Where do witches go to school? Well if you are the kids in this book, and are a special kind of witch called a Weirn, you go to the school the humans do. Only at night, after everyone has left and magic makes it morph into a school for the magical creatures.
All the usual suspects are there in Svetlana Chmakova’s graphic novel, The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods, the mean girl (who used to be a friend and has a secret), the hottie (who is a werewolf) and the cute, (but sometimes annoying) little brother. Two cousins (and said annoying little brother) find themselves in the middle of a mystery that has tentacles deep into the past, and if not solved, could mean no future for the town. The illustrations are lighter than a “thriller/horror” story might be, but there are several spooky factors that might not be for the young or sensitive reader. A fun book, that is clever, familiar and just enough new to make it a little fresh.
Things for the older or adult reader are predictable (as soon as I heard the grandmother had a twin I knew where they would pop up again; and the villain was obvious), but for the eight to young 12 reader, things are clever and surprising. If you took Scooby Doo meets Harry Potter meets a smidgen of Sweet Valley Junior High (or any junior high/middle school story) you have The Weirn Books. Things have some diversity (a biracial family and the fact that witches, werewolves and other supernatural creatures go to school together), but it is not the focus of things.
This is not the more manga looking series which I just realized was also by the author/illustrator.