- Pub. Date: April 1, 2013
- Publisher: Scholastic Point
- Pages:272
- Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository
It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.
Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.
A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth
Review: I love books that revolve around witches but Spellbinding just did not grab me in the way I thought it would.
Spellbinding is about a girl named Abby who has some insane nightmares that haunt her and eventually she discovers she is more then just an ordinary girl. Via a class project at school Abby discovers her link to Salem and the witch trials that occurred there in the 1600's along with discovering her new found magical powers.
When I first started reading I was semi-hooked because the prologue did have me a little curious but soon after that everything just kind of spiraled downwards from there. I found way too many cliches such as the mean girls who loved to bully Abby, then there was Abby who thought of herself as nothing special looks wise etc and she lusted after the popular guy at school who barely noticed her and was dating the mean girl. Then the love triangle that was just annoying because it was thanks to the selfishness of our main character that one of them even was so madly in love with her.
Another problem I had was that Abby is supposed to be sixteen so you think she would sound and act like one but instead you would think she was a middle grader. I just found her actions to be way too immature even for a sixteen year old. The plot was also predictable nothing happened that I didn't already see coming. And also the way she came about her powers were just too easy all of a sudden she can just do magic not even a little struggle of any sorts.
I usually have some positive things to say about a book but this one just rubbed me the wrong way. It's hard to enjoy a book when you have character who's action frustrates the hell out of you to where you can't stand her anymore and actually really come to hate the character. The romance that did occur between Abby and Rem (where no love potion was involved...thank goodness) well it didn't feel real at all. And then I started questioning Rem and how he was all ready to be with her even though he knows she casted a love spell on another guy.
Overall this book was not something I enjoyed nor could I recommend.
