Scan barcode
A review by ariaoffantasy
Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha
3.0
Overall: 3/5
Hocus Pocus was fine. I would have appreciated it more if it were a bit longer with more details. I had a lot of beef with The All-New Sequel. I grumbled through the whole thing, but the initial story was decent and the romance was done well. Individual story reviews follow below.
Hocus Pocus: 3.5/5
It's been a few years since I've seen the movie, so I read the book and watched the movie after for a comparison. The movie started with a prologue intro of Thackery and Emily's story. This book doesn't do that. Instead, it hops back and fourth between 1693 and 1993 for the first chunk. I'm not sure why they did it that way, but a lot of books these days tend to, so it didn't take away from anything for me.
The story so seems mostly the same as the movie, aside from an expanded introduction for Binx and Emily. They added insights into Max and Winifred's thinking, which was nice. Some parts and details were omitted from the book though, and I don't know why, because I don't think the book was made any better for not having them. If anything, I would have wanted it to be longer than what it was, because it was only 200 pages. The bulk of the book is obviously the sequel.
Side Notes:
Why did nobody ever bat an eye at three kids being totally willing to commit murder? We all know the witches don't die in the kiln, but as far as Max, Dani, and Allison were concerned, they believed they would, and they were fine with it.
In the chapter Maggoty Malfeasance, there is a little confusion while the witches are on the floor from the lights of the car. It says, "She got clumsily to her feet." This was referring to Winnie, who was buried under her sisters, but after a few more lines, it specifies all three of them getting up, as if that quote had never been there. Not important, just an editing error I noticed.
The All-New Sequel: 3/5
I have many complaints...
First thought, it's trying WAY too hard to be "hip and cool" with the teens, and it throws in Disney titles and Disney halloween costume mentions everywhere possible. It gets annoying.
Most people's biggest question: Are the original witches in it? Yes, they are, but it takes about 100 pages to get to them. You would think this would be a good thing, but I'm not sure it is.
The writing seems lazy. I'm seeing repeated use of the tropes used in the original. There were so many, I was literally groaning and sighing from annoyance. Example, did you like that part when Sarah danced around saying, "amok," repeatedly until Winnie elbowed her? Well, guess what? Sarah does that ALL THE TIME now.
There are three ghosts that appear to be hand-holding the protagonists, because apparently Poppy growing up with the stories of her parents' adventure wasn't good enough.
Worried you'll miss having a talking animal in the story? Don't worry, there is one.
Let's not forget the random musical number put in for Mary for no reason, aside from maybe trying to make the story feel, "more Disney."
The biggest thing wrong with the story is it invalidates the entire adventure that happened in the first story. There's supposedly an item that is a Sanderson family heirloom that can do a few different things, but one of those things is grant eternal life. So, why, then, would the Sanderson sisters not have gone looking for this item in the first story instead of relying on children?
They said a spell can only be cast once per person, yet Winifred cast it, like, three times. Seriously, what?
There were more, but I'd rather not dig through the book to remember what they were.
It's not ALL bad though. The initial premise is good, just poorly executed. The romance was done well. It wasn't forced, and just happened naturally. However, the book was left open for a third story, and I do not think this author is the right person to write it.
It wasn't horrible, but I don't approve of this as a canon sequel. I don't want to see this as a movie. I think there should be a new, better written, script or story.
Hocus Pocus was fine. I would have appreciated it more if it were a bit longer with more details. I had a lot of beef with The All-New Sequel. I grumbled through the whole thing, but the initial story was decent and the romance was done well. Individual story reviews follow below.
Hocus Pocus: 3.5/5
It's been a few years since I've seen the movie, so I read the book and watched the movie after for a comparison. The movie started with a prologue intro of Thackery and Emily's story. This book doesn't do that. Instead, it hops back and fourth between 1693 and 1993 for the first chunk. I'm not sure why they did it that way, but a lot of books these days tend to, so it didn't take away from anything for me.
The story so seems mostly the same as the movie, aside from an expanded introduction for Binx and Emily. They added insights into Max and Winifred's thinking, which was nice. Some parts and details were omitted from the book though, and I don't know why, because I don't think the book was made any better for not having them. If anything, I would have wanted it to be longer than what it was, because it was only 200 pages. The bulk of the book is obviously the sequel.
Side Notes:
Why did nobody ever bat an eye at three kids being totally willing to commit murder? We all know the witches don't die in the kiln, but as far as Max, Dani, and Allison were concerned, they believed they would, and they were fine with it.
In the chapter Maggoty Malfeasance, there is a little confusion while the witches are on the floor from the lights of the car. It says, "She got clumsily to her feet." This was referring to Winnie, who was buried under her sisters, but after a few more lines, it specifies all three of them getting up, as if that quote had never been there. Not important, just an editing error I noticed.
The All-New Sequel: 3/5
I have many complaints...
First thought, it's trying WAY too hard to be "hip and cool" with the teens, and it throws in Disney titles and Disney halloween costume mentions everywhere possible. It gets annoying.
Most people's biggest question: Are the original witches in it? Yes, they are, but it takes about 100 pages to get to them. You would think this would be a good thing, but I'm not sure it is.
The writing seems lazy. I'm seeing repeated use of the tropes used in the original. There were so many, I was literally groaning and sighing from annoyance. Example, did you like that part when Sarah danced around saying, "amok," repeatedly until Winnie elbowed her? Well, guess what? Sarah does that ALL THE TIME now.
There are three ghosts that appear to be hand-holding the protagonists, because apparently Poppy growing up with the stories of her parents' adventure wasn't good enough.
Worried you'll miss having a talking animal in the story? Don't worry, there is one.
Let's not forget the random musical number put in for Mary for no reason, aside from maybe trying to make the story feel, "more Disney."
The biggest thing wrong with the story is it invalidates the entire adventure that happened in the first story. There's supposedly an item that is a Sanderson family heirloom that can do a few different things, but one of those things is grant eternal life. So, why, then, would the Sanderson sisters not have gone looking for this item in the first story instead of relying on children?
They said a spell can only be cast once per person, yet Winifred cast it, like, three times. Seriously, what?
There were more, but I'd rather not dig through the book to remember what they were.
It's not ALL bad though. The initial premise is good, just poorly executed. The romance was done well. It wasn't forced, and just happened naturally. However, the book was left open for a third story, and I do not think this author is the right person to write it.
It wasn't horrible, but I don't approve of this as a canon sequel. I don't want to see this as a movie. I think there should be a new, better written, script or story.