There’s a magical checkers competition that gets a little confusing to follow, but maybe that’s because it feels shoehorned in, as though we needed to be reminded about the kids’ powers. The vistas make the reader want to experience and value nature the way these women do. We’re also told that it doesn’t matter whether or not someone has a green thumb to enjoy nature, but then the story revolves around someone who does and forgets about the others. Theres a new witch in town Life in Brooklyn takes a strange turn when Effie discovers MAGIC runs in the family. I’d rather have seen him find himself for himself, not for someone else. Henry losing himself as a panda because he was dumped, only to be healed by another, sudden crush - that’s questionable. Some of the messages also made me wonder. Sonia, in particular, isn’t given any background or characterization to explain why she’s so rude from the start. Effie is always the special one, to the extent that I found myself sympathizing with some of the characters annoyed by the extent of her specialness.

Plus, Effie getting a new ability just in time to clean up her mess is too convenient. The magic gives everything a bit of a fresh take, but the new characters are underdeveloped. I’ve seen all these before in other camp novels. The events are a bit generic - Effie has to overcome a fear, Effie is goaded into doing something she was warned against and has to fix things, Effie is annoyed by another girl.

Given the ever-sprawling cast of characters and increasing powers for Effie, I found this volume sometimes overwhelming.

Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse