Review: Witch World by Christopher Pike

Title: Witch World

Author: Christopher Pike

Reviewed by: Cassie

The Fairies Say: Thought-provoking

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

Witches are real-and each of us may be one-in this all-new paranormal suspense novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Pike. Heading off for a weekend in Las Vegas with her friends, Jessie Ralle has only one wory-how to make it through the road trip in the same car with her Ex, Jimmy Kelter. The guy who broke her heart five months ago when he dumped her for no reason. The guy who's finally ready to tell her why he did it, because he wants her back.

But what Jessie doesn't realize is that Jimmy is the least of her problems.

In Las Vegas she meets Russ, a mesmerizing stranger who shows her how to gamble, and who never seems to lose. Curious, Jessie wants to know his secret, and in response, alone in his hotel room, he teachers her a game that opens the door to another reality.

To Witch World.

Suddenly Jessie discovers that she's stumbled into a  world where some people can do the impossible, and others may not even be human. For a time she fears she's lost her mind. Are there really witches? Is she one of them?

In all honesty, I disliked this book SO MUCH. Okay, yes, I'll admit it; I read books to give my brain a break, you know, escape into a NICE world. I like to laugh when I read books, think like a teenager, and most importantly judge the characters without being a snob really.

This book is for readers who really enjoy books that make them THINK. If you like books with mature POVs and more intense plots and darker settings, you should definitely try this out. Ignore the rest of the review. However, read on if that doesn't apply to you and you're curious.

For starters, the first 200 or so pages were amazing. I was a bit confused but the pages kept turning and turning! And then it got weird. Really weird. Let me just say the positives and negatives:

 Positives:

-it shows readers that you should always, always have safe sex OTHERWISE you just might have a baby of doom and power (dun dun dun!)

-it's in Vegas.

-there's blackjack

-great cover

-Russ is a cool name

Yeah. That's it.

NEGATIVES:

-EVERY single teenager speaks way, way too old. I really don't care if Jessie was in the 5th percent, TEENAGERS DO NOT SPEAK LIKE THIS! And, they were all WAY too serious. It was either sex or life/death. Um, yeah . . . Totally up my alley . . .

-It basically said babies conceived out of lust (or not "true love") are doomed and born to be evil. That's totally incorrect- there are always going to be shining children in bad situations.

-They were focused so much on sex. *bangs head on wall* This is way bad for my teenage image. (And honestly, they ALWAYS called it "making love". NO. NO. NO.)

-Anyone cool (which there weren't many cool people . . .) got killed.

-Stupid ending

-It was a pain to read through. I honestly had issues trying to pick it back up.

-Jessie has so much hubris it disgusted me. This is a quote, "I liked to think I was pretty hot shit . . ." and then she goes in the beginning how she's actually way prettier than Alex but somehow no one notices her and all the guys go after Alex to reasons unbeknownst to Jessie.

A possible answer? You're just ugly.

Also: Jessie goes on about how sweet and innocent she was/is and all the while she is NOT. She's a crazy bitch and she's not even a cool one.

And finally, the last one I can think of off the top of my head (this one really made me annoyed) . . .

Jessie never had a boyfriend before Jimmy. Nothing. She says he was hesitant to make sexual moves on her, but after ONE MONTH of dating, she decides to make the move because she was tired of waiting. Oh, her innocence? Pshhh no such thing. She lures him into the shower (dunno about you, but I don't think any INEXPERIENCED dater would do that . . .) and then "makes love to him". I'm sorry, was that one month I read? I think that counts as "screws" not "makes love". But really, she sounded way to experienced for having no past experience and overall, her character doesn't add up. For her age, at least.

Now, I'm sorry you had to read my rant, but I do thank you for stopping by.

xoxo!

Cassie