[REVIEW] Sabrina the Teenage Witch #7
Oct. 2nd, 2024 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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booknookTitle: (Sabrina the Teenage Witch #7:) All You Need Is A Love Spell
Author: Randi Reisfeld
Genre: Teen, Fantasy, TV
NOTE: Please forgive the VERY late posting on this! I came to check my dates (have been thinking I missed something along the way, and sure enough have!) - and found out that I was supposed to have posted back on the second! My sincerest apologies! Not sure how I missed that from my schedule, but better late than never and again, please humbly forgive the very tardiness!
REVIEW:
It seems almost to be a rule that books based off of movies and/or TV shows are never as good as their predecessors, and vice versa. I have tried many, many books based off of TV shows in the past, and almost always find myself extremely dissatisfied, often not even finishing the book. I have attempted stories that just came up shallow (Saved by the Bell comes to mind), stories whose authors tried to heap themselves so much in verbose tones meant to impress the reader that the meaning was hard to find (X-Men and certain Buffy the Vampire Slayer tales), and stories that could not even keep the characters' powers true to the characters off of which they were based (Charmed, where the sisters' powers were completely confused). I am equally as much NOT a fan of movies based off of comics -- whereas I loved the original Generation X movie, I HATE the newer X-Men films. (I warn you now: Do NOT get me started.)
One would think honestly, with as many times as I've tried books based off of TV (and vice versa) and been so sorely disappointed, that I would have stopped trying a long time ago. Yet there's still something about the idea of getting more actually published works of our favorite characters that keeps the fanfic writer, and reader, in me avidly interested. I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch when it aired back on TV when I was about the same age as the titular character. But I never tuned in for Sabrina. I enjoyed her Scientist Aunt Zelda, but it was, of course, the talking cat that kept me tuning in week after week. Salem was one of the few characters who could grab, and hold in his little, black paws, our entire families' interest.
But there was never enough Salem! I've enjoyed playing with the character quite a bit, both in fan fiction and role play, but he's one of those rare characters for which my thirst can never quite seem to get quenched. I used to have a NUMBER of Salem books, but they seem to be amongst the many belongings I've lost in the last several moves during covid, before, and after. I found, when looking for Halloweeny books to possibly review for the Bookathon, that I still had two Sabrina books left -- and ended up grabbing the Valentine's Day one by mistake. LOL
I was delighted to find the book a smooth and easy read. I've been going through a lot lately, and my brain is often stomped on after work, with the desire to think about anything about the furthest thing from what I'd actually like to do. This book was like comfort food to me! I found myself even reading in my breaks in between work, and it's been YEARS since I last did that! I hated to put it down and devoured the book in four days (with a VERY BUSY schedule)!
There was very little Salem in the read. (I'm delighted to say that my other Sabrina book already proves to have more of him in it, though it's by a different set of authors so it remains to be seen if it will be equal to this book. :) ) The book did focus almost entirely on Sabrina, who despite being the series star, was never my favorite. Looking again at the character now, however, through this book and the eyes of an older, married woman, I can honestly say, for the first time, that I appreciate how hard it was for Sabrina with her parents, and with keeping her morales in today's (or rather the late 1990s) society. Few teenagers have such high morales, and many would have simply jumped on the new athlete star's bandwagon.
Of course, I knew who that star was the moment he and his mother were introduced. The father took a little deducing, especially as mythology varies a bit in that regard. However, all in all, I think the author handled that particular "royal" family great, and I can definitely appreciate the nods to two other series favorites from that same time period!
Even more so, I can appreciate the fact that, unlike many teenagers or even people period not only in media but in reality, Sabrina stayed true to Harvey. She chased loyally after Harvey throughout most of the series, and if Nate had not stepped back from the show, I rather think Josh may never have become such a leading character. It's refreshing to see someone who knew who she wanted from the start and stayed true to him throughout everything that was thrown at them. Scott and Jean (X-Men), Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), even Slater and Jessie (Saved by the Bell, have nothing on these two!
In short, this book was exactly what I needed during my current hectic lifestyle. It really was like sitting down for a comforting, fireside chat with blankets, hot chocolate, and an old friend, exactly what my heart, soul, and mind needed during this time!
I'll be keeping an eye out for more Sabrina books in the future, and more from this author too!
Author: Randi Reisfeld
Genre: Teen, Fantasy, TV
NOTE: Please forgive the VERY late posting on this! I came to check my dates (have been thinking I missed something along the way, and sure enough have!) - and found out that I was supposed to have posted back on the second! My sincerest apologies! Not sure how I missed that from my schedule, but better late than never and again, please humbly forgive the very tardiness!
REVIEW:
It seems almost to be a rule that books based off of movies and/or TV shows are never as good as their predecessors, and vice versa. I have tried many, many books based off of TV shows in the past, and almost always find myself extremely dissatisfied, often not even finishing the book. I have attempted stories that just came up shallow (Saved by the Bell comes to mind), stories whose authors tried to heap themselves so much in verbose tones meant to impress the reader that the meaning was hard to find (X-Men and certain Buffy the Vampire Slayer tales), and stories that could not even keep the characters' powers true to the characters off of which they were based (Charmed, where the sisters' powers were completely confused). I am equally as much NOT a fan of movies based off of comics -- whereas I loved the original Generation X movie, I HATE the newer X-Men films. (I warn you now: Do NOT get me started.)
