My daughter is a huge fan of Alex Flinn and loves Beastly.  When I saw Bewitching at the school book fair, I grabbed it for her and wrapped it up to put under the tree.  She started reading as soon as she opened it, and as soon as she finished it, she handed it to me to read so we could dish on it together.  Here is what we loved about Bewitching.

• It is funny.  No matter what Flinn writes, the humor and attitude shines through the modern twists.  In this case, Kendra always, well almost always, has good intentions, but her spells don’t always work out as planned.
• It’s not just one fairy tale (one with stepsisters and stepmothers and a ball), but Flinn incorporates several more.  Kendra’s story starts with the Plague that swept Europe in 1655.  In escaping the plague with her baby brother, she learns of her magic and meets up with a witch who cooks children into gingerbread.  Somehow after she burns the evil witch and frees the children, Kendra is hung for the crimes (see point above).  It’s a good thing she is immortal.  Learn how she played a role in matchmaking for the little mermaid and Louis, Dauphin of France.  Those didn’t work out so well, either.
• The modern updates to the fairy tales are fresh and surprising.  You never know what princesses and princes just might be hiding out in your local high school.
• The ending is not predictable (well, not completely if you know the fairy tale), but it fits.  Emma does end up with the prince at the ball (of course), but even she is surprised at who the prince turns out to be.  So is Lisette, her evil stepsister, that everyone else believes is Cinderella.  Well, after all, Lisette is the stepchild (and Emma’s mom is warped, too), but she’s got everyone fooled.
• Emma is a bookworm and a complete nerd!  I love this girl who finds her way in the world (with a little help from Kendra) without following anyone else’s script.

We can’t wait to see what Kendra is up to next.