R – Teen Witch

Title: Teen Witch – Wicca for a New Generation
Author: Silver RavenWolf
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Copyright/Release: © Silver RavenWolf; 1998
ISBN: 0-8065-2670-X
Pages: 251 pp. including front and partial back matter

Right from the start, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this book much. Actually, truth be told, I’ve had it for four years, waiting for review. In fact, I let my teenage brother read it and he didn’t like it either.

I figured a teen’s perspective would be a good thing, since that’s the target market for this one. Again. Then again, this came first, before the Teen Witch Kit. Not much before, but before. I’m digressing, and I’ll tell you why. I really don’t know where to start picking this one apart. So, let’s get the gloves and the tweezers and have a go.

I understand the need to grab the eye of the teenage book market. The children on the front of this book look more like porn stars trying to look underage (and yes, they do look like over-developed 10 year olds..I know, I have one!). Not to mention including a “rainbow” effect…a black girl, a white boy, what looks to be a native girl, an Asian girl and a white girl. All but the white children look a bit trampy, hence my comment on porn stars. Seriously – the girl is dressed in overalls and the boy is even wearing a jacket. The rest of them are interestingly dressed in very short skirts or shirts.

I don’t know who designed this cover, but really…as a parent, it’s not something I’d purchase my kid, nor would I be impressed in seeing it in their hands. It looks trashy!

Please be reminded this is coming from someone with what has been described by some as “loose morals.”

What I found inside the cover was unsurprising, considering the author. Again, it’s basically a flashier version of “To Ride A Silver Broomstick”. She talks teen, in other words. In several places – she calls it teenspeak. And at this point, I’m rolling my eyes and wondering how this ever got past the average teen without them feeling like they’re being patronized. I bit my lip, and continued on.

I have to ask though, how does one become a lineaged author? Oh I know, it was the placement of the comment in the sentence. Still, makes me wonder.

All in all, it’s just more spells and chatter directed at teens that are seeking witchcraft or paganism as a way of life. She includes a note for parents that frankly, if one of my girls brought me, I’d refuse to allow them to return to her. In another spot, she claims that parents who don’t allow/understand/immediately embrace their child’s choice of path are not behaving in an adult manner.

Where she says to respect the parents’ beliefs, well, I don’t know. I couldn’t find it.

There are other, more intelligently written books for teens out there. And they don’t generally lead to the purchase of the Teen Witch Kit either.
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Jodi Lee, aka ierne, is a 20+ year veteran of pagan paths. A single work at home mom, she is currently hard at work on her first novel.

http://www.jodilee.ca