Not Just A Witch

Hectate Tenbury-Smith 'Heckie' is not just a witch. She’s a good witch…a witch who betters the world by transforming wicked people into harmless animals. Straight out of WAW (witches against wickedness) school, she’s hopes to make the world a better place accompanied by her best friend Dora Mayberry (who incidentally can turn anything into stone). However an ugly spat makes the two witches part ways and head off in opposite directions.

With her good intentions still intact, Heckie settles down in Wellbridge ready to rid the town of it’s nasty citizens. Her unlikely accomplice is a boy called Daniel, who’s the neglected son of two eminent professors. Also joining the “Wickedness Hunters” are Daniel’s friends Sumi and Joe and a motley crew of witches and wizards.

Armed with her 'Knuckle of Power' and 'Toe of Transformation', Heckie is soon righting wrongs and adding some unique creatures to the local zoo! But soon an oily character called Lionel Knacksap begins to court Heckie. The smitten Heckie doesn’t realize that Knapsack has witnessed her magical powers and is all out to exploit them for his own benefits. Trouble is definitely brewing.....will Heckie realize smarmy Knacksap’s true agenda?....will she bind ties with woebegone Dora?...and will the “Wickedness Hunters” triumph at the end of the day?

Another funny read from the Eva Ibbotson stable. Once more she makes supernatural entities and slimy monsters lovable and laughable. Her plots are never predictable and initial page-fillers are infact crucial to the plot. Thoroughly enjoyable and a fun way to drive out the monsters from under your bed!!!

Sabrina

"A woman happily in love burns her soufflé, a woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven. "

~ Baron St. Fontanel (Sabrina 1954)

Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) is the chauffeur’s young and scruffy daughter. They live in Long Island above the garage of their employers, the effluent Larrabees. Polishing cars and helping out her father, she is reconciled to a life of unrequited love. The object of her affections is the charming but feckless playboy, David Larrabee (William Holden). Her free time is spent perched atop trees, staring into the glorious dances where David waltzes one giggly socialite after another. At the other end of the spectrum, is David’s elder brother Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart), businessman extraordinaire. With no place for emotions in his life, Linus is the problem-solver, the money-maker and the quintessential highstreet tycoon.

Sabrina is soon sent off to France for a cooking course by her father, who hopes that the distance and the charms of Paris will make her forget David. In between soufflés and sauces, Sabrina learns poise, charm and confidence. She learns how to live life and instead of scooting from her problems, decides to return to Long Island and try her luck with David once more.

A stunned David is predictably swooped off his feet by the new and sophisticated Sabrina. He pursues her with a single-minded determination, while conveniently forgetting the small detail that he is engaged to be married. Add to that the fact that the marriage is infact a merger between two prominent business houses and the foothold on which rests a million-dollar deal.

Enter Linus and his attempts to thwart the fledgling romance. He decides that the best course of action would be to woo Sabrina himself. While the plan seems to be proceeding splendidly, Linus had not taken into consideration how susceptible he himself would be to Sabrina’s considerable charms.

A refreshingly simple movie with the effervescent Hepburn steering it along, Sabrina is a delight to watch. Fifteen minutes into the first-half of the movie and you want to shed your brashness and cynicism, modulate your tone and bottle up some of that lovely freshness that Audrey Hepburn wears like a second skin.

The Thieves Of Ostia (The Roman Mysteries)

A mysterious adventure of four friends à la The Famous Five/ The Secret Seven. The only distinguishing factor : The story is set in 79 A.D. Rome

The first book in “The Roman Mysteries” series, 'The Thieves of Ostia' is more of an introduction to the four main characters. Flavia Gemina, daughter of sea captain Marcus Flavius Geminus. Nubia, the pretty little slave girl who is saved by Flavia and now lives with her. Jonathan ben Mordecai, Flavia’s new Jewish neighbour. And Lupus, the mute beggar boy, who is sly and cunning…but a big help nevertheless.

Ostia , a seaport in Rome provides the setting for their first adventure. Someone is killing the neighbourhood dogs and lopping their heads off. One of the unfortunate victims is Jonathan's own watchdog, Bobas. Whodunnit, that's basically the premise of this book.

