Southern Fried Wiccan

Southern Fried Wiccan

by S.P. Sipal

Priscilla is a military brat who has been bounced around from one base to another all around the world. When her father takes a one year tour at a base where family is prohibited, Cilla and her mother move to her mother's home town. As they are finding their footing, and Cilla's mother is finding her place in the business world, Cilla and her younger brother often must stay with her grandmother, who is Southern Baptist through and through.

Once moved in, Cilla starts school at The Pond, a local charter school located in the remnants of a mini-mall. There, Cilla meets all the stereotypes she's grown to know in every school she's ever attended. The one difference is that one person knows Cilla's true beliefs and is more than willing to help her find her true calling.

In all her travels, no religion has ever spoken to Cilla like Wiccan, and no person has ever truly understood that more than Val. Val leads her to Mother Faith and the rest of her coven where Cilla finally feels like she's found her place. 

Unfortunately, her very religious grandmother is sure to not take it well when she finds out her granddaughter is a witch.

Final thoughts: While not anti-Christian, this is definitely PRO-Wiccan. There is page after page of people talking about this religion, almost preaching it, to the point of boredom. There really isn't a plot at all, more like a series of events in between all the teaching and preaching. I wanted to like Cilla and wanted to care, but it just became too much. In addition, Cilla kept saying and thinking "Like", as if she was a Valley Girl in the 80's. I work with teens every day; they don't say that anymore. Most of the teen dialogue was just poorly written. I may recommend this for teens trying to figure out their own beliefs, but only for the Wiccan aspect, not for the story itself. Note: while wands and spells are discussed, there is no magic portrayed in this book.

Rating: 2/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.