Thirteen Witches: The Memory Thief

Thirteen Witches: The Memory Thief

Jodi Lynn Anderson

Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2021

325 pages

Fantasy

Grades 3-6

Thirteen Witches Trilogy #1

Rosie does not have the typical life of a normal twelve-years-old. Her mother is mentally checked-out to the extreme and Rosie is forced to be the grown-up of the house. She doesn't understand why her best friend, Germ, is wearing make-up, interested in boys, and hanging out with a new friend. Seeing this as a betrayal, Rosie drops Germ, only to need her when things get super crazy at home. One night, Rosie, an aspiring writer, burns all of her childhood stories in order to become more "sophisticated", inadvertently unlocking her "sight" to see ghosts and spirits. Because of their intense friendship and despite not having a family lineage of witch-hunters, Germ gains the sight as well. The ghosts reveal that Mom's memory was stolen by one of thirteen witches and, as a former witch-hunter, she possesses long-forgotten secrets to battle them. The ghosts help Rosie to uncover Mom's old gear, including a guide to witches and a possible weapon. The witch in question who stole Mom's memory needs to be tracked down, as well her millions and trillions of moths, who carry the stolen memories. How can Rosie connect with the Memory Witch and how will she battle her once found?

The first in a trilogy, veteran author Anderson pens a novel of fantasy and adventure with a gentle family mystery woven in. Set in coastal Maine, the atmosphere is dark and ominous, perfect for a witch-hunting family who's house is massively occupied with ghosts. The story has an old-fashioned feel, such as referring to the living room as the "parlor", yet the kids around Rosie are contemporary, helping the reader to feel Rosie's helpless rooting in the past and her inability to grow up without discovering her true gifts and getting some answers. The witches and ghosts are creepy and the book may be too much for sensitive readers. Lovers of dark and gothic fantasies will find much to enjoy and keep turning pages in order to see what happens to Rosie and her mom. Witches are currently trending, as is horror, making this an on-target choice and possibly an easy sell. A cliff-hanging ending, revealing more family mysteries to solve and a new friend to save, will lead the reader to the next installment. Rosie's secret power needed to combat the witches is storytelling and writing, a powerful gift shared by many young readers and just may inspire the target audience.