But what really appeals is the glimpse into ancient Rome.....the life and times, the settings, the beliefs, the culture and quaintly enough the manner in which the author has stuck to the whole theme. Dutifully provided with a reference scroll at the end of the story, the book is an interesting lesson in history.

It Happened One Night

I had always tagged “Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin” as one of my all-time favourite movies. Mismatched lovers, a mad happy-trip and quick-moving dialogue.

It was only recently that I realized that the Aamir Khan starrer was infact a remake of the original “It Happened One Night”. Barring the song ‘n’ dance routine, practically every scene has been dutifully lifted from this 1934 screwball comedy.

Jaded and thoroughly spoilt heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has married money-grubbing playboy “King” Westley. The marriage hasn’t been consummated yet and her father, the doting Alexander Andrews (Walter Connolly) wants the union annulled. But Ellie who’s always used to having her own way, escapes from her father…leaping off the family yacht. She decides to head off to New York to be reunited with her dubious lover.

On the bus-ride, she encounters smart talking, out-of-work newsman Peter Warne (Clark Gable). He strikes a deal with Ellie. In exchange for an exclusive scoop , he will duly deliver Ellie to New York.

What proceeds is a screw-ball adventure loaded with smart dialogue and typical “rich-girl-faces-real-world” scenarios. Throwing a spanner into the works is the fact that somewhere along the way; two opposites attract and inevitably fall in love.

A quick and snappy story with no long-drawn out sequences,”It Happened One Night” is an endearing film. A classic case of "Old is DEFINATELY gold"!!

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, #2)

You can read the same book at two different points in time and come away with totally contrasting opinions. When I first read “The Second Summer of the Sisterhood”, it was immediately after riding on the high created by the first. I had great expectations…eager to know what Bridget, Lena, Tibby and Carmen had cooked up this time. But I came away with a feeling of “umm-yeah-okayy”. Then the slump took an upturn with Girls In Pants: the Third Summer of The Sisterhood, which made me write a glowing review and be quite scathing about the middle-child!

But today, in my slightly whimsical mood, The Second Summer turned out to be “yep-SO-true!!”. The four disparate friends are back for a second season of reaping the magic of “The Traveling Pants”.

Bridget ‘Bee’ decides to take a breather and head off to Alabama, the home of her estranged maternal grandmother. She needs to have questions of her deceased mum answered and decides that the best way to do so is go incognito (which isn’t hard considering that she has put on oodles of weight and dyed her glorious hair a muddy shade of brown).

Carmen has to digest the unpalatable fact that her divorced mum is falling in love, can be as giggly as a giddy-headed teenager AND has the absolute temerity to borrow THE PANTS for a date!!

Tibby has headed off to Williamston College for a film-course. In a typical attempt to impress two seemingly-cool classmates, she ignores good but geeky friend Brian and makes a documentary ridiculing her mum.

Lena who was madly in love with Kostos the past summer has promptly broken up with him. Severing ties seems to be much better than dealing with the uncertainites of love.

Predictable agony, stress and nail-bed damage. But there’s also a sense of stoic acceptance.....the need to change and for the better. The friends make mistakes, act appallingly, realise their shortcomings and continue to bolster each other’s sagging spirits.

On the whole, a fat satisfying read for those days when you need something dramatic and yet not over-powering.

For reviews on the other Sisterhood books, please click on the following links:

> The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants

> Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of The Sisterhood

> Forever in Blue : The Fourth Summer of The Sisterhood

Brida

All I could conclude after reading Brida was that either I am a complete heathen or singularly incapable of feeling stronger emotions. Because, I still fail to see what all the hype is about. There I go picking up another Paulo Coelho ("The Alchemist" being my only yardstick to go by), hoping to come away enlightened, charmed, awed or any of the numerous adjectives that generally pepper a Coelho review.

What my pea-sized brain gathered from the blurb was that the book was about overcoming your fear of commitment, searching for love despite all the pitfalls that you have already faced and basically never stop looking.

Reality (as always) turned out to be something else entirely. The book is infact about a young girl Brida's initiation into the wiccan world. Her quest for knowledge and search for her soulmate are often accompanied by pagan rituals, bouts of introspection and the occasional trip into a past life. Somewhere along the line, things get a bit repetitive and tedious.

