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    Witch Week
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    Witch Week
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    Witch Week
    Ebook267 pages3 hours

    Witch Week

    By Diana Wynne Jones

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Glorious new rejacket of a Diana Wynne Jones favourite, featuring Chrestomanci – now a book with extra bits!

    SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS IS A WITCH

    When the note, written in ordinary ballpoint, turns up in the homework books Mr Crossley is marking, he is very upset. For this is Larwood House, a school for witch-orphans, where witchcraft is utterly forbidden. And yet magic keeps breaking out all over the place – like measles!

    The last thing they need is a visit from the Divisional Inquisitor. If only Chrestomanci could come and sort out all the trouble.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateDec 6, 2012
    ISBN9780007369102
    Author

    Diana Wynne Jones

    DIANA WYNNE JONES was born in August 1934 in London, where she had a chaotic and unsettled childhood against the background of World War II. The family moved around a lot, finally settling in rural Essex. As children, Diana and her two sisters were deprived of a good, steady supply of books by a father, ‘who could beat Scrooge in a meanness contest’. So, armed with a vivid imagination and an insatiable quest for good books to read, she decided that she would have to write them herself.

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    Reviews for Witch Week

    4/5

    526 ratings22 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is a school story about magic; but not a la Hogwarts. In fact, the story takes place on a parallel Earth where magic is forbidden (as opposed to merely hidden). Though this is part of the Chrestomanci series (book 5), we don't see the connection until around the final quarter of the book.At the beginning of Witch Week, a supernaturally powerful time of the year between Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes day, an anonymous note claiming that one of the class members is a witch lands on a teacher's desk. In an universe where magic practitioners are persecuted and burned at the stake, this leads to a fraught week where accusations and untamed magic abound, until the Chrestomanci is called in to save the day.Although I found the ambience of this book (a school story with cliques and bullies and lots of people keeping secrets) very different from other Chrestomanci books, it had me laughing out aloud at points. Mind you, each book in the series does have a different 'flavour'.A very nice read, up to Ms Wynne Jones's usual high standards.Recommended.
    • 3/5
      It was interesting but it's not my favorite of the Chrestomanica series.
    • 4/5
      One of the very best of Jones' books that I have read. Nominally part of the Chrestomanci series, but Chrestomanci's appearance, while crucial, is brief. The introductory chapter, with each student introduced by their journal entries, is a bravura opening. I want to go back and read the first chapter again, to better connect the characters with their first entries.The grimness of the school made it hard for me to decide whether I should identify more with Charles Morgan, Nan Pilgrim, or Brian Wentworth. On the other hand, some parts were so hilarious that I laughed out loud.
    • 3/5
      This book is much more juvenile-seeming that others in this series... in an alternate world, witchcraft is still a crime punished by burning, and when a student at a boarding school makes an anonymous accusation that "someone in the class is a witch" the consequences could be dire... finally, the mysterious enchanter known as Chrestomanci has to save the day in a dramatic deus-ex-machina...
      Does a good job with making all of it's rather unappealing characters (the kids at the boarding school are a quite diverse bunch of brats, dorks, bullies and etc...) gradually appear deserving of understanding and sympathy... a bit of a heavy-handed message of tolerance...
    • 2/5
      Meh...weakest so far of the books in this series. Thin plot, characters generally unpleasant.
    • 5/5
      Possibly my favorite in the series. Much less Chrestomanci but I really like the characters particularly Nan Pilgrim. I also find the state of things at the beginning of the book in regards to the class hierarchy pretty accurate to my own 6th grade experience (I was unfortunately Nan in that instance) which I've always found interesting.
    • 4/5
      Interesting how not all the main characters are admirable, especially Charles. The bullying culture and dissection of it is both realistic and horrible -- feels dated now but ... I like how varies the kids' responses to being magic are, and its' great to read about an older complex version of the multiverse idea. I read this as a kid, I'm almost positive, but remember none of it so maybe not?
    • 3/5
      Okay... I became a bit impatient but eventually everything worked out and it was pleasant enough.
    • 5/5
      In un mondo in cui le streghe sono perseguitate dagli inquisitori un biglietto che comunica che qualcuno nella classe 6B è una strega può creare scalpore, soprattutto se episodi di magia sembrano avvenire.I protagonisti della 6B si dividono, come in tutte le classi di tutte le scuole, in quelli popolari e non, in quelli bravi solo davanti ad adulti e in quelli che detestano il posto in cui si trovano e vorrebbero solo fuggire via.Qualcuno scoprirà di essere una strega, ma solo grazie al provvidenziale intervento di Chrestomanci molti problemi verranno sistemati.---In a world where witches are persecuted by inquisitors a note telling that someone in 6B is a witch may create uproar, particularly if something magic happens.The protagonists in 6B are, as in every classes of every school, in the most popular and the least popular ones, in the ones kind only in front of adults and in the ones hating the place where they live and wanting only to fly away.Someone will discover to be a witch, but only thanks to Chrestomanci some issues will be worked out.
    • 4/5
      An interesting story written about an alternative world where magic is rife, but it is illegal to be a witch - in fact you will be burned at the stake.

