Adele Elliott

I received the book free for review. All opinions are my own.

I'm one who was not a fan of this book. I double checked the listing to see if this was written for young adults because the book felt very shallow. Although I have read YA literature that didn't give me that feeling. The book felt kind of weird and out of sync like there was always something missing.

The revelation of the relationship between the Hunters and the Moores was no surprise. I put that one together as soon as I read where Ruby came from.

Calling the book 'Witchball' was really misleading. I expected the book to be more about witchcraft or Wicca. The fact that Aunt Fleur was Wiccan was more of a side note in the story than crucial to the storyline.… (mehr)

Truly is fifteen and lives in Columbus, Mississippi. The summer before her junior year in high school, her small town erupts from the scandalous murder of a beloved track coach. Truly's Aunt Fleur, along with other gay and transsexual men in town, is being questioned by the police in an attempt to find the coach's murderer. Truly is sad that so many misunderstand her beloved aunt, who is sweet, caring, and generous.

This summer, Truly learns a lot about her town, her family, and herself. She takes the first awkward steps into adulthood by seeing a world outside her own experience. She starts to see that everyone, including her parents, had their own hopes and dreams once, even if she has yet to figure out what she wants out of her own life. Aunt Fleur's little white magic spells may not have worked the way Truly wanted them to, but they worked the way she needed them to. In the end, silly Aunt Fleur passed on a lot of wisdom to a little girl who is just waking up to the world around her.

I really enjoyed this little gem of a book. Truly's voice is that of a teenager, and as the town's scandal unfolded, her voice grows stronger. I enjoyed her descriptions of her town, and understood her love for her aunt, even if it was naive at first. At times it felt like there were too many secrets to uncover, but I guess that's the nature of a small town!

I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program on LibraryThing.… (mehr)