The Hotel Witch (Jessica Miller, Text)

With a cast of larger-than-life characters that almost pop off the page, The Hotel Witch is the wonderfully imaginative new adventure from Jessica Miller, who previously brought us The Republic of Birds and Elizabeth and Zenobia. Apprentice Hotel Witch Sybil has a very vivid imagination. Unfortunately, this frequently causes her spells to come out incorrectly. She desperately wants her grandma, the official Hotel Witch of the Grand Mirror Hotel, to teach her some spells from The Book of Advanced and Dangerous Magic, but Grandma insists she must learn to concentrate first! Until then, she is limited to the very boring Book of Domestic Magic. When Grandma accidentally becomes trapped in last Tuesday, Sybil bravely agrees to become the official Hotel Witch until she returns. But when the shadows in the hotel start disappearing, with alarming consequences, Sybil suspects something truly dangerous is afoot. With only her best friend Ahmed the lift operator, and Alfonso the judgemental hotel cat, for assistance, how can she hope to save the day armed only with simple housekeeping spells? In addition to delivering a charming lesson in self-belief and independence, The Hotel Witch also offers a discreet exercise in mindfulness; Sybil must learn focus and concentration in order to perform her duties and save the hotel from imminent disaster. Imaginative eight- to 10-year-olds will devour this tremendously fun and funny tale, but it is also gentle enough to read together with younger children.

Hannah Gardiner has been a bookseller since the pre-Titlepage era. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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