The Witches' Council: Lily Halfmoon 2

By Author / Illustrator

Xavier Bonet, Marie Trinchant

Genre

Supernatural

Age range(s)

Publisher

Allen & Unwin

ISBN

9781761069727

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

03-04-2024

Synopsis

Lily Halfmoon has a secret. She's a witch! With her animal guardian and her powerful magic gemstone, she and her friends help protect the town of Piedraville from all kinds of dangers.

It's almost Samhain, when magic is at its strongest, and witches from all over the world are gathering at Lily's school. There will be a meeting of The Witches' Council, but there will also be plenty of fun activities like magic demonstrations, kelpie taming and flying races. But Lily is in trouble. A mysterious person is after her rare moonstone, and if they get their hands on it, it could threaten everything Lily holds dear. Will Lily have the strength to fight for what she believes?

PRAISE FOR THE MAGIC GEMS: LILY HALFMOON: 'Adorable and exciting!I loved this from the very first page!' Lian Tanner, award-winning author of Spellhound; 'A gorgeously illustrated story about the power of friendship and letting your talents shine.' Jason Pamment, bestselling creator of Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures.

Reviews

Jacqueline

Lily Halfmoon is actually a witch and is keeping it a secret from her family. It is almost Samhain when magic is at its strongest and witches from across the world are gathering at Lily's school. A mysterious person, however, is after Lily's powerful moonstone and wants to steal her magic. Lily is not sure she can stop them or has the strength to fight back.

The Witches' Council is the second book in the series about Lily Halfmoon, but it does not matter if you haven't read the first one as it works fine as a standalone read. It is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel with additional pages that look like nonfiction about the magical world. For example, there is a page on the magical creatures mentioned in the story that gives the reader more details about each of the creatures and where they come from.

Whilst this book is aimed at younger readers aged seven years or so, the plot is very formulaic and predictable and does not quite flow well enough to make this a particularly satisfying read. The graphic novel structure will appeal to younger children, however, and the drawings are lovely. As it is quite a short read it makes it particularly suitable for early independent readers.

80 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher