Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

Iain Rob Wright is not a new-to-me author. I've read several of his books, and he's never disappointed. I've had my eye on the Cursed Manuscripts for a while, but have only now gotten around to reading any of them.

Witch is the first of 10 books (with possibly more coming), and from what I can see, despite the name of the series, it is a stand-alone book, so it will be interesting to see if these ten books are tied into each other at some point.

In Witch, we meet Ashley and Jude, besties since they were wee ones. One of the problems with the book itself is that even though the kids are placed at about 14 years of age, sometimes they come across as older, sometimes younger. Ashley could be an independent young woman, if it weren't for Jude, who's kind of a wuss, never standing up for himself, never getting angry, which makes him a prime target for bullies. And that's just how the book starts. End of summer is approaching, school year about to start, and Ashley and Jude are on the run from a pack of bullies. They run into the woods to escape their tormentors, stumble across this run-down, abandoned farmhouse, and upon exploring the inside, discover a naked woman chained to the floor. Only, there are no shackles on the chains; instead, the chains have been passed directly through the woman's hands and feet. They report it to the proper authorities, the police investigate, only to find the farmhouse, but no woman, which makes Ashley and Jude look like liars. They return, only to find the woman still chained to the floor. Are the police covering up something here, or is something more sinister at play? Ashley and Jude are determined to get to the bottom of things so they can prove to everyone they were telling the truth.

With Witch, Wright creates a compelling story, but there are a few things working against it. Initially, once you start reading, you might get the impression that this is a YA novel, but you quickly learn the subject matter teeters into too-dark-for-kids territory. It flips back and forth throughout, and it can't seem to decide which one it wants to be. Second, Jude and Richie (one of the local bullies) appear to have an obsession with Ashley's big-for-her-age boobs, and they're referenced constantly throughout. This feels like a nod to Richard Laymon, who appears to have a T&A (tits and ass) obsession in his books, and anybody who knows me knows I am not a fan of Laymon's books. I'm not a prude, but the way it's presented in his books feels juvenile, and you get that feel here as well. Wright also touches on a number of themes here, but they aren't explored to the extent they could be because of the length of the book: magic, the bonds of friendship, sexual awakening, bullying, abuse, and coming of age, to name a few. If it wasn't for the shadow of Laymon looming over this book, this could've been a solid 4-star read, but as it stands now, 3.5/5.