Three Witches Author:Paula Jolin Three seemingly ordinary girls, studying together in the same ordinary high school. All have their own reasons to summon Trevor Saunders after his car goes over a cliff. Aliya brings the mystical seances of Syria. Gillian contributes the voodoo arts from her native Trinidad. Miya shares the secret magic of ancient Japan. Will they be able u... more »se their powers to bring him back one more time? Should they?
Trevor Saunders is dead, and he's left behind three confused girls. He owes Gillian a lot of money, and she needs to find where it's hidden in order to buy a one-way ticket back to Trinidad. Miya got in a huge fight with him the night he died and screamed some horrible things at him. And Aliya was Trevor's girlfriend, although due to her family's strict adherence to Islam, the romance was a secret. All three girls just want to talk to him one last time so they can get information, clear their conscience, or move on with their lives. They strike a plan to use magical practices from each of their cultural heritages to try to commune with him. Gillian visits an obeah man, Aliya focuses on a jinn, and Miya begins practicing the exercises described to her by a Japanese kitoshi. As the girls work, they find that they are growing to like one another. They also grow stronger and more confident. The culmination of their plan is a midnight rooftop ritual designed to draw Trevor back from the other side, but the results are not what they expect. Jolin's characters and their backgrounds ring true, including the dialect from the girls' native languages. However, the pacing is generally slow until the end, when everything is resolved quickly. Overall, though, this is a fine read for those interested in magic from other lands.—Laura Amos, Newport News Public Library, VA« less