Book Review of The Witches by Roald Dahl

There are 3 main characters in this story. The boy is very brave. The grandmother is intelligent. And the grand high witch is evil.

The boy's mother and father die, so he lives with his grandmother who knows a lot about witches. They lived in a hotel called Hotel Magnificent. The grandmother brought his grandson two mices. He named them Mary and William. The boy brings them to the RSPCC room. He teaches them to walk tight rope. The RSPCC woman comes in with the manager. He asks if they would like a cup of tea. They say yes. Once the manager goes they start scratching under their hair. Then, the boy realizes they are all witches. One of them locks up the door with chains. They all take off their wigs and shoes and masks. The grand high witch talks about Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse Maker. It turns children into mice. Then a witch smelled the boy. They grabbed him, they made him open his mouth, the shoved mouse-maker in his mouth. He turned into a mouse! He and Bruno who had also been turned into a mouse went to his grandmother for help. The grandmother got a sock and some yarn. She lowered him to the grand high witch's balcony. He walks slowly into the room. What will he do in her room? Will he get caught? Will he stay a mouse forever?

I like the scary bits. My favorite part is when the boy turns into a mouse and finds his grandma. This part is scary because I can imagine the boy being transformed into a mouse and that would be a strange thing to see.

I want to learn more about what happened to Bruno when he was a mouse. Bruno is interesting, because he eats a lot. I think Roald left it a mystery, because the story is focused on the boy and not Bruno.

This story made me feel scared. There were scary parts like when they smelled the boy behind the screen. I can imagine how horrified the boy was of what the witches could do to him.

It made me think about how scary the witches are in the story. "Don't give up even if you're a mouse." is what I learned from The Witches.

I would recommend this book to my friend J, because she likes Roald Dahl's Books. He makes an unrealistic story seem real. He's descriptive.
　
9/13/2009