posted on 28 Dec 2018

Veronica Twitch: Double Bubble Girl Band Trouble by Erica-Jane Waters

This first book in the series about Veronica Twitch, the Fabulous Witch, and her two best friends, Figgy and Pru will enthral young girls who are interested in fashion - which I guess is the very audience the small publisher, Wacky Bee, is aiming for.

The three young witches live in Witch City ( there is a handy map provided at the beginning of the book) where attendance at school ends at the age of twelve, because all children use spells to speed up their learning. This means that they can have a carefree time with their three Chihuahua familiars and work on ‘Twitch’ magazine which is dedicated to features and gossip about fashion and music. Their fierce enthusiasm for putting together the magazine fizzes from the first page of the story where we meet them chatting whilst devouring delicious Cherry Charm Sparkle Smoothies in the Cauldron Cafe.

They are suitably thrilled when Veronica reveals that she has arranged to do an interview with the famous band Double-Bubble. But Belinda Bullfrog, who is the editor of a rival magazine, ‘NosyToad’ overhears their conversation and the scene seems set for some fierce competition. Meanwhile they set off via the Broom -Tube to meet the band members at Raven Heights, a part of town which sounds rather like Glastonbury:

‘The cobbled streets twisted and turned, up and up and up, climbing past dimly lit coffee shops, record stores playing mysterious music and lots of very cool and kooky- looking clothes shops. There were buskers playing instruments on the cobbles, their upturned witches’ hats full of coins’.

The plot thickens as the inevitable bad magic from Belinda Bullfrog seems to thwart the promised news scoop and so the girls have to find a way to undo it. Part of this involves buying some trendy rain hats which are all the rage in Raven Heights and seem to have special powers. They spend time enjoying some scrumptious chocolate drinks in the Black Rainbow Cafe and then follow a trail to the intimidating House of Crows and help to undo a serious spell that has transformed them into birds along with the Double Bubble band members.

This story is clearly tapping into the ongoing interest in all things magic that was fuelled by the Harry Potter series of books and films. This has a much lighter feel and I liked the overall packaging of this little book with lively illustrations on almost every page using a restricted palette of purples and greys - very pretty. I would imagine that many readers might be inspired to try writing some similar stories, and maybe even try their hand at producing a magazine like 'Twitch’. Any story that can do this gets full marks from me.

 

Karen Argent

December 2018