One would think honestly, with as many times as I've tried books based off of TV (and vice versa) and been so sorely disappointed, that I would have stopped trying a long time ago. Yet there's still something about the idea of getting more actually published works of our favorite characters that keeps the fanfic writer, and reader, in me avidly interested. I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch when it aired back on TV when I was about the same age as the titular character. But I never tuned in for Sabrina. I enjoyed her Scientist Aunt Zelda, but it was, of course, the talking cat that kept me tuning in week after week. Salem was one of the few characters who could grab, and hold in his little, black paws, our entire families' interest.
But there was never enough Salem! I've enjoyed playing with the character quite a bit, both in fan fiction and role play, but he's one of those rare characters for which my thirst can never quite seem to get quenched. I used to have a NUMBER of Salem books, but they seem to be amongst the many belongings I've lost in the last several moves during covid, before, and after. I found, when looking for Halloweeny books to possibly review for the Bookathon, that I still had two Sabrina books left -- and ended up grabbing the Valentine's Day one by mistake. LOL
I was delighted to find the book a smooth and easy read. I've been going through a lot lately, and my brain is often stomped on after work, with the desire to think about anything about the furthest thing from what I'd actually like to do. This book was like comfort food to me! I found myself even reading in my breaks in between work, and it's been YEARS since I last did that! I hated to put it down and devoured the book in four days (with a VERY BUSY schedule)!
There was very little Salem in the read. (I'm delighted to say that my other Sabrina book already proves to have more of him in it, though it's by a different set of authors so it remains to be seen if it will be equal to this book. :) ) The book did focus almost entirely on Sabrina, who despite being the series star, was never my favorite. Looking again at the character now, however, through this book and the eyes of an older, married woman, I can honestly say, for the first time, that I appreciate how hard it was for Sabrina with her parents, and with keeping her morales in today's (or rather the late 1990s) society. Few teenagers have such high morales, and many would have simply jumped on the new athlete star's bandwagon.
Of course, I knew who that star was the moment he and his mother were introduced. The father took a little deducing, especially as mythology varies a bit in that regard. However, all in all, I think the author handled that particular "royal" family great, and I can definitely appreciate the nods to two other series favorites from that same time period!
Even more so, I can appreciate the fact that, unlike many teenagers or even people period not only in media but in reality, Sabrina stayed true to Harvey. She chased loyally after Harvey throughout most of the series, and if Nate had not stepped back from the show, I rather think Josh may never have become such a leading character. It's refreshing to see someone who knew who she wanted from the start and stayed true to him throughout everything that was thrown at them. Scott and Jean (X-Men), Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), even Slater and Jessie (Saved by the Bell, have nothing on these two!
In short, this book was exactly what I needed during my current hectic lifestyle. It really was like sitting down for a comforting, fireside chat with blankets, hot chocolate, and an old friend, exactly what my heart, soul, and mind needed during this time!
I'll be keeping an eye out for more Sabrina books in the future, and more from this author too!
no subject
Date: 2024-10-10 09:24 am (UTC)I agree with you that most of them are poor representations of the wonderful series' they come from. I wonder if the writers were truly familiar with the canon and if they were real fans, or just in it for a paycheck. I can probably guess. I am reading a Charmed book right now and it's pretty iffy on characterization, but I will save my thoughts on it for my book nook review (it's late too so you're not the only one who has missed a deadline, no worries! lol)
I loved Harvey and Sabrina but I agree Salem was the one to watch. I also loved the aunts. Hilda made me laugh so much with her antics.
Anyway, great review of this book. I may have to read this one soon.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-11 03:12 am (UTC)It actually took growing up and finding my own hubby before I could really appreciate all Harvey and Sabrina went through. Back when the show was on, most of their moments were just distractions from Salem. :) But then they put Josh in there, and I SO wanted Harvey back! LOL
The one Charmed I tried to read very quickly pissed me off, tbh. I have NO idea which one it was, but they couldn't even get their powers right! That's just pure lazy, sloppy writing! I honestly don't understand why there are so many authors getting paid good money to write characters they barely know. I saw this in Charmed back then, and am seeing it far too often in certain comic book series these days. My husband's a big Star Wars fan, and he absolutely HATES what they've done with the cannon there. I myself was very griped at an X-Men issue recently (actually from last year, but it just came into my possession recently) where they completely messed up a pivotal first meeting. I often feel like we fanfic writers put more care and consideration into our stories than the paid authors do!
I've read both good BtVS and Angel and bad. The last Spike book I tried to read ended up being well worth the journey, but took me over a year to push through. Hubby just gave me a new Spike book as one of my anniversary presents this year. I just finally got a chance to start it, and am happy to report almost 50 pages in and DEFINITELY agreeing. Hoping to get it completed in time to make it my final review for this lovely celebration. *fingers crossed!*
Looking forward to your Charmed review, and THRILLED there are others doing such books for this! :)
no subject
Date: 2024-10-10 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-11 03:05 am (UTC)I've also got at least one Salem somewhere, but haven't been able to find it yet.
Very glad the review reached a fellow fan! :)