The only quotes that I liked and made sense in an otherwise rambling narrative:

Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day" ~ Brida's father (Pg.99)

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd" ~ William Blake (Pg.174)

"I learned that the search for God is a Dark Night, that Faith is a Dark Night. And that's hardly a surprise really, because for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, and yet we still go forwards. Because we trust. Because we have Faith." ~ Brida (Pg.24)

Island of the Aunts

Island Of The Aunts is Eva Ibbotson's magical, sea-side fantasy with an environmental message.

Three oddball aunts; Etta, Coral and Myrtle live on a secret island.....caring for a wide variety of animals ranging fom ordinary chickens to mystical creatures like selkies, boobries and even a family of abandoned, oil-slick mermaids. But managing the ever-increasing meanagerie is a full-time job and the aunts aren’t getting any younger.

So the best option seems to be to kidnap some children and bring them to the island. Without any malice whatsoever in their hearts, the three aunts capture a child each. Initially two of the children (Fabio and Minette) are scared, but the magic of the island and the multitude of animal life soon drives away their fears. They grow to love the island as their own and are as fiercely protective of each creature as the aunts themselves.

The aunts on their part, treat the children with affection and a firm hand. But the black spot in the whole scenario is the third captive, an obnoxious brat called Lambert who refuses to chip in and generally buzzes around like a irritating wasp. Things take an ugly turn when Lambert manages to get in touch with his father Mr.Sprott, whose money grubbing nature views the island as a golden egg waiting to be exploited. A struggle between good and the downright nasty ensues.....with many an unpleasant surprise.

This is an ideal book for animal lovers and the message of environmental protection is slipped in without any sanctmonius preaching. Eva Ibbotson’s delicious writing style is loaded with her usual nuttiness and charm. The unlikely heroines (the aunts) are lovable in their eccentricities. The animalia is rich and varied and exhibit emotions so diverse that it’s hard not to empathise . As for the villians.....they are black through and through with not a smidgen of grey. You absolutely love to hate them and can’t wait to see justice meted out.

In all…a simple story with a deep message. One of Ibbotson’s finest and a definite must-have for all you nature-friendly people out there.

The Wedding Planner's Daughter

Willafred ‘Willa ’Havisham is a 12 year old, cherry –cordial eating, book-reading, idealistic youngster. Her widowed mum, the beautiful Stella Havisham is a reputed wedding planner. But despite the romanticism of her chosen profession, Stella is stern and unbending. Losing her husband straight after the wedding night has left her embittered and brutally practical. Her life and Willa’s (unfortunately) are run by a set of strict rules. Stella has great expectations for Willa which do not involve waiting around for Prince Charming. Running from deeper emotions herself, the slightest whiff of a serious romance has Stella reaching for her set of red trunks and traipsing off to a new place…with the reluctant Willa in tow.

Never staying long in a single place, Willa rarely has the time to lay down roots and form lasting relationships. Her only solace lies in her books and the characters between the pages who seem to make reliable friends. Every birthday, as she blows out the candles, she wishes for the same thing: a father and the chance to settle down, once and for all. And every year, it seems that she could probably be the worst wisher ever in the history of candle-blowers!

But the tides are finally changing. Mother and daughter move back to their hometown – Bramble. And the sleepy líl seaport is littered with friends waiting to be made. Willa’s candy-making Nana; Mr.Tweed, the elderly book-store owner who calls Willa his kindred spirit and always has a book kept warm for Willa under his dozing cat; the gregarious Sulamina Mum, brighter than a peacock and always ready with a hug and quirky advice; Tina, the potential best-friend-in-the-making; Joseph Francis Kennelly (JFK), the cute boy who always has a shy, dimpled smile ready for Willa.....and best of all the new next-door neighbour Sam Gracemore, a handsome poet and Willa’s new English teacher. He seems to be perfect father-material and is smitten by the lovely Stella. To Willa’s delight, the feelings are reluctantly reciprocated.

