Being in high school sucks. Just ask Richard “Tex” McKenna, a Kansas sophomore. Dealing with bullying, burgeoning love, the loss of parents, and dodge ball is bad enough. To top it off, he's just found out he's a witch! Then there's the pesky problem of fellow students being murdered. The suspicious eyes of local law enforcement are watching Tex and his loyal group of friends. So is the killer. Will Tex's new-found witchcraft skills prove helpful? Or cause even more problems?
From the illustrator of the web comic Strong Female Protagonist comes a debut middle-grade graphic novel about family, identity, courage -- and magic. In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.
The acclaimed world of The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch comes to a thrilling conclusion in a new adventure about magic, family, and finding your true power. Magic has a dark side . . .Aster always looks forward to the Midwinter Festival, a reunion of the entire Vanissen family that includes competitions in witchery and shapeshifting. This year, he's especially excited to compete in the annual Jolrun tournament-as a witch. He's determined to show everyone that he's proud of who he is and what he's learned, but he knows it won't be easy to defy tradition.Ariel has darker things on her mind than the Festival-like the mysterious witch who's been visiting her dreams, claiming to know the truth about Ariel's past. She appreciates everything the Vanissens have done for her. But Ariel still craves a place where she truly belongs.The Festival is a whirlwind of excitement and activity, but for Aster and Ariel, nothing goes according to plan. When a powerful and sinister force invades the reunion, threatening to destroy everything the young witches have fought for, can they find the courage to fight it together? Or will dark magic tear them apart?
A stunning novel from the Newbery Medal winning and New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON When Ned and his identical twin brother tumble from their raft into a raging river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. But when a Bandit King comes to steal the magic Ned's mother, a witch, is meant to protect, it's Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community. Meanwhile, across the enchanted forest that borders Ned's village lives Aine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the Bandit King, who is haunted by her mother's last words to her: 'The wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.' When Aine's and Ned's paths cross, can they trust each other long enough to stop the war that's about to boil over between their two kingdoms? 'The Witch's Boy should open young readers' eyes to something that is all around them in the very world we live in: the magic of words.' --The New York Times
When Aster's non-magical friend Charlie finds herself the target of a curse, Aster and his unconventional talent for witchery must find the source of the curse before more people get hurt.
The black magic of bad living only looks hideous to honest eyes. Welcome to Scrape, Texas, a nowhere town near the Mexican border. Few people ever visit Scrape, and the unlucky ones who live there never seem to escape. They fill their days with fish fries, cheap beer, tobacco, firearms, and sex. But Scrape is about to be invaded by a plague of monsters unlike anything ever seen in the history of the world. First there's La Llorona -- the screaming woman in white -- and her horde of ghost children. Then come the black, hairy hands. Thousands, millions, scurrying on fingers like spiders or crabs. But the hands are nothing to El Abuelo, a wicked creature with a magical bullwhip, and even El Abuelo don't mean shit when the devil comes to town.
This critically acclaimed tale of a witch and her goblin-child is wholly original, and the legendary characters of old who touch their story -- Cinderella, Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin -- are made new through Michael Gruber's imaginative lens. Gruber's literary voice is as magical as his imagination. With The Witch's Boy he has created a wondrous journey through the realms of magic.
Tex McKenna’s junior year of high school is just as bad as his sophomore year. Maybe worse. Olivia’s dumped him. He's caught up between two warring teen gangs and gone “undercover” with the Modern Gangstas to unmask a murderer. All this poor Witch Boy and supernatural trouble magnet wants to do is end the school year alive. And maybe find out who the mysterious ghostly girl is and how she knows all his secrets.
4 YA novels in 1: Quest of the Hart by Mary Waibel...A reverse Sleeping Beauty tale where the princess goes on the quest to save the prince. Colors Like Memories by Meradeth Houston...Julia has a secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sort of. Tex, the Witch Boy by Stuart R. West...Someone is killing the bullies of Clearwell High...what's your average teenage boy witch to do? Nightmares by Donna McDunn...Emily must accept her gift of clairvoyance and remember her past, when a psychopath returns to kill again.
Graduation day is “killer”…too bad Tex the witch boy may not live to see it. Richard “Tex” McKenna's graduating high school. It’s a shame he doesn't have a clue what comes next. There's no time to think now, either. Being a male witch makes Tex a ginormous supernatural trouble magnet. There's an angry witch in pursuit and a maniac in a Grim Reaper's costume on the loose. Why did the cheerleader really kill herself? Is the heinous Clarendon Baptist Church a front for something more sinister? Elspeth’s back, too, trouble trailing on her booted heels. If Tex and his friends don't figure it out soon, Tex won't have to worry about life after high school.
