Wildwitch: Wildfire

I received a copy of this book for review from netgalley.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Wildwitch by Lene Kaaberbol. While this book is for children, probably 8-13 years old, I think that most adults with imagination will enjoy it as well. The author used a lot of descriptive words that will help any child (or adult) picture the world in which Clara was thrown into. At 12 years old, Clara finds out that she's a wildwitch and that an evil woman wants to take her. She goes to live and study with her witch aunt for a few weeks while she learns a little bit about magic and a whole lot about herself. I wish I could have seen the illustrations better, but I'm sure they were great, too. I loved all the animals and nature. I love most witch books, but this one was a bit different than most that I've read. It made it stand out even more.

This was just fabulous! The characters were well developed and the story moved right along. Readers of all ages would enjoy this one!

A delightful book about a young witch and her mentoring witches. Oh yes, and her spirit animal protector--a huge, black cat, who defends her against harm from the outcast, evil one. I understand this will be part of a new series which I will read and recommend to our school media center and teachers.

I think middle grade readers and up will enjoy this sweet, imaginative book. This book has an interesting concept and plot. I think it would be enjoyed by grade 3 and up, and it would most likely appeal more to girls than boys.
My only suggestion would be to tighten the writing a bit. It sometimes seems a bit wordy. It might also have worked better written in the third person.
Overall, however, it was a very enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in this series. I would have liked more details of Clara's "training" with her Aunt Isa. After three weeks at the farm, we still haven't seen progress in Clara's skills or her training, except for the "Go Away" commands. The story would be richer with more of that. But I liked the characters and loved the cat, of course. Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley.

The cover illustration is what drew me to this particular book, I wanted to know all about that cat. Clara is a young, quiet girl who lives with her mother and is one day attacked by a giant cat. After experiencing some other unexplained things she is whisked away to live with an aunt she's never really met, and learn about a magic she never knew she had.

What made this book different from many others for me was that Clara wasn't very good at her magic. Usually characters are gifted naturals, with the exception of mediocre Harry Potter, the chosen ones are usually quite capable. It seems that no matter how hard Clara tries she can't rise up to the occasion. Her one gift seems to be that she can tell people to "GO AWAY" and scare them off for good.

The writing is good, the characters endearing, the plot plodding along at the perfect pace for a children's book. All in all, not much happens. Clara proves she's telling the truth by being honest and pure, and the villain gets away. We never do learn what the villain wanted from her, but Clara does get a giant black cat as a friend and names him.......Cat. Her imagination is endless.

Nevertheless, I was enchanted by this world and I want to read more, I want all my unanswered questions taken to heart and I'd be ready to read another book. It's always a good mark if the author leaves you wanting more, and willing to read for it.

I'll be honest and say that I was initially drawn to this book because of the cat. When I was young, I read lots of books about children and their cat-pals (both magically and mundane) and these types of stories have a special place in my heart.

Once I started reading, however, I was very drawn to the characters and the general plot, as well as the world Lene has created. This is really more of an introduction to the series: the readers and Clara have in common that they know nothing about Wildwitches and the magical world.

Clara is a fun, innocent protagonist, and even though she is a child and the story is told from her point of view, her naivete is not annoying, and it doesn't lessen her impact as a character.

I think this is a fun series for young fans of magical worlds - and it definitely wouldn't hurt if you like cats. As I mentioned, this is really only an introduction to the story, so it's a lot of set up which leaves you hoping for the next volume. While this can be annoying with books, and I do wish we had gotten a little more out of the plot in this first volume, overall it was enjoyable and I am looking forward to the next book, Wildwitch: Oblivion.

Wildwitch Wildfire is a fantastic book. I read it in one day and am very anxious to read the next book in the series. First the cover drew me immediately. I love cats, have two and the big black cat on the cover just made wanting to read it even better. The story of Clara who at 12 is an ordinary girl, Small, her mom calls her little mouse, but she has power she is unaware of. Clara is a Wildwitch, a witch who protects the animals and nature. She is taken to her aunt's to train where she is nearly captured by the Wildwitch turned bad, Chimera. When Clara tells the Housemother's council about what Chimera did she has to go through 4 very difficult tests to prove she is telling the truth about the attack. Lene Kaaberbot tells a fantastic story which will leave you hooked from the first page. Bravo lene, I love this book. I can't wait to read the second book. in the series.

