This was incredible! A unique story that felt warmly familiar as it is retold around a tale we have all heard about before: witches. What a fun spin on a spooky story, perfect for October and readers who love all things scary. It is lighthearted and funny, but dives into topics about family that all students should hear.

5 stars!

Moth has no idea that she comes from a family of witches - not until some strange things happen including a talking cat. But her mom wants nothing to do with witchcraft - in fact she turned her back on the whole thing. But Moth is torn between listening to her mother's wishes and exploring her new powers. What is an okay witch to do?
This was a decent book. Students will like it.

This was a really interesting premise. A thirteen year old girl finds out she's a witch and finds her powers. But the plot was really confusing and jumbled.There were speech bubbles with a lot of text and there was just so much going on and at the same time, nothing really happened. It just didn't work for me.

This book is about Moth Hush, a normal girl who doesn't have any friends and who is obsessed with witchy stuff. While she's at school one day she discovers that she has magical powers! This starts her off on a journey to find out more about her powers and her family's history in the town of Founder's Bluff, Massachusetts.

This was a really cute book. I loved the artwork, especially the design of the people. The story was really well crafted even though there were parts of it that kind of felt very obvious to me. But I feel like if I was a kid reading this book I would very much enjoy it. As that is who this is geared towards, I really feel like it would be a great addition to any library. The story has a great lesson about being yourself and standing up for who you want to be which I really appreciated too. Overall, this was a cute book with a good message.

I found this to be a really fun read. Moth is obsessed with witches and is so excited to learn that her family history includes quite a few witches. As she starts to explore her new powers she butts heads with her mom and learns quite a bit about family and friendship. I will strongly consider purchasing this graphic novel for my elementary collection.

I quite enjoyed this graphic novel. Moth Hush is a 13-year-old who has never fit in, but her life is about to change. On the same day she maybe makes a friend with the new boy, she accidentally casts a spell to steal her bullies' voices, and finds out that she's a witch! Her mother hates her own magic, and wants to live a normal life, but Moth is determined to explore her heritage. Fortunately, Mr. Lazlo is there to help; a talking cat who's actually an old family friend who died and is just possessing a cat to help Moth along. It turns out, though, that her town and family has secrets, and witch drama from hundreds of years ago will still cause Moth trouble.

The art for this graphic novel is excellent. It's clean, but still allows the characters to be very expressive. I also really like the overall message of finding yourself and appreciating your heritage while carving out your own identity that is unique. The only flaw I really found was that the magic felt more like a plot device than anything else. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what was difficult and what came easily, what was the result of a structured spell and what resulted from vague hand-waving and feeling. Not really necessary for a book like this, but still a bit of an annoyance for how prominent the magic was.

4.5 stars!

I loved everything about this book. Moth was a fun, sympathetic protagonist who has never really belonged in her mostly white small town. Her discovery that magic was real felt empowering and special. Even better were her interactions with her mom, a quirky woman who has pretended for years not to be a witch. To me, the heart of this graphic novel was the relationships (at times tenuous) between Moth, her mom, and her grandmother. Who else has powerful witches for family members? What should Moth do, follow the footsteps of her mother, or those of her grandmother? In navigating the push-and-pull between accepting magic wholeheartedly, or pretending to be "normal," Moth discovers her own well of inner strengths.

This will be a fantastic graphic novel for tweens struggling with fitting in, or finding their own unique strengths. Honestly, this is a fantastic book for adults too!

And I absolutely have to mention her adorable familiar, Mr. Laszlo. The cat's past life was a beautiful, bittersweet addition to the story. I admit, it made me cry! Another beloved supporting character was Moth's friend, Charlie. Every character and side-story was woven perfectly into the narrative, which was very satisfying!

I want more Okay Witch adventures!

