Which Witch?
The Secret of Platform 13
Eva Ibbotson
Macmillan Children's Books 2001
185p pbk $14.95
ISBN: 0-330-48908-9
The first story is entitled Which Witch? I think it is suitable for ages between 10 and 14 because it is imaginative, full of adventure and fantasy. The story is about Arriman the Awful holding a competition to find a witch with the darkest power to marry him. Belladonna (the beautiful white witch) tries her very best to cast dark spells - with an unexpected result. Most of this story was easy to read but the series of events were a bit long. This story has crazy, creative spells and many mysteries.
The second story is entitled The Secret Of Platform 13. I would recommend it for ages 9 to 14 because it is imaginative, adventurous and full of mysteries. The story is about a young prince from another world who is stolen then brought into the normal world and raised by the woman who stole him. From the young prince's land, the most peculiar creatures have a mission - to rescue the long lost prince. This story is easy to read with very few difficult parts. This story will have you guessing to the end.
Justin, aged 14, rural South Australia
Which Witch? and The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson is a fantasy book and is a near copy of The Harry Potter series. However it is still worth reading.
There are two parts to this book. The first part is Which Witch? In this part Arriman the Awful holds a competition in which the witches of Todcaster perform the blackest and most evil magic. The plot then develops as Arrimans rivals perform magic spells and the competition is on, to see which spells are performed and tested to see which are the most powerful.
In the second part The Secret of Platform 13 four people go on a mission to rescue the prince from the Trottle family. The Trottle family had stolen the baby from three nurses who had come through a secret passage way that opened every nine years. There are some interesting and colourful characters in this, like Raymond Trottle, who is a bit like Dudley in Harry Potter fat and snobbish.
Naveen, aged 13, Canberra, ACT
