Once We Were Witches is a story about two sisters, Spel and Egg who have no idea that they’re witches. They grow up in Miss Mouldheel’s School for Wicked Girls when on one day they receive a letter that tells them to run. After escaping the school and finding refuge in a funeral parlour where they work alongside the undertaker, they try to uncover the truth about who they are and who told them to run.

Once We Were Witches is an exciting middle grade fantasy. After a bit of slow start, the story really takes off halfway through when things start to unfold and the adventure really begins. I found the premise to be interesting with unique worldbuilding aspects regarding the Other Ways. The character development of the main character Spel was well-written and makes you root for her.

The beautiful illustrations by Fabi Santiago were a great addition to the story. I grade Once We Were Witches 3.5 stars.

It's been a long time since I last read a middle grade story so I'm not sure I'm the best person to review this.

Ultimately, I found this a bit uneven. I would have enjoyed more clues to connect things ourselves than explanations. I did like the character growth and bond between the sisters. However, Egg seemed quite mean to Spel a lot of the time. I am also not certain that their dialogue sounded like young people? They spoke like kids in old-fashioned stories a lot of the time but perhaps their upbringing is the cause of this.

I'm not sure I would read more of this series, but i think there's enough here to interest its intended audience and there's certainly lots of wild scope for the imagination in the shadow way.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Once We Were Witches is a fantasy Middle Grade story about two sisters on an adventure to uncover secrets and figure out who they are. I found it to be very slow paced and not very engaging. The story didn't pick up until about half-way through and I'm concerned that younger readers will have given up on the book by then. This does not need meet the needs of our libraries, so I will not be purchasing this title.