all feels like lead-up to Clarissa actually ending up at the school, but as far as I can tell, it's two more books before she does, and then it's as a teacher. I think there's something in here somewhere, but the point was never quite clear to me.
emmeline_everdeen's review
5.0
Wow! What a fun book! I think I loved it so much because I identify with the main characters desire for magic to be real and to be something more than just “normal”. The twist and turns kept me turning pages. The characters were well developed and the author did a fantastic job making the reader really feel the emotions of the characters. I definitely plan on reading the entire series!
I received this book for free from the author through voracious readers only.
I received this book for free from the author through voracious readers only.
giuli_and_her_books's review
4.0
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only. At first, after seeing how many books there were in the series, I though I was only going to read the first one, but I really liked the book, it's well written, and it's easy to get lost in it. Most of the time I felt like I was there with Clarissa, experiencing what she did, yelling at her for making a wrong choice and panicking when something bad was going to happen. So now I want to read all the other ones as well!
Being a star wars, LOTR, Harry potter, etc fan, I loved all the references in the book, they made it even more amazing!
It's a very promising first book, I can't wait to read the other ones!
Being a star wars, LOTR, Harry potter, etc fan, I loved all the references in the book, they made it even more amazing!
It's a very promising first book, I can't wait to read the other ones!
rnfan2005's review against another edition
4.0
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
I wasn't sure what this book was going to be about when I started reading it, but it turned out to be a fun read that I really enjoyed. I felt for Clarissa and everything she went through and I actually got mad at some of the people in her life. I know I'm enjoying a book when it elicits emotions from me.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see where this story goes.
I wasn't sure what this book was going to be about when I started reading it, but it turned out to be a fun read that I really enjoyed. I felt for Clarissa and everything she went through and I actually got mad at some of the people in her life. I know I'm enjoying a book when it elicits emotions from me.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see where this story goes.
jandrews560's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so, yes, it's an interesting story. That being said, I seriously hated the way the family dynamic turned out. And the way certain characters wound up. I feel sad and angry and frustrated and I am hoping for more about them later on. Next book perhaps.
steffmau's review
2.0
*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only*
Ah.
I had a bit of whiplash with this read - I’d get into it and then it flops and then I get back into it ... for it to just die a death.
I think this is a great read for the younger audience but for me, the characters were just too much. Too much immaturity and wanting to be mature, magic but then there’s no magic and then a school that I can only assume we see in upcoming reads. There just wasn’t quite enough in this read to keep me going or wanting more but it has so much potential! It had great ideas, good writing style and I enjoyed the references to other books. When I did get into the read it was a pleasant one but just not for me and not one I'd really rush to re-read or recommend.
Ah.
I had a bit of whiplash with this read - I’d get into it and then it flops and then I get back into it ... for it to just die a death.
I think this is a great read for the younger audience but for me, the characters were just too much. Too much immaturity and wanting to be mature, magic but then there’s no magic and then a school that I can only assume we see in upcoming reads. There just wasn’t quite enough in this read to keep me going or wanting more but it has so much potential! It had great ideas, good writing style and I enjoyed the references to other books. When I did get into the read it was a pleasant one but just not for me and not one I'd really rush to re-read or recommend.
panamaangie's review
3.0
I received a free copy from the author, from Voracious readers Only to write an unbiased review ofTardy bells and witches’ spells Book one in the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series by Sarina Dorie. The story is very cute and original but doesn’t flow very well at times. From one story line or scene to the next it is very jerky and you feel like you missed a page a time or two.
This is the story of Clarissa 14 yr old about to start high school that still plays with dolls believes in fairies and wants nothing more than to have magic be real and go to Hogwarts or find Narnia in her wardrobe. She has a loving family and older sister that she looks up to. Then something happens to make her sister missy fear and dislike her. Most of the book is how she deals with making friends and dealing with bullies ( including her sister) her first yr of high school. A possible boyfriend and what if magic really does exist but isn’t what she always thought it was like from her books.
