A Spell to Wake the Dead

Gr 9 Up–Lesperance’s novel starts off with main characters Mazzy and Nora, along with their friend Elliot, driving to the beach to perform a ritual under the full moon. Mazzy is a rule follower who only likes to use spells from books, while Nora is more adventurous; their current spell comes from a stranger online. While looking for shells for the ritual, Nora discovers a dead body that is missing their teeth and hands. Between hearing voices and having nightmares, Nora insists they keep looking for information. This leads the friends to a secret society and many more murders. While looking for information, Mazzy’s crush on Elliot starts to weigh on her more, and she worries that it could affect the friend group. The story is the perfect mix of mystery and witchcraft. It’s plot-driven, and the atmosphere that Lesperance creates will leave readers with goosebumps—scary without a lot of gore. However, the characters are a little flat, especially minor characters who are hard to keep track of. Even Mazzy and Nora are somewhat cardboard cutouts of best friends. Characters' race is not stated.