Review: OMG...Am I a Witch? by Talia Aikens-Nunez

OMG...Am I a Witch?
by Talia Aikens-Nunez, Alicja Ignaczak (Illustrator)
Release Date: October 31st, 2013
2013 Pinwheel Books
Ebook Edition; 150 Pages
ISBN: 978-0985424855
ASIN: B00FQI9SZO
Genre: Fiction / Children's
Source: Review copy from Publisher/TLC Book Tours

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
April Appleton is so annoyed at her older brother that she searches the Internet for a spell to turn him into a dog. When the spell works, April realizes she has more powers than she ever dreamed of! Now she has to figure out how to turn him back to normal before her parents find out. She has little time, but with the help of her friends, Grace and Eve, she finds a book of magic that will hopefully reverse the spell. Will it work and will April's newfound magic save the day?

My Thoughts
OMG...Am I a Witch? is a really cute chapter book about a young girl who accidentally turns her older brother into a dog when she gets annoyed with him.  Being a rather curious girl, she had found a book of spells online, and when she got angry, she decided to use the spell on her brother, and presto! annoying brother turns into a rather cute little dog.  The question is now, how did she do it?  And how will she get him turned back before her mother finds out and she gets into really big trouble?

I thought the premise to this rather sweet novel to be quite fun and it was certainly entertaining.  I can think of quite a few times when I would have gladly turned my sisters into something else, and dogs were probably not at the top of the list either.  Sorry, girls!!!  And it probably would have taken me a lot longer than April to feel remorse over the situation as well.  I like the way modern technology was incorporated into the novel as it made it seem more realistic and I am sure young readers will be able to relate, both to the situation as well as to the approach taken by the characters.  

April and Grace race around the clock trying to discover a solution before their parents discover their duplicity, and I like how April spends some time thinking about her brother and all of the nice things he had done for her in the past.  I did wonder how long that would last once he was turned back though, as I couldn't imagine he would have been happy spending 24 hours as a dog.  Without spoiling anything, I was glad to see some things don't change.  

Verdict

OMG...Am I a Witch is quite short, it took me less than half an hour to read, and is sprinkled with adorable pictures and illustrations. It will appeal to younger readers around the grade 2-5 range, and all readers will definitely love the pictures of Austin as a pup, so adorable!!!  I am curious as to whether this book is the first in a series as it seems like it has the potential to be.  I certainly hope so as it was quite enjoyable and fun.