Bras & Broomsticks

What if all your wishes could come true? Blink your eyes, drink a fizzing pink potion, and poof! Life is perfect. That's Rachel's situation. Except she's not the one who suddenly has magical powers. Her younger sister is. And as Rachel would tell you, spellbooks are wasted on the young!
Yes, yes, of course world peace and cures for horrible diseases are important. But so is dancing without looking like she's being electrocuted, winning back her best friend, stopping her dad's wedding, and finding a date for Spring Fling.
Rachel's not bewitched. Yet. . . .

There are quite a few books out that cover the story of a young girl suddenly learning she’s a witch and then coming to terms with the effect it has on her life. Basically learning how to control her powers, and sorting out right from wrong and who to trust. BRAS AND BROOMSTICKS takes a different viewpoint – what if you are the only female in your family who is NOT a witch?

Rachel is fourteen and like most teenagers her days are spent worrying about fitting in. These worries are mainly figuring out how to join the cool group, getting a cute boyfriend, wearing the right clothes and completing homework on time. Then comes the day Rachel gets something new to worry about; her mother reveals she is a witch and her younger sister, Miri, show more has just come into her powers. Apparently being a witch is hereditary but it would appear that this power has skipped Rachel completely. Once she gets over her disappointment Rachel starts plotting how to use her goody-two-shoes sister’s powers to her advantage. Miri is not interested until Rachel points out that they can use magic to get rid of their much hated step-mother to be and get their mum and dad back together. Soon Miri is cooking up all sorts of potions and spells, not always going according to plan, which is what tends to happen when you sneak around messing with things you don’t really know about. Gradually through some hilariously magical twists and turns the two girls learn what is really important in life and that it is not always a good idea to force people to be what they wanted them to be.

The characters are well-written; author Sarah Mlynowski obviously remembers her teens. Rachel and Miri act like normal teenagers, they are insecure, think they know it and make some bad decisions, which seem to them to be the right thing to do, in the heat of the moment. Of course most teens don’t have magical powers, but if they did then I really think this could happen.

BRAS AND BROOMSTICKS is the first in the series – I have already read the 3rd one in the series and enjoyed it – and it did not spoil this story for me. show less

The only thing that gets this book two stars is that, rather than sticking to the done-before theme of teenager-suddenly-finds-out-she's-a-witch, Mlynowski switches things up a bit and gives us teenager-suddenly-finds-out-that-her-younger-sister-(and her mother)-is-a-witch.

Why did the magical powers skip Rachel, and go straight to her younger sister, Miri? Her mother explains that it could be because Miri is more mature than her older sister. Rachel demonstrates her lack of maturity throughout the book, making us all glad that she did not, in fact, get magical powers. Not that, in the end, Miri does much better, repeatedly bending to Rachel's ideas of how to use the powers. Predictable catastrophe ensues, with only a hint that Rachel show more has learned any of the predictable lessons about true friendship or family or the like. Maybe that's what the sequels are for, but I don't think that I care enough to read them. show less

Girl is in High School, Girl is not Popular, Girl discovers that she has a way to be popular and...voila! She's popular! I know, i know, we've read way too many books with this storyline, but let me say that this version had a magical twist to it! Can you say Witches and Humor??

I really liked this book! I was not expecting that at all! Not saying that i had doubts about the book (I didn't) i just didn't think that it would appeal to me. This is the first in the series "Magic In Manhattan"- I definetely want to read the others!14 year old Rachel Weinstein is just another girl in High School, going through her Freshman year. Dreaming about being popular and the guy of her heart's desire- Raf, the gorgeous popular boy at her school.

But to show more Rachel, popularity and Raf just seem to be way out of her league... Until Rachel finds out that her mother is a witch and her 12 year old little sister Miri inherits their mother's powers. "Spell books are wasted on the young" Rachel tells herself, if she had her sister's powers she could make herself popular and be among the A-list crowd at her school, not to mention she could make Raf fall in love with her. Wouldn't life be marvelous if she could make that happen?