The book I got included an excerpt from the next book in the series that is a look back into Clarissa as a small child and answers a lot of questions wish it was included in this book would have made a few things make more sense. More than the actual ending in my opinion.
This is the story of Clarissa 14 yr old about to start high school that still plays with dolls believes in fairies and wants nothing more than to have magic be real and go to Hogwarts or find Narnia in her wardrobe. She has a loving family and older sister that she looks up to. Then something happens to make her sister missy fear and dislike her. Most of the book is how she deals with making friends and dealing with bullies ( including her sister) her first yr of high school. A possible boyfriend and what if magic really does exist but isn’t what she always thought it was like from her books.
The book I got included an excerpt from the next book in the series that is a look back into Clarissa as a small child and answers a lot of questions wish it was included in this book would have made a few things make more sense. More than the actual ending in my opinion.
abook_and_brew's review against another edition
4.0
*Received free from Voracious Readers Only for an honest review*
I did kind of expect this be aimed at young teens from the cover and description, but I really enjoyed it and there are some dark themes and mature content that would place it into the YA category. I loved the characters of Clarissa and Derrick and their relationship, and the characters are relatable and realistic. This was a fun read and there's 18 books in the series!
I did kind of expect this be aimed at young teens from the cover and description, but I really enjoyed it and there are some dark themes and mature content that would place it into the YA category. I loved the characters of Clarissa and Derrick and their relationship, and the characters are relatable and realistic. This was a fun read and there's 18 books in the series!
amalyndb's review against another edition
3.0
Tag: young adult, witch, fae, urban fantasy, mental illness, magic, animal sacrifice, bullying,
On one level, this is about magic and enchantment, but on another, it is about others around you “growing up” or “acting their age” while you are still engaging with the world with a childlike sense of wonder.
Clarissa is soon to start high school, but still wishes for her Hogwarts letter, for her armoire to take her to Narnia, for the Doctor to whisk her off on adventures. After a strange experience at a fair, a rift grows between her sister and herself.
Having been a shy geek, Clarissa is confused when on her first day of ninth grade she is rejected by her older sister publically - and then when a 17 year old boy and other misfits welcome her into their nerd herd.
She discovers that magic is real, despite the years of her mother telling her otherwise. And that it is perhaps as wonderful as she imagined - but also extremely dangerous.
An entertaining read, this is non-devotional non-thiestic magic, with the Fae around and a touch of ceremonial magic performed by others, but without direct chants or invocations in the text.
(As a note: Animal sacrifice does not happen “on-screen” so to speak - it is the not the main character sacrificing or harming animals but she is present when remains are discovered. The main character of Clarissa acknowledges that magic has a price, but does not feel that taking lives, human or animal, to be worth it for her, or something she is willing to do.)
On one level, this is about magic and enchantment, but on another, it is about others around you “growing up” or “acting their age” while you are still engaging with the world with a childlike sense of wonder.
Clarissa is soon to start high school, but still wishes for her Hogwarts letter, for her armoire to take her to Narnia, for the Doctor to whisk her off on adventures. After a strange experience at a fair, a rift grows between her sister and herself.
Having been a shy geek, Clarissa is confused when on her first day of ninth grade she is rejected by her older sister publically - and then when a 17 year old boy and other misfits welcome her into their nerd herd.
She discovers that magic is real, despite the years of her mother telling her otherwise. And that it is perhaps as wonderful as she imagined - but also extremely dangerous.
An entertaining read, this is non-devotional non-thiestic magic, with the Fae around and a touch of ceremonial magic performed by others, but without direct chants or invocations in the text.
(As a note: Animal sacrifice does not happen “on-screen” so to speak - it is the not the main character sacrificing or harming animals but she is present when remains are discovered. The main character of Clarissa acknowledges that magic has a price, but does not feel that taking lives, human or animal, to be worth it for her, or something she is willing to do.)