Elizabeth is an only child, new to town, and that can be very lonely. So when she meets Jennifer, a girl from her school —who claims to be a witch— she is eager to become her apprentice. Over the course of the next several months, the girls meet on Saturdays for their weekly rituals and read volumes on witchcraft in hopes of developing a flying ointment. But they do not find the best magic in Jennifer's black cauldron.
Two fifth-grade girls establish an unusual interracial friendship. Jennifer, a "witch," and Elizabeth, the first-person narrator who becomes Jennifer's apprentice, meet on Halloween morning in the woods just beyond school. Each girl has her own reason for loneliness; the subtle power imbalance between them only brings their isolation into sharper focus. Carol Stewart's measured, declarative style suits the tone and temper of the story, although the sagacity of Elizabeth's narration sometimes seems to exceed her years and further dates the 32-year-old Newbery Honor tale. Nevertheless, the universal feelings of loneliness and the need for friendship shine through in this recording of the story of an interracial communion between the two girls. T.B. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
