I image this 1973 Newbery honor book would give youngsters the heebie jeebies and it might take a more mature YA to sift through the overtones of paranormal to the fact that the author is making a strong statement about those who seem to blame others or outside forces for their own character defects.

Jessica is more than a latch key child, she emotionally neglected by a selfish, immature and young mother. Astute in knowing she is not wanted, Jessica suffers dramatically and acts out viciously.

When she discovers an abandoned, weak, feeble, scrawny kitten, she reluctantly nurses him to life. Calling him worm, as he grows, she projects her inner turmoil to the cat and blames worm for her evil, nasty, spiteful deeds.

Believing both young and old are against her, and refusing to accept responsibility for her actions, she grows more and more out of control.

I cannot recommend this book. While the author is a three-time Newbery honor winner, this one doesn't seem to be one of her best.

Yesterday I went to a thrift store and came across this book. I got excited thinking that it could make a great novel. Do not get me wrong, it is a good story; however, I initially expected it to be a supernatural story rather than a psychological one. Throughout the book it is painfully obvious that 12-years old Jessica, severely neglected by her 30-years old mother, has some mental issues. Now, do I condone her for the behavior she has done especially toward poor Worm the cat? Yes and no. Yes, because she is an angry 12-years old who didn't know better. No, because animal abuse is morally wrong. She has never experienced true parental love and is lashing out at anybody, including animals, who cross her path. I loathed yet sympathized with her.

If anybody who struggles with understanding the effects of child abuse, which extends to neglect, I'd tell them to go and read that book. It is NOT a supernatural novel. Seeing the world through the lens of supernatural was Jessica's unhealthy outlet of unpacking all the anger and loneliness.

I am surprised that it's marketed as a horror children's story. All my life I have always loved reading and watching horror stories, and as a teacher I would be more likely to expose my students to that particular genre as well. As for this story, it is not a horror story, and it is not something that I would be comfortable with children reading this story. If I had read this story when I was Jessica's age, it would have caused a lot of unnecessary flashbacks that I was not psychologically prepared to deal with.

July 13, 2013
Although presented with evidence of having read The Witches of Worm when I was eight years old, I couldn't remember a thing about it. When I looked it up online and saw that it was about a cat appearing to "possess" a girl (say what?!) I decided it was time for a reread.

I always liked Zilpha Keatley Snyder's books, especially The Egypt Game, which I've reread every few years since I first devoured it in elementary school. In contrast, when I reread The Witches of Worm a few days ago, so much time had passed between when I last read it and now that I found the differences between my childhood and adult perceptions of the book truly striking. I see now, rereading it as an adult, how many of Snyder's observations about human nature and relationships I missed while I was focusing on the story's creepy mood and occult themes as a kid. (Then again, the fact that the edition I read this time contained a helpful author's note explaining the story's themes might have made me more receptive to the book's deeper meaning.)

For example, I love how the book starts:

"I'm sorry, Jessie Baby," Joy said. Jessica looked up from her magazine and stared at her mother, a point-blank unwavering stare that said something important by not saying anything at all.

As a kid, I don't know how much I appreciated that second sentence. As an adult, the line resonates with my copious experience giving such stares as a teenager and receiving them as an adult. And I love how the short story Jessica writes in order to confuse the school counselor reveals more about her interior world than she (or I as a child reader) imagined.

Essentially, The Witches of Worm is about taking responsibility for one's emotions and actions. I think it's the kind of book that some kids will enjoy for its suggestion of witchcraft (although others may find it slow) and that, with a counselor or book club, could be a valuable lens through which a kid could think about her own life.

Jessica, whose mother Joy is frequently absent, finds herself the unwilling adoptive mother of an ugly kitten named Worm in this third Newbery-Honor book from the prolific Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Embittered by her mother’s neglectful behavior, her abandonment by her childhood friend Brandon, and haunted by dreams in which she is left alone in an endless void, Jessica comes to believe Worm can speak to her, and that he is responsible for the hateful things that she begins to do...

The Witches of Worm is another Snyder title in which the supernatural elements are questionable. Through the third-person narration, the reader is invited to view how Jessica’s rage at her mother and friends has colored her perceptions, and her abusive treatment of Worm is very hard to witness. The author depicts a troubled young girl who blames the object of her abuse for her own behavior, a girl who is her own demon.

Seen in this context, it is difficult to know how to read the exorcism scene towards the end of the book. Is the demon figurative, a colorful description of a psychological state, or is it external to Jessica, an actual supernatural manifestation? The evidence points strongly, but not conclusively to the former. Whatever the truth may be, this was a powerful, and quite disturbing read.