This is a very fun graphic novel about Moth, a 13 year old girl who lives with her mom and like many middle schoolers, worries about what people think about her, what she's going to wear, and who's going to be her friend, There's a cute new boy at school who seems to think she's not as weird as everyone else in town does and they are both planning to get involved the school play. But on Halloween, things get really weird. Moth starts thinking she can do magic, she finds out that her mother is a witch who has given up her powers to lead a normal life, and that Moth has a grandmother who lives in another world. It also turns out that there are people who think that magic is evil and want to get rid of all witches. I'm not a big fan of graphic novels, but I really liked the art work in this one. This is a really fun book and I think the kids are going to love it.

This was really sweet! I good combination of mother/daughter relationship issues, dealing with being an outsider, a dose of magic, and fun illustrations. I love that it's set in Massachusetts, too. I think many of my 6th graders will enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this advance book in exchange for an honest review.

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner is such a cute graphic novel about a young girl who feels like an oddball in her town. On Halloween of Moth's 13th year she discovers she is actually a witch, and that her mother is one of the witches from the town's history. Moth and her mother fight over her using magic, her mom being against it based on her past which leads to Moth finding out about magic from books and her mom's journal.

This is such a great book about acceptance and learning to love yourself with the added benefit of magic, I highly recommend this for kids who aren't into reading or are looking for books with magic and great graphics.

Where to start gushing about The Okay Witch?

The story stars a heroine of color, and the main storyline addresses it from the beginning: Founder's Bluff's leader wanted, as Moth's mother, Calendula states, "a town of sober, obedient, lily-white Pilgrims". Women - especially women of color - who had any kind of independent spirit? Women of color? That didn't fit into Judge Kramer's mold, and it didn't fit into colonial America's mold, so they were hunted until Moth's grandmother and her coven tore the fabric between worlds to create a safe space of their own: Hecate. Moth is a child of color in a mostly white town, where she's bullied by young white men, one of whom happen to be a descendant of one of the founding families, who even asks Moth where "she's FROM from". Moth is a teen coming into her own power and struggling with the decision to embrace it or suppress it to "be normal" as her mother, who eschews magic and witchcraft, begs her to. When Sarah, Moth's grandmother, shows up to see her granddaughter, there's a power struggle on either side of Moth that represents her internal struggle.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner in exchange for an honest review!

Right off the bat, I’m here to tell you that The Okay Witch is one of the cutest things I have ever laid my eyes on. I’m so glad that I decided to start reading more graphic novels, because holy wow. The Okay Witch has everything I love in a Middle Grade read; witches, spookyness, and a Halloween setting.

& of course, a protagonist that begins to learn & love who they are.

Moth is the target for many of the eight-grade bullies at her school. One day, the bullies attempt to ruin her Halloween, and something strange happens; magic occurs & Moth is left to wonder what the actual heck is going on — could magic be.. real? & that is when she dives into her family’s history & learns more about her background.

The Okay Witch is a tale of self-exploration, family & friendship. This is a perfect Halloween read for the youngins’ & even the adults who love a teaspoon of spooky & a tablespoon of cute in their reads.

The artwork of The Okay Witch is absolutely gorgeous & vibrant. As with most graphic novels, this is what jumped out at me from the start. I was absolutely razzled & dazzled by The Okay Witch.

Plus, The Okay Witch has LGBTQ+ & POC rep!

Y’all, there’s a talking gay cat. Yes, you heard correctly. & he’s such a precious & goofy gem in this tale. I truly adored The Okay Witch. It has magic, witches, the aforementioned talking gay cat, and a girl who goes down a path of self-discovery. It’s a perfect read.

Get ready for The Okay Witch to charm the pants off ya!

A great fantasy graphic novel with themes that include belonging, legacy, identity, and family. The magic pieces and Moth's story on its own would have been solid, but these other themes really clicked for me and took this up to the next level. I enjoyed the characters and their complex relationships with one another and with their pasts. Magic elements include talking cat/familiar, witches, spells, ghosts, goddesses (Hecate).

An adorable middle grade graphic novel about Moth, a thirteen year old who discovers she's a witch after accidentally casting a spell on two bullies. But her mom doesn't want her to do magic--and she refuses to explain why. Along with the help of a talking cat possessed by a deceased family friend and her mom's old diary, Moth begins to uncover the complicated truth about her mother's past and her relationship with magic. Cute illustrations, a fun, slightly spooky, story, a talking cat-- basically the perfect Halloween read!

