What do You think about Not Just A Witch (2004)?
Ibbotson writes in the simple declarative sentences of someone telling a bedtime tale ... and then guides the reader gently by the hand into horror. Because it's a children's book, all has to turn out for the best. In the meantime, the most unimaginable cruelties can take place. There are two witches who were best friends in witching school but had a falling out and went their separate ways. Because they are "good" witches, they try to do good. This seems to consist of finding very bad people and either turning them into interesting animals (that are now "nice" so they must be cared for) or to stone. If you are a child, this might make sense, and two out of the three children who get involved are happy to help. The third child, a very very smart Asian girl, is reluctant, but she loses her reservations when a white supremacist comes to town. Ah, how easily we respond to fear! We can also be gulled by love, which steers the witches blindly into cruelty on a mass scale. If the actions in this book seem horrifying, they are told in a fairytale style, softening them and making them seem palatable until the little snowball runs out of control and the avalanche ensues. This is a cautionary tale. It's about right and wrong. And Ibbotson has very clear ideas what constitutes right and wrong.
—Marfita
I thought this was a pretty cute book, not my favorite but still very cute. As always, I enjoy the magical aspect of the book. I like that the witches are good and trying to help the world though in a very extreme, nearly backfires on them kind of way. I think the writer shows great character with the witches at the end. They both loved someone very much and both were betrayed. When they found this person in a vulnerable position they could have cast a horrible spell and yet they didn't. They walked away and made a call to the proper authorities. I think that showed great depth of character...
—Sandie
I generally enjoy Eva Ibbotson's books very much, so I picked up Not Just A Witch on the basis that it was one I hadn't read before. It was a little bit of a disappointment though, since it was just sort of eh.It follows the same sort of formula that many Ibbotson books do. A neglected child (Daniel) meets a magical or otherwise supernatural being (a witch, Heckie) and helps her to accomplish some very important aim (protecting a town from a white supremacist furrier and mending her friendship with another witch, Dora). Since it's an Ibbotson book, all ends happily; the villain Gets His at the hands of a group of people dedicated to their town, the neglected child gets a makeshift found family, and Heckie and Dora reconcile. It's all very standard, hence my reaction.However, I do want to point out that Heckie and Dora can be read as either queer or aromantic; both things I appreciated very much.
—Kathleen
