Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel by A.W. Jantha

Happy Halloween my fellow spooktacular bookworms!

My husband and I were perusing the book store while we were wasting time before going to see Hocus Pocus in theaters recently, and I stumbled across this gem! I’ve been on a Halloween movie kick all month, but hadn’t really read any Halloween books, so I knew I had to pick this one up and give it a read before my favorite holiday!

The Book:

Book Title: Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel

Book Author: A.W. Jantha

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publishing Date: July 10th, 2018

Publisher: FreeForm

Synopsis: Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on earth to torment Salem for all eternity.

Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don’t quite go as planned, it’s a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches’ latest death-defying scheme.

The Review:

So, part one of this bootastic book began with the novelization of the movie. It was pretty exact, except for a few added pieces to further develop the characters, and to lead up to the sequel. It was worth a read, even though I felt like it missed some of the beloved humor from the movie.

Part two began 25 years later, in 2018. This is where the real magic began to happen for this book. Allison and Max ended up together after that fearful night dealing with the Sanderson sisters, and they had a child name Poppy.

The Dennisons raised Poppy with the rule that they were never to discuss the history of Salem or the Sanderson sisters, and that she was never to go to the Sanderson house. But, being hit with a bit of teenage rebellion on All Hallow’s Eve, during a blood moon no less, Poppy decided to show off to her crush, Isabella, and broke in to the Sanderson house with a Ouija board. Needless to say all hell broke loose, literally.

It was pretty fun getting back in to the world of Hocus Pocus. I loved finding out what happened to Max and Allison, and I loved seeing a few of the original characters back in action fighting the sisters. Even though I felt that the novelization of the movie lacked the humor we all grew up loving, I felt that it was here in the sequel.

The sequel kept up with the times of 2018 by adding in cell phones and up to date lingo. It also added more humor and adventure to the beloved story most of us grew up loving each Halloween, and it added new friendships and lessons. I adored the lgbt characters added in to the mix, and really loved the enemies to friends trope that was thrown in. It was a fast, festive read that put me in the mood to greet my trick or treaters later! 3.5 stars.