But her mother warns her and Miri that magic can cause serious damages if not used carefully. Life isn't any better with magic as well. But for Rachel, popularity and Raf would make her life alot better! The question is how does she obtain this if she did not inherit any magical powers from her mother? Rachel then seeks the help of Miri by showing her that she can use her magical powers to not only help her but by helping stop the wedding of their Dad with STB (Step Mother To Be) Jennifer, the woman whom their dad has fallen in love with but does not see just how evil she is when he's not around.

And so begins the comical story of Rachel , juggling High School life, spell supply shopping with Miri, dress fittings and wedding preparations,and being the Cosmic Witness to the spells that Miri conducts.

There were many parts within this book that really made me Laugh Out Loud. I loved the relationship between Rachel and Miri. Its really cute and funny, the older sister seeking the help of the younger sister. Miri is the mature one , while Rachel is the airhead with some smart traits- such as being a math whiz.

Sarah Mlynowski's writing in this book was brilliant!
Fast paced and comical! I loved how she wrote out Rachel's thoughts. I'm sure many teenage girls would enjoy this book! Pick it up for a good laugh! show less

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Being fourteen is hard work--and nobody knows that better than Rache Weinstein. She's got a major crush on the two most popular guys in school, Raf and Mick; she's been dumped by her best friend since preschool, Jewel, and instead has hooked up with not-so-popular Tammy; she's got the rhythm of a baboon and so didn't get to audition for her school's all-important fashion show; she's a quasi B-lister instead of a coveted A-lister; her dad is getting ready to marry the most annoying soon-to-be-stepmother in the world; and now, to top things off, she's found out that her younger sister, Miri, is a witch. Seems mom is a witch, too, her decided to live life without her powers, and Miri's inherited her mom's show more special gift.

Oh, the horror, the unfairness, the indignity! Not only did Miri get the boobs, but now she got the special super powers! Miri, who makes anal retentive, obsessive-compulsive list-makers look like chaos magnets, can now do just about anything she sets her mind to. Things which include, with a little bit of nudging from Rachel, giving her big sister a dancing-is-my-friend spell, getting their dad to break up with STBSM, and banishing pimples from their lives once and for all.

Things don't work out exactly as planned, though, the way things tend to do when you mess with the powers that be. Just when Rachel thinks she's finally got it all--smooth skin, a hunky maybe-boyfriend, a spot in the coolest gig in school, a dad and mom that could be getting back together--things come crashing down.

BRAS & BROOMSTICKS is an absolute riot! I loved this first book in a new series by Sarah Mlynowski. Rachel and Miri make great sisters, the situations Rachel gets herself into are hilarious, and the overall feeling is that life is hard, but sometimes you just have to deal with it. show less

So now that I have a cd player in my car again I decided that it is time to listen to audiobooks to and from work again. I grabbed this at work last Wednesday and decided to give it a listen. I remember my sister reading this when she was in high school and I was curious about it.

Rachel's sister Miri develops magical powers. The girls use Miri's powers to try and break up their dad and his girlfriend, get their parents back together, and propel Rachel to the A-List. The beginning of the book struck me as a lot of fun and funny and I thought the narrator did a phenomenal job with all of the different characters voices, especially Miri and Rachel. However there was a point where Rachel got a little bit too selfish for me and I did have a show more hard time with them trying to screw up the wedding, which I'm willing to admit might have something to do with my own wedding being a week away. Funny with a very strong message, but I haven't decided if I will give the next book in the series a try yet. show less

So now that I have a cd player in my car again I decided that it is time to listen to audiobooks to and from work again. I grabbed this at work last Wednesday and decided to give it a listen. I remember my sister reading this when she was in high school and I was curious about it.

Rachel's sister Miri develops magical powers. The girls use Miri's powers to try and break up their dad and his girlfriend, get their parents back together, and propel Rachel to the A-List. The beginning of the book struck me as a lot of fun and funny and I thought the narrator did a phenomenal job with all of the different characters voices, especially Miri and Rachel. However there was a point where Rachel got a little bit too selfish for me and I did have a show more hard time with them trying to screw up the wedding, which I'm willing to admit might have something to do with my own wedding being a week away. Funny with a very strong message, but I haven't decided if I will give the next book in the series a try yet. show less