Review on Dark Spell

Who likes books about witches? Who enjoys books about people who discover magical powers that can change their lives forever? Well, I read a book all about witches so I hope you enjoy this review.
Dark Spell by Gill Arbuthnott



Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: August 1st, 2013
Summary:
Fifteen-year-year-old Callie Hall has just found out that she is a witch...and things keep going wrong. Sometimes her mind seems to make things happen, things she cannot control. She can set fire to things without a match, and when she's angry people can get hurt. Her friend Josh understands that she's a bit strange, but it is only on a dark and dangerous visit to the tunnels beneath the ruins of St Andrews' castle that he realizes just how strange she really is. Something comes back with Callie--in Callie--something she cannot escape. Can Callie control her power long enough to send back the darkness before it takes over her life? Will Josh ever understand her secret? A brilliant, engrossing young peoples fantasy from the author of Winterbringers and The Keepers Daughter. (Ages 11-13).
My rating: 3 out of 5 spells!
My recommendation: Anyone who likes modern day witches and Scotland, you'll enjoy this book.
My review:
My copy was provided to me by Netgalley.
The plot of this story was pretty interesting. Callie doesn't have many friends at school and she has always known she was different. But when she's told that she's a witch, her whole life changes. Callie must learn how to control her powers as well as try to get her mother to accept her. But that's not all. Josh, Callie's friend, has come to visit and he's unknowingly sucked into the witch world. A ghost of a powerful witch has attached itself to Callie and it's determined to take over Callie and her whole family. She must control her powers and send the ghost back to where it came from before everything she knows is lost.
The plot kept me interested most of the time, but it seemed rushed. There are books that span over a week and there are books that take a whole year. This book is a mixture of the two. Sometimes, a day has passed and other times, a month has passed. There were also some slow moments that bored me.
Also, some of the multiple POVs were strange. I remember Callie's cat had a POV part in the book and that was kinda weird, especially since it only happened once for about a page.
If you're looking for a book with romance, there's nada here. You would think Callie and Josh would be a couple, but they're just friends. Callie refuses to get help with the ghost even though she knows she's in danger. Josh told her multiple times to get help from the older witches and she's always putting it off. It got annoying. I mean, your life is in danger and you don't do anything about it!
Josh seemed shallow to me. He hides his true self, the side of him that Callie enjoys, at school and acts like every shallow, annoying guy. He just wanted to belong even though he wasn't actually himself while "belonging".
The beginning was slow, but during the middle, it picks up to the point that I could hardly put it down. What I really enjoyed with this book was the detail in the ending, how Callie worked together with everyone to solve the problem, and the friendship between Callie and Josh. No matter what, they stuck together like peanut butter and jelly. Instead of calling her a freak for being a witch, Josh supported Callie. They help each other no matter what.
Overall, this book was okay. It was interesting in the end, but it didn't stick with me after I finished it. The book is a quick, short book filled with witches galore and undying friendship.