      The story starts in class when a teacher finds a note in a pile of books he is marking. It reads "Someone in this class is a witch." What happens next turns the whole boarding school, and ultimatly two worlds, upsidedown.
    • 4/5
      Witch Week was one of the first Chrestomanci books to focus on a female protagonist’s point of view, and is much the better for that. It feels as though Diana Wynne Jones has included a lot of autobiographical details in her treatment of Nan, an orphan witch girl who is at Larwood House, a boarding school in Hertfordshire. Nan is much more of a rounded character than the young male leads in previous books in the sequence, Christopher, Cat and Conrad, who sometimes come across as pleasant wimps or clueless actors in the unfolding story. True, Nan is largely pleasant and clueless in her attempt to discover the truth about the magic that is happening around her, but I get more of a sense of a real person here than the ciphers that are Christopher, Cat and Conrad.The premise of the story is that Nan and her classmates exist in a world where witchcraft is punishable by death but where magic undeniably exists. When it is suggested that someone in class 2Y is a witch, the ball starts rolling that inevitably leads to a literal witch-hunt, in which not only Nan but several other students are put under suspicion. Add to that the tedium of lessons, the institutionalised bullying and the sense of control slipping away, and we have the inevitable conflicts that drive the story forward towards its denouement and final resolution. Along the way we have Jones’ confident handling of themes, personalities and atmosphere that makes her writing such a joy to read, not to mention the puns and other examples of humour that contrast with the fear that grips the heart when witch-burnings are mentioned.I'm going to mention the dreaded P word, only because so many readers seem to latch on to the very superficial similarities with the Harry Potter books. But Larwood House is the antithesis of Hogwarts (as well as significantly predating the appearance of Rowling's books): magic is discouraged rather than encouraged. Interestingly, there is the similar-sounding and equally unpleasant Lowood House in Jane Eyre which many commentators point to as an influence, but I've also found out that there is a Larwood School, founded in 1971, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire (the county where Witch Week is set); however, this is a modern building, purpose-built for primary schoolchildren with special needs, and though witches could be said to have special needs in this Series 12 world I don't think that was what Jones had in mind.I loved the final resolution, though I was still left with the logical confusion familiar from other DWJ books. If that world split off from our own world (12B is it?) in 1605 when Parliament was blown up, why was it necessary to merge the two worlds again when it wasn't necessary to do the same with others in Series 12?Finally, I see that in North American books the pupils are in class 6B, which makes them sixth grade and therefore 11 years old, going on 12. In the UK the pupils are in 2Y which, in the old system before the National Curriculum was established, would have made them 12 going on 13. The UK version seems to me to render the children more believable--more mature, more bolshie, less awkward than if they had just moved from primary school.
    • 4/5
      Set in a split-off of the Chrestomanci universe that shouldn't exist, one where witches are both commonplace and hideously persecuted. Since this sets off one of my major squicks, I don't love it as much as I do the rest of the series – this is probably only about the third time I've read it. But, as it's DWJ, it's still pretty damn good.
    • 4/5
      Yet another winner from Diana Wynne Jones. Sly humour, children *and* adults making their way through a complex world and growing from the experience, and bunny-hopping broomsticks/hoes/mops. Heaps of fun.
    • 5/5
