You Can’t Make Me Go To Witch School! is the debut novel from Em Lynas and we enjoyed reading it so much that we couldn’t put it down! Why anybody wouldn’t want to go to Witch School is inconceivable to my daughter who loves the fact that one of the characters shares her name! We can’t wait for our next visit to Toadspit Towers!
The Story: Daisy Wart is unceremoniously dumped at Toadspit Towers by her grandmother. Granny is convinced that she’s a witch but Daisy is equally convinced that she isn’t. She’s desperate to escape Witch School so that she can fulfil her destiny as an actress but magical forces are at work. Can Daisy find a way to escape from Toadspit Towers? Will she discover her real identity? Will she get to play Bottom?
Daisy’s ancestry is unknown and her witch’s hat is not visible but her protestations to Granny fall on deaf ears and she ends up in a dormitory led by Dominique, the best and brightest witch in the school. Daisy is fearless and stubborn and her sole aim is to find a way to escape so that she can play Bottom in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Magic is all around to prevent her from leaving but Daisy is determined, despite the fact that her action packed escape plan is fraught with danger. Surprisingly, it also leads to secrets being revealed that will affect both Daisy’s future and the future of Toadspit Towers.
A colourful cast of characters include the ghostly headmistress, Ms Toadspit, and Dominique, who becomes meaner and more spiteful as the story unfolds. Luckily Daisy has the support of her friends, Jess and Shalini who do everything they can to help her get accustomed to life at Toadspit Towers. There are so many wonderfully original witchy elements to the story, the girls sleep in cauldrons, they wave wooden spoons instead of wands and each wears a different coloured hat depending on her status. There are spiders, cats, hungry plants and a reward system which is absolutely genius!
Jamie Littler’s fabulous illustrations add to the humour in the story. We particularly love the illustrations of the Toadspit Towers’ teachers and Daisy singing to a vernicious veraptor. My daughter loves the biggest and best chocolate cake, it looks much more delicious than a bowl of ‘Toadspit Stodge’!
You Can’t Make Me Go To Witch School! is a magical, fast paced story with a feisty, loveable main character. It also has a brilliant twist at the end. Congratulations Em and Jamie on a fabulous book!
Age: 7 +
Author: Em Lynas / Illustrator: Jamie Littler
Thank you to Nosy Crow for sending You Can’t Make Me Go to Witch School! We thoroughly enjoyed reading this fabulous story and are looking forward to the publication of the next Toadspit Towers story!
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