Cattywampus

Written by Ash Van Otterloo

Narrated by Raechel Wong

In the town of Howler's Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill's skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family's secret book of hexes, she's itching to use it to banish her mama's money troubles. She just has to keep it quieter than a church mouse-not exactly Delpha's specialty.

Trouble is, Katybird Hearn is hankering to get her hands on the spell book, too. The daughter of a rival witching family, Katy has reasons of her own for wanting to learn forbidden magic, and she's not going to let an age-old feud or Delpha's contrary ways stop her. But their quarrel accidentally unleashes a hex so heinous it resurrects a graveyard full of angry Hearn and McGill ancestors bent on total destruction. If Delpha and Katy want to reverse the spell in time to save everyone in the Hollow from rampaging zombies, they'll need to mend fences and work together.

Fans of A Snicker of Magic and The Witch Boy will love this funny, folksy, fresh debut from Ash Van Otterloo that proves sometimes it takes two witches to make the strongest magic happen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666155945

Reviews for Cattywampus

[Xiomy Santiago · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Went in to Cattywampus with high expectations since witchy reads are some of my favs, but this one just didn't work for me. While I enjoyed the representation of an intersex character in middle grade -which is a first for me- and a deaf character and another with two moms.

The discussion of serious topics such as identity, self-acceptance, self-discovery, dealing with grief, abandonment of a parent, and others that I highly suggest to look up for trigger warnings.

However, Delpha and Katybird had moments where I felt for them and empathy tiwards their emotional arcs, but there were many times when I disliked their behavior. Delpha was one that rubbed me the wrong way especially how rude she was to those who had nothing to do with her backstory.

Plus, I'll never understand the theme of not asking for help from adults/parents when it is clear that it is needed and required. Especially when Conjure magic is something that has never been done before since it was off-limits.