      In a world where witches are hunted and publicly executed, to have one of your students slip a note in with their homework accusing someone in the class of being a witch puts you in a difficult position. When one of Mr Crossley's second year class does just that, he chooses to ignore it, but the consequences of doing so are very different from what he imagines. When the class discovers that the accusation has been made, fingers are pointed in every direction, and much clouding of the issue is attempted, as many of them have something in their background to put them at risk. Having one student go missing, with pointed accusations about the witch makes things much much worse. Mixes tropes from standard fantasy with boarding school horror stories for what could be described as a 'jolly romp'. Following the various students as they discover things about themselves is a fascinating journey.The world building is delightful, and appears effortless. The characterisation similarly, although there are few particularly likeable characters (almost all of them children) and many of them seem more caricatures than well rounded individuals. The writing flows beautifully, and the plot is well paced. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      In an only slightly parallel world things have gone terribly wrong and witches are being burned. In the week before Halloween some of the children at Larwood House, a boarding school run by the government for witch orphans, have discovered that they are witches. A very funny and truthful look at boarding schools and other obnoxious institutions. Chrestomanci is called in and then the fun really begins! How can this world be fixed and what will be the cost?
    • 4/5
      This is a good YA novel with well rounded characters, plenty of fantasy, hypocrisy, intolerance, the discovery of talents and a very satisfying ending.
    • 4/5
      "Someone in this class is a witch" - a simple note left on a teacher's desk, but in a world where witches are still burned, in a school full of witch orphans... match, meet tinder. Magic spells, sulky brooms, disappearing students and trouble galore. Being a student might not be much fun, but it makes for a great read!Before Harry Potter there was Chrestomanci, and I'm still a fan. Rereading was a pleasant trip down memory lane.
    • 5/5
      A funny, quick read as entertaining for adults as it is for children. With the obvious similarities in the boarding school setting and the children's discovery of their magical powers, Harry Potter comparisons abound. While they are similar on several levels (and I love both), the tone and feeling of this novel is all its own. Jones is obviously adept at building worlds and populating them with interesting magical details, but even more impressive is her characterization of the kids of 6B - the main characters of Nan and Charles seem especially real, and even with the more minor characters like Nirupam and Estelle, Jones is precise enough with her dialogue and descriptions to make them seem like real people. She clearly has a profound understanding of how children of this age relate to one another, and what's more, she doesn't write down to her readers or make her characters any less complex simply because they are young. The beginning may be somewhat slow, but the second half is just a delight. Recommended for anyone who likes boarding school books, quality YA fantasy, or laughing.
    • 4/5
      It's been a while since I've read this book, but I remember appreciating how real the children's fear seemed to be. I also remember how those who had any association with a witch, were in a separate class, and were treated poorly. It's a story of good vs evil, but the what was considered to be evil, was actually good! Remembering all this makes me want to read it again!
    • 3/5
      Someone in 6B is a witch! Witches are routinely captured and burned, so this is big news if true. But it does explain some bizarre happenings around the school.Fun, light, fairly comical with not-too-deep characters who nevertheless never quite become stereotypes. Jones has a fresh voice (even 25 years later) and a light touch writing about outcasts and teens without ever drowning in despair or angst, but maintaining the real struggles of identity and independence.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this, but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the other Chrestomanci books. Parts of it were really hilarious, but by and large I found most of the characters rather unlikeable, and the ending was sort of disappointing. It was a clever story, but it just fell flat.
    • 5/5
      This was such a great read!