The Hidden Witch perfectly continues the goodness from The Witch Boy

We really liked The Witch Boy when it came out in 2017. It had age appropriate spooks with lessons that young readers didn’t know they were learning-or that they didn’t know they needed to learn. Its delivery was entertainment, fun ghost/monster driven fun that also happened to be entirely relatable to kids 7 and up. The Hidden Witch picks up, to a degree where the first book left off.

Aster is the witch boy in question and he’s a bit behind in his studies. Thankfully his family has finally agreed to properly teach him the ways of their ancestors. And just in time too, strange things are afoot when a friend of Charlie has a Fetch that’s become attached to her. Unfortunately for her, this Fetch isn’t a slang word from Clueless; it’s a malevolent spirit that a witch has summoned for the sole purpose of harming the person who it’s attached to. Charlie is Aster’s friend and doesn’t have any magical powers, but is aware of the magic around them and who can control it.

Once Aster becomes aware of the Fetch, he knows that he’s in over his head and asks for assistance. That help comes from his Aunt, to an extent and more so from his grandmother, who has some a dragon demon of her own to deal with.

The Hidden Witch is a book that as much about friendship and growing up, as it is about magic. There are certainly ‘witchy’ elements, but what makes the book succeed is the fact that young readers in upper elementary school and older will thoroughly enjoy it. A good barometer of this is the fact that I let our 12 year old neighbor ‘borrow’ The Witch Boy and I haven’t seen it in six months. The Hidden Witch is cut from the same cloth and is loads of fun. It’s a graphic novel that kids will want to read. It’s also different enough from other graphic novels to be refreshing and offer something that balances the supernatural and the human.