May 15, 2013
Cate Cahill is torn between competing factions of the Sisterhood, as the witches disguised as nuns prepare to fight the Brothers' theocracy. After being manipulated into joining the Sisterhood in Born Wicked (2012), Cate has abandoned love and her sisters for the city and a convent filled with witches who think she is the prophesied witch who will lead the resurgence of magic and overthrow of the Brothers. However, the Sisters disagree on revolutionary methods: Ailing headmistress Sister Cora supports a cautious, conservative approach, while second-in-command Sister Inez favors pre-emptive, aggressive strikes. But the evil Brotherhood has an imprisoned oracle whose prophecies add detail about magic's resurgence. In response to it, the Brothers step up their campaign against it, arresting and torturing girls to find the prophesied witch as well as passing new laws so restrictive that the general population begins to turn against them. The Sisterhood responds to the Brothers' literal witch hunt by summoning Cate's sisters, Maura and Tess, to protect them--and ambitious Maura, the least sympathetic non-Brother character, latches onto the new prophecy, which reopens speculation on which Cahill sister will lead the witches. Cate's forbidden romance with Finn, now a Brother, is better integrated with the plot than in the opener and makes Finn more interesting by association. There's a genuinely surprising twist at the end. Page-turning intrigues make this a strong sequel. (Fantasy. 12 & up)
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January 1, 2014
Gr 7 Up-New England in the 1890s is a perilous place to be female in this alternate history tale of witchcraft and romance. In this sequel to Born Wicked (Putnam, 2012), the Brotherhood cracks down further, forbidding women to work outside the home, and decreeing that girls will no longer be taught to read. The Cahill sisters-Cate, Maura, and Tess-talented witches reunited under the protection of the Sisterhood, are caught up in a power struggle that threatens them all. The smoldering rivalry between Cate and Maura ignites into divisive confrontations even as the Brotherhood's repression of girls and women increases: there is talk of bringing back the burnings. Eldest sibling Cate plays a dangerous game, happily reuniting with her betrothed, Finn, even while the Sisterhood endangers him by setting him to spy on the Brotherhood. This sequel doesn't have quite the drive of its predecessor; the opening is a little slow, and tension is diffused through repetitive confrontation that does not move the story forward. Still, there are enough stolen kisses to hold those with romance on their minds, and enough chase and escape to hold others. Cate spends a lot of time considering consequences, which, after a few hundred pages, seems an awful lot like fretting. The world-building creaks a little as Spotswood expands its borders but the center still holds. Characterization takes a backseat to plot. There are a number of undeveloped new characters, and already introduced characters show little growth, with Maura's development particularly one-note. Happily for fans of the first book, the big reveal at the conclusion is a genuine shocker, and readers will be anxious to discover if the final betrayal will move Cate to action.-Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2013
Grades 8-12 In the second title in the Witches of Cahill series, Cate, a protected novitiate at the Sisterhood's convent, is being groomed to be Sister Cora's successor. Yet she has never had a vision and, in spite of her mind-magic and healing powers, is unable to hold an illusion for more than a few minutes. She doubts her own designation within the prophecy as the most powerful witch in centuries, especially once her sisters Maura and Tess arrive at the convent. Maura grandly announces her intent to join forces with Sister Inez, who is determined to wage war on the evil Brotherhood; sweet Tess seems older, wiser, and more prescient than her 12 years. The Brotherhood's blatant vendetta against all women regardless of age; their imprisonment and torture of those females who are merely suspected of being outside the norm; and Maura's jealousy and frustration with her older sisternot to mention lovers Cate and Finn's clandestine meetingsmake for a riveting paranormal-historical fiction adventure whose outcome readers will absolutely refuse to accept without a sequel, a fait accompli the author has promised in a recent blog post.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2013
As the witches of New London are stripped of power by the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood waits to see which of Cate and her blood sisters will fulfill the oracle's prophecy. Yet there's division within the convent's walls, and each woman must choose whom she supports. Cate's thoughtful, sensible voice leads readers through this compelling second installment to an ending they won't expect.
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)