Dark Spell, Cast by Gill Arbuthnott

Gill Arbuthnott is one of those amazingly talented people who combine two (or three) jobs successfully. She’s a teacher and she also finds time to write brilliant stories for children. We’ve recently reviewed the Giant Panda Party, a lovely picture book, but her latest book is more for young adults – or indeed anyone who likes a bit of fantasy.

Our heroine Callie lives near St. Andrews, that place of castles and golf made even more popular by the heir-in-due-course and his bride. I remember holidays exploring ruins and bottle dungeons and quaint shops and beaches and while it has no doubt changed a tad since I was last there (ooh, fifty years ago) the character of the place still holds good. In other words, it is a place of magic!

We are reunited with Callie and Josh from The Winterbringers only this time, Callie is just discovering her powers as a witch. Considered a freak by her fellow school pupils, she welcomes the arrival of Josh for the summer holidays. But a visit to the underground tunnel unleashes a power that has been waiting for a long time, a dangerous power that means Callie has to fast-track her course in witchcraft before it takes over Callie, her family and her community.

As a teacher Gill spends a lot of time with teenagers and she reads and writes them authentically, with enough but not too much mobile phonery and facebookery. Her many fans will enjoy the story, the quirky characters and the easy friendship that is developing between Callie and Josh. Dark Spell (Kelpies) is available here from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions