cover image Once a Witch

Once a Witch

Carolyn MacCullough. Clarion, $16 (304p) ISBN 978-0-547-22399-5

MacCullough (Drawing the Ocean) offers an absorbing and elegant urban fantasy involving magical "Talents," devious spells and family ties. When Tamsin Greene was born, her grandmother prophesied that Tam would be one of the most powerful witches in her huge and extended family. Tam's Talent was due to manifest by the time she turned eight, but at 17 she is still a dud, drifting on the outskirts of the family ("I know the looks I must be getting behind my back%E2%80%94the lifted eyebrows, the overly expressive shrugs, the whispers of sympathy"). When Tam is mistaken for her older and vastly Talented sister, Rowena, Tam can't resist the chance to secretly take on the task of locating a missing clock to prove her resourcefulness and make the Greenes proud. Enlisting the help of her old friend Gabriel, Tam unwittingly sets off a chain of events that could destroy her entire family. MacCullough's writing is evocative without distracting from her story; readers will identify with Tam's desire to create a space away from parental expectations and take comfort that even extraordinary families make mistakes. Ages 12 %E2%80%94up. (Sept.)