A nice children's fairytale story about good versus evil but without explicit blood and gore. What will Clara face in the next book and will Chimera come back for more? I can't wait to find out...

great new title for lovers of all things witchy.

This is a story of a young girl who thinks her life is ordinary. She has a best friend named Oscar and lives a life that is rather boring. That is until a large black cat shows up with glowing eyes and shows her the life of a Wildwitch. It seems like fun, but even Wildwitches have enemies.

For a first book in a series, I enjoyed it as did my daughter. We were a little upset that the cat doesn't really have a name or purpose, however as with most series, that can change by the next book. It's pretty short so it makes for a nice summer read when rain or heat keeps kids inside. Very little mild language (damn and hell). but lots of witchcraft for those trying to stay away from it. Overall though, I enjoyed it.

This is a children’s fantasy book that will be enjoyed by any Harry Potter fans. 12 year-old Clara has no idea that she has magical powers until she falls seriously ill after being scratched by a massive aggressive black cat. She is then attacked by a winged woman, Chimera, and has to seek shelter with her aunt, who tries to teach her about the wildwitch ways. All Clara wants to do is to get back home to her mother and her best friend, Oliver, and to escape the condescension of her aunt’s other pupil, the excessively bundled-up Kahla. Unfortunately, Chimera has other plans, and soon Clara is fighting for her life and her freedom inside a world that makes no sense to her at all.
Unlike Harry Potter, Clara has no human friends in her magic world. Only Bumble the dog and the other animals at her aunt’s house are able to stave off her loneliness. Soon she is in dire need of friends, as Chimera throws her headlong into a series of life-threatening tests, that are a cross between Harry’s trials in the “Goblet of Fire”, and a medieval trial-by-ordeal.
The pace is fast, and like Clara, the reader has little time to come to terms with her new life. There is not much background given, but that has the advantage of allowing the story to race you along while fully empathising with Clara’s confusion. As this is the start of a series, I am sure that any relevant gaps will be filled in in subsequent books. Although the story-line is not particularly original, it does blend well-known fantasy themes in interesting ways, and is well worth a read. I do hope to get hold of the other books in the series.

Twelve-year-old Clara leads a very ordinary life, until the day she meets a huge black cat with glowing yellow eyes, who deliberately scratches her. Her mother behaves almost hysterically and quite rightly too, because before very long Clara begins to have some very strange and life-threatening experiences as she wanders into the mysterious Wildways and meets the evil Chimera.

This is the type of tale that will be very familiar to its readers; a young girl whose family background is that of white witches, whose mother tries to keep her away from her heritage. But Clara cannot escape who or what she is and so undergoes a voyage of discovery and an inevitable rite of passage.

That there are no real surprises through the book with regards to plot is no bad thing. Sometimes it is nice for a young reader to be able to curl up with the familiar and enjoy the way in which the story unfolds on this particular telling. The whole concept and style of writing is pitched just right for the mid-grade reader who wants to become immersed into a mysterious world, but doesn't want to struggle with one complex concept after another or with an overwhelming amount of complicated, new words. The story is told simply and does not make heavy weather of the world building, which is done in a way that eases the reader into Carla's new life.

This book charms the reader (even this very much older reviewer, who suspects she will invest in a copy for the occasional ‘comfort read’). Wildwitch: Wildfire also has the right amount of scary from the evil Chimera and the reassurance of a wonderfully supportive and colourful group of witches who must eventually stand on the sidelines, unable to help Carla while she undergoes what are life-threatening tests to overcome the witches' foe.

Wildwitch: Wildfire is the type of book that can be read to a young person more than once, with the adult reader finding as much enjoyment as their audience, from the characters which inhabit it and the way the story is told.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
At first I was not sure if I was going to like this book. After all, anything that starts off with a young girl being attacked by a big cat who shouts "Mine. Mine" is going to put off another feline. I like books where we cats are the heroes and not the villains.
I'm so glad that I stayed with it because the kitty was not what it first seemed and as the book progressed, Clara needed her kitty ally to battle a truly evil witch on the way to discovering herself. It is an exciting journey fraught with danger and filled with quirky characters. Since a wild witch, which Clara learns she is, is in harmony with the wild world including all living things, she gets to interact with all sorts of fascinating creatures.
This would be a wonderful book for young readers but perhaps not too young. Even adults can enjoy and certainly I, as a cat, did so too.
I give this five full throated purrs and two paws up.

Does your book have a cat? THEN I'LL READ IT. I love cats, and this story about talking to animals just makes me wish I had that power.