The Circle Girls: Once Upon A Witch, by Anya Novikov

I recently read, The Circle Girls: Once Upon A Witch, by Anya Novikov and thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Don’t worry; the book isn’t really about witchcraft! I came across this book browsing the Pelican Book Group website after having read another one of their books, Homeschooling Can Be Murder (previously reviewed). 

The author wrote this book in a very cool and interesting way. The main character, Delli, short for Deliverance, is a present day girl living a life that parallels that of another girl, also named Deliverance, from the 1692 Salem witch trials. Delli has dreams about this other Deliverance and blames it on the fact that she’s currently studying about the witch trials. That alone might have put her over the edge were it not for her strong relationship with Christ. 

The book has a positive message about how it’s okay to be different from everyone else, no matter what other people may think. This aspect is shown mostly through her parents who are devout Christians even though they act like hippies from the sixties. There’s also a strong theme about how spreading rumors and lying can hurt people worse than actual being physically abused. 

I honestly didn’t pick up on the aspect that the two girls had parallel lives until the end of the book. It’s very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone (preferably female) over the age of thirteen. I’m way past thirteen and I loved it!