Sweep
Book one: Book of Shadows
By Cate Tiernan

It is the first day of junior year at high school for Morgan Rowlands when they see the new guy, Cal Blair. Like a chameleon, he infiltrates every click as if he were universal and not pegged. Until it is Friday night and he invites them to a party to celebrate Mabon, a Wiccan holiday. Cal is a witch and introduces them to Wicca. During her first circle, Morgan unwittenly unleashes her sensitivity to magick and suffers a few days of ill effects.

Cal is searching to build a new coven. So, when Bree Warren, her best friend, invites her to Practical Magick, an occult bookstore, she buys some books on the subject. The clerk accuses Morgan of being a ‘blooded’ witch or a direct descendant of the clans. Impossible. Her family goes to church every Sunday. Before two days ago, she’d never even heard of Wicca. Then when her mother, a Catholic, finds her books, they are banned from the house.

Before Morgan can admit to her best friend that she’s attracted to Cal, Bree admits she’s hot for him, too. That settles it. No way can she compete with her in looks or personality. Besides he’s only interested in her because of the energy she exudes.

Book one of Sweep, Book of Shadows is a young adult novel. It is about first love and the background includes Wicca. The text is romantic and full of emotions. Morgan is a young lady between being a child and breaking into her independence. Wicca is a favorite subject of mine. I even remember reading the first book Morgan buys at Practical Magick. I’m just not an expert in it because as I was reading some of the areas, I thought, “I don’t remember this? Is it authentic or introduced for the novel?” Did I like the book? Yes. I could remember feeling these strong emotions when I was a teenager. I hope she will dive deeper into these feelings as the books continue. The only drawback is that I felt not enough happened.