The Only Thing Worse Than Witches by Lauren Magaziner (review)

Despite his mother’s dire warnings, Rupert wants to hang out with the witches around town. A chance to serve as apprentice to one of the young witches therefore seems too perfect to pass up, and Rupert’s relatively unfazed by the fact that she’s an undertrained witchling who may not even pass her exams. While he helps her prepare, Rupert is also contending with a person who is truly the worst teacher ever (think Dahl’s Miss Trunchbull times ten), so gathering potion ingredients and practicing spells is an excellent distraction. Neither witches nor human adults approve of this human and witch partnership, though, and indeed there’s someone who seeks to break up the buddies—or worse. There isn’t a whole lot to the plot itself, but the kids’ slowly forming friendship has real grace and authenticity; each character brings a great deal to the nascent relationship that actually helps the other grow. In addition, Eva Ibbotson fans will appreciate the quirky humor, and the hints about the astonishingly confused notions witches have about humans accumulate into a pretty hilarious misconception of just about everything readers will know to be true about themselves. A hint of true darkness (particularly in the head witch/teacher) keeps it all from being too silly; while there is never a doubt that good will prevail, there is suspense in that the odds are stacked against the intrepid but hapless duo.