But will Stella stick it out or run scared again? As Willa and the town-folk play cupid to the fledgling romance…….we get a tantalising glimpse into the charm and warmth of a small-town and it’s people. Murtagh weaves in the magic of the salty air, the cobble-stoned paths, the tinge of the setting sun, the feel of grainy sand between your toes, the taste of melting chocolate, the tartness of cherries and the romanticism of a night sky littered with sparkling stars.

The story could very well be the definition of heart-warming. Even the seemingly-sappy moments make you smile and have you rooting earnestly for Willa and her match-making efforts. With a lot of well-meaning homilies adroitly woven into the plot, you come away with a feeling of being inspired as well as entertained.

A perfect read for a drizzly day and a must-add on every pre-teen’s summer reading list.

The Secret of Platform 13

My foray into the mad, crazy world of Eva Ibbotson continues!

Platform 13 at London Station has remained shut for a very long time. But any attempts to make renovations always....always get botched up. The reason being that Platform 13 hides a "gump" : an opening to a secret, utopian island. It is a blissful place, ruled by a well-loved King and Queen and plays home to all kinds of humans, animals and magical creatures. However the gump opens once in nine years for nine hours only. So anyone who wants to crossover needs to be super-quick and get the journey done in the limited time period.

Tragedy strikes when the new born prince of the island is kidnapped by a rich, nasty lady called Mrs.Trottle, on a trip into London city . And since this happens just when the gump is about to close, the devastated baby-sitters have no option but to return empty-handed to the island. The grief-stricken islanders have to wait for another nine years before they can launch a rescue operation.

Finally the long wait is over and a search party comprising of the ancient wizard Cornelius, a sweet-tempered fey Gurkintrude, a yodeling gentle giant Hans and a small but willful hag Odge Gribble heads off to recover the lost prince.

Reaching the prince’s (who now goes by the name of Raymond Trottle) new home, the search party is delighted to meet a perfectly charming, well-behaved boy. But to their disappointment, he turns out to be just a servant-boy. The real “prince” infact has grown into a spoilt, over-weight, arrogant child. Rescuing the podgy, shrieking brat proves to be a Herculean task and the story proceeds with a lot of drama, mayhem and a multitude of intriguing characters.

Predictable though the story maybe and not as spontaneously funny as "Which Witch", ........"The Secret of Platform 13" is nevertheless entertaining and happily caters to all fantasy-world lovers.

Which Witch?

Arriman the awful, Grand Poobah of all things nasty and mighty dark wizard of the North has had many happy years of blighting, smiting and wrecking a great deal of havoc. But there comes a time when even the darkest of wizards gets tired of the "monotony" and wants to pass on the mantle to a more sinister and deserving wizard.

The great hunt begins and Arriman creates a kindly, three-headed monster called the "Wizard Watcher" for the task. But with not even the faintest squeak of a dark wizard from any direction, Arriman decides that marriage would be the only way to create a suitable heir to carry on his illustrious heritage. Here's the tiny blip in plans......a wizard can only marry a witch and the local witches are a disastrous motley of the weird and the frightfully whacky! Covered with warts in unmentionable places, swarming with maggots, cackling evilly....they fulfil every "witchy" stereotype!

A contest will be held and the winner will be Arriman's blushing new (*shudder*) bride. The contestants are to be judged on their skill, finesse, imagination and grandiosity in executing their black magic. But among the brood of harridans is a single, lovely witch; Belladonna. Blue-eyed and golden-haired, Belladonna has always been a white witch. She could put a dozen Disney Princesses to shame with the goodness of her heart and generosity of spirit. She longs to be dark and dreary like the rest of her coven and be a powerful, black witch.....something that would make her an ideal wife for Arriman. And to help her achieve this goal are a líl orphan boy: Terrence Mugg, his pet earthworm: Rover and Arriman's long-suffering but obliging staff.

A hilarious book which embraces all things dark and sinister and revels in the ghoulish and the gory, "Which Witch" is a fine treat for all Potter fans. After tut-tutting over Voldemort's antics, it's nice to have an endearing, dark wizard like Arrimann. Despite his magnificent powers, he is basically a normal man quailing in his boots at the prospect of waking up every morning to a wart-covered, slime-wrapped, shrieking witch of a wife!!

Laugh-out-loud and a definite treat for children (and adults) who never lose their fascination for magic and mayhem.