Here is a review of one of my recent new books from Literati.
The Okay Witch
THE OKAY WITCH by EMMA STEINKELLNER
My First Impressions
What I thought of The Okay Witch was that it was INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED. Seriously, there were like two centuries of witch hunting, a girl named Moth who doesn’t even know she’s a witch and doesn’t know anything about her family or town’s history, two families who have hated each other for all eternity, a group of witches who have to escape death and torture, a frozen-time-realm that no one but witches can see, a rebellious mom who doesn’t like the frozen-time-realm… you get the point.
The Story (an Overview)
Uh, so, well, I basically told the entire story in “first impressions” but I’ll retell it. So there is this one family, the Kramers, who hate this other family, the Hushes, because they are witches. So the Hushes have to escape the Kramer’s land, and they start running around to escape the Kramers, saving different witches from the same fate, and hoping for peace, but not getting it..(this is in 1620, by the way).
And then they get tired of running and decide to open up their own world, a world between worlds. (complicated, I know) but at a terrible cost: they have to sacrifice the most important thing to them. Ok, back in 2020, a girl named Moth has just discovered her entire family story, the witch hunting, and that she is a witch. So she has to stop the witch hunting from resuming, the world from ending, and all that other whatnot. She succeeds, and they all are happy.
Oh – um – right – spoiler alert!
Clever Illustrations. Very funny. Adorable Characters.
And, yay, a Cat!
What I like about “The Okay Witch”
What I liked about The Okay Witch was the magic scenes and OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS CHARACTER, Mr. Lazlo the cat. It was an ADORABLE floofy, squishy, fluffy, and poofy black cat and I loved him. You will love him, I can guarantee that.
How it could have been better
Well, it could have more scenes with Mr. Lazslo in it, and maybe it could tone down on the complexity a bit, but other than that, it was fine.
How Many Stars (1 – 5)
Hmmm… well, Mr. Lazslo gets a million stars, but the book in general gets a four. (Mr.Lazslo makes up three of that four).
The Author Emma Steinkellner
Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, cartoonist, and writer based in Los Angeles, CA.
She is the author and illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel The Okay Witch (Aladdin, Fall 2019). The Okay Witch tells the story of 13-year-old Moth Hush, who learns that magic is to be expected when you’re a Hush in an adventure that spans centuries, generations, and even worlds as Moth unravels the complicated legacy of witches at the heart of her town, her family, and herself.
She is a graduate of Stanford University’s department of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she created, wrote, and illustrated her thesis It Gets Weird.
Working in print and webcomics, Emma has illustrated projects with her radiant sister, writer Kit Steinkellner, including the teen rom-com webcomic Aces and the Eisner-nominated superhero coming-of-age story Quince (also with creator Sebastian Kaedlecik, published by Fanbase Press) and is the creator of the comic diary Pow Slam Sparkle.
Emma Steinkellner’s Website (The Author)