THE REBEL WITCH

Poor Suzie. An apprentice witch to Madame Mengo in Chicago, she's caught up in the struggle between the evil forces of Prof. Sinistrari, recently elected Grand Necromancer, and the opposing good of her mentor. Suzie's new to the game: she can turn a newt into a hamster or cure an alcoholic dog but she doesn't know all the spells and chants that come with experience, and nothing she does can turn the tepid convolutions of this plot into more than passable entertainment. Kids will like her magical talents and lucky breaks--she hides out in a circus, visits the witch world Veneficon, and eats a lot of buttered popcorn--but the series of menaces pursuing her is too extended: all those banshees, trolls, and werewolves leave one with a feeling of dÉjá vu. In the end, she recovers the precious Book, restores the balance of forces, and consumes three boxes of popcorn--but the story needs salt.