Moth is stumped when one day, she accidentally robs her bullies of the power of speech. While talking to her mom about the incident, she find out that she comes from a line of witches. Moth wants to explore her powers but her mother is adamant that she tries to lives as normal a life as possible. So behind her mother’s back (and with the help of a talking cat) Moth begins to try and perform magic.

This is being marketed as 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch' meets 'Roller Girl' and I 110% agree with that assesment. 'The Okay Witch' is an adorable, funny and heartfelt witchy coming-of-age tale, and I loved every single second of it. This would be the ideal October read for any age, and I can't wait to read more from this author/artist.

A very cute graphic novel about a mother and daughter's bond and WITCHCRAFT. Talking cats and awkward school plays make for a fun middle grade to high school read as we head into Halloween season.

ARC/Netgalley

Moth has been living in her hometown all her life, yet has never made friends. She’s constantly picked on by others until one day she discovers something odd about what she can do. When she gets home to tell her mom, her family history comes unraveling when she discovers she is one in a long line of powerful witches, but will she be able to harness her powers?

Oh. My. God. I’m obsessed with anything witches if you didn’t know. And this was just everything I wanted it to be. Cozy fall vibes, adorable awkward new witch learning her powers, family tension. Gah! I’m so pleased! When the story first starts, it alludes to the beginning of Hocus Pocus so much I was started to get annoyed but it quickly gets over that and becomes its own little thing and I couldn’t be happier for reading this. Definitely something I will be purchasing for my classroom library.

Hey Everyone!

So this week, no this month, no this season, has a ton of new releases coming out and ya girl is about to be broke from all the books she is trying to buy! So many new titles came out this past Tuesday (Sept 3rd) and I only do a post a day so it was hard to organize all the posts about all the new books but that only means I will have so many posts coming at you guys for the next few weeks! I also still need to post my September list but it is so long!!! The Okay Witch is another release from this past Tuesday that I got the chance to read as an ARC and it was so good!

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Okay Witch is a graphic novel about a teen girl who does not know she is a witch but she lives in a town that in the past had witch trails. However, what she does not know is that her family were the witches in those witch trails. One day she is at school and suddenly she performs magic, without trying because she has no idea she is a witch but then once she returns home she learns from her mother that they are a family of witches! (Guys, I was a huge Sabrina fan as a kid and this was so my thing it was unreal)! From here she sets out to learn spells against her mother's will, learn about the secret witch city, learn about her witchy past, and help her friend out!

Alright, I already admitted that I was a huge Sabrina fan as a kid and I still am both the old and new versions hold special places in my heart. So once I learned that the main character in this book finds out she is a secret witch and that there is a witch society and a cat familiar, I was utter trash for this book. I literally did not want to put it down, I did not care what else was happening. Then when it was done I carved more from the witchy world and still wanted to know everything! I felt like a new Sabrina was happening right in front of me and I was so sad when it ended so quickly (or at least it felt quickly). I highly recommend this graphic novel if you like me love all things witchy! I am definitely planning a Halloween reread just for fun! I am giving this book five stars on Goodreads.


** I was given an ebook ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is I think my favorite graphic novel I've read all year! It's one of the cutest, hands down.

Moth is such a relatable character. She's goofy and sweet and kind, but a constant target for bullies. Her only friend is the new kid in school, because he hasn't been exposed to her "weirdness". Moth was raised by her single mom, who's been running a secondhand shop after the original owner passed.

Then MAGIC! This is like what I wanted Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to be. Moth finds out she comes from a line of super powerful witches, and is understandably H Y P E about it! She'd been obsessed with witches for her whole life!

THERE'S A TALKING CAT! Like, come on, it's perfection.

It's perfect for this time of year, too, since everything starts on Halloween.

An adorable middle grade graphic novel, I give The Okay Witch 5 out of 5 talking cats.