Frogs & French Kisses [Hardcover]

After I had finished reading the first book in this series, Bras & Broomsticks (Bras & Broomsticks Trilogy), I was sure that it couldn't get much better. Fortunately for me and everyone else reading the books, it does indeed get even better! FROGS & FRENCH KISSES is the continuation of the story of two sisters, Miri and Rachel, one who is a witch and one who isn't. Since the one with the powers is the younger sister, it makes for a fine story of sibling love, rivalry, and flying tricycles.

When Bras & Broomsticks (Bras & Broomsticks Trilogy) ended, Rachel was upset over blowing her chance with the love of her life, Raf. After standing him up to instead attend her father's wedding, she's ready for Miri to try another love spell. The spell works, but as is the case with most of Miri's spells, has a few unexpected side-effects. It turns out that the glove that was used to make Raf fall in love with Rachel didn't actually belong to Raf, but his older rother, Will. Rachel now has the adoring, lovable, great-kissing boyfriend she's always wanted--except he just happens to be the wrong brother. Rachel vows to turn Will free from the spell as soon as Prom is over. After all, she deserves to attend one school dance with a guy who professes his undying love towards her.

Before she can get to Prom, though, Rachel has other things to worry about. Like that fact that Miri is trying to save everyone and everything on Earth, including whales, the homeless, orphans in Africa, and cows intended for the slaughterhouse. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that the cows she tries to rescue end up in the high-school gymnasium--the same place where the Prom was to be held. If you add in their mother's sudden addiction to magic, they've got quite a problem on their hands. Their mother, formally a non-practicing witch, has decided to jump back into the dating pool. Unfortunately, she's went a little overboard on how to do that, magically gaining a new wardrobe, highlighted roots, glamorous nails, and too many suitors to count.

As Rachel tries to think up a way to save the Prom (which somehow turns out to involve a flat-screen television that will only play The Sound of Music and a Corvette that switches colors with a tricycle), Miri and Rachel both realize that messing with magic is serious business. Can the Prom be saved? More importantly, can their mother be saved before she totally goes off the magical deep end? Can Miri learn that using magic for good is one thing, but that trying to save the world single-handedly is another? Will Rachel figure out what she needs to do about Will, and about Raf?

FROGS & FRENCH KISSES is the perfect follow-up to Bras & Broomsticks (Bras & Broomsticks Trilogy), and I can't wait for the next book in the series. It's great to watch Rachel and Miri interact and learn that using magic has serious consequences. The dialogue is funny, the characters all well-rounded and true-to-life, and the situations these sisters find themselves in are hilarious. A great read!

In Bras & Broomsticks, readers met Rachel, a high schooler who led a pretty average life - until she learned that her mother and her little sister Miri are witches and she is not.

Though Rachel has finally been permitted to hang out while Miri trains - as long as she wears a (very unfashionable helmet) when they go flying - she tends to be more of a hinderance than a help. It seems that wherever Rachel goes, trouble follows. Nevertheless, she sticks out her chin, grins, and tries again. And again. She might not be a witch, but she has a power all her own: determination.

If Bras & Broomsticks was funny, then Frogs & French Kisses is hilarious. Stir together the silliness of Bewitched and the hijinks of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, add the sassiness of a modern-day New Yorker and a sprinkling of sibling rivalry, and you've got a magical series.

The magic continues in the fun and sassy second installment of the Bras and Broomsticks Trilogy. This is a fun, light-hearted book with a Jewish protagonist named Rachel, who is a bit jealous that her sister Miri, and her mother are witches with magical powers. The novel begins on a nighttime flight during spring break in the dark, country sky. When Miri finds some soon-to-be slaughtered cows, she sends them to safety--in this case--Rachel's high school gym. Damages are high and the upcoming prom threatened.
But the prom problem is just the beginning. Mom and Miri start acting more like witches gone wild than their usual level headed selves. Mom creates a new wardrobe, complete with cleavage. Dating fills her calendar, with no time left for family. Miri's quest to save the world make her studies suffer. And of course, that all-important love spell goes predictably wrong. It's up to Rachel to impose some limits. She learns that nothing important ever comes easily.
Although Miri's "Save the World List" makes a great magical tikkun olam list, references to Judaism remain strictly sidebar, limited to flashbacks. The first-person narrative is fast-paced and smart. Subplots are predictable, but the surprise ending will make readers wish they could wiggle their noses to conjure up the forthcoming conclusion.
For ages 12 and up.
Reviewed by Sarah Aronson

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