This book scared the bejeezus out of me when I first read it in middle school. It didn't scare me as badly this time (thank goodness; last time I had to sleep with the lights on and locked my cat out of my room for two days), but it still is an incredibly creepy novel. It concerns Jessica, a lonely and angry girl who finds a blind, nearly hairless newborn kitten, and ends up raising it with the help of her catlady neighbor. Although she feels compelled to care for the cat, she finds it gross and creepy, rather than cute, and names it Worm. As Worm grows to adulthood, Jessica becomes convinced that he is a witch's cat and is telling her to do terrible things.
What's most disturbing about it is that Snyder never settles the question of whether there is actually a supernatural element to the story, or if it is all in Jessica's head. Snyder is a masterful storyteller, and there's a lot going on in this book that I missed the first time around.

This is another book with a prickly main character, like The Great Gilly Hopkins or Dicey's Song.

JF Sny

This is a reading level 5.6. It was a read-aloud that I stopped reading to my children because it was too scary. I agree that it is a dark and disturbing book. I would definitely not let my child read it without reading it for discussion on reality and our impact on others.

This is an awesome children's horror story, which is really and truly frightening and psychological. Worm, the possessed cat, makes for both an object of sympathy and a terrifying villain. When the main character finds him, he is so pathetic, that you feel sorry for him, even as the main character is annoyed at all the extra work she has taken on to keep him alive. When he changes, it is a frightening change, the thing that makes it truly eerie is the subtly of it. This is probably the first story I ever read that toed the line between some thing magical and strange happenings, and the first time I, as a reader, questioned the main character's sanity. Snyder's writing really crackles, pulling you into this really riveting, strange, and slightly surreal story. I loved the main character's voice as a child, as it was in many ways very different than anything else I had ever read before. If you know a young reader who is looking for a bit of nightmare fuel, this is the book to recommend. I do remember being honestly and deliciously frightened by this book as a child, so be careful who you give it to.

This book was definitely a strange one! My mom had read it growing up and always wanted me to read it. I'm glad I'm reading it now as an adult and not a middle-schooler because I would have been so confused! I think the concept was really good but the ending fell flat to me. I did like the historical parallels between Jessica (the protagonist) and Ann (from the Salem witch trials.) Basically, Jessica has a cat that speaks to her through her mind. She follows what it suggests which causes her to do some pretty weird or bad things.

I read and reread this book as a child an endless amount of times. It was eerie, I loved it, and judging by reviews and interpretations by others of what this book was really about, the entire novel went way over my head. Haha. I will buy it for nostalgic purposes and see if I still think the cat was really possessed.

I just finished rereading this as an adult and I'm glad I did. I can actually appreciate the book for what it really is, which is not really about a possessed cat. Still think it's a great book!

Kat Mandu says...

Written in 1970, Witches of Worm introduces us to a very different kind of middle-grade. In this short book, Jessica is a twelve-year-old girl who “rescues” a cat she names Worm, only to discover the decision may lead to her own demise.

Maybe people who read this in the seventies wouldn’t have realized that the lead character of Witches of Worm, Jessica, is actually well on her way to becoming a sociopath. Seriously, this girl has some issues. She can lie well and displace the blame just as easily. Not to mention she says some pretty creepy stuff to Worm – threatening to abuse him, to stop feeding him, pinning the blame on him for all her silly, childish pranks. There are several incidences where she’s physically cruel to Worm, and also a mention of how she beats a dog with a stick and her friend Brandon had to stop her. And overall, she’s angry and bitter. If it hadn’t been for her regret at the end, I’d say she was definitely going to lead a very dark life.

However, she’s also very young and doesn’t exactly have the best role model in her life, as her mother is never around and when she is, she tries to be manipulative and emotional.

This story isn’t really about witchcraft or magic, like I originally thought it might be given the title. But it does make you wonder about the different devils in everyone, and how many are able to shove aside the guilt for their mistakes onto someone else. Really, that’s what this book is about. In it, Jessica does a lot of bad things – pull pranks on her paranoid landlord’s wife, shrink her mother’s dress on purpose, shove Brandon’s trumpet out a high window and break it. She then convinces herself that her creepy-looking cat is the culprit behind her evil acts. But really, she’s just messed up. A messed up kid, but messed up nevertheless.

It’s also rather about forgiveness in a way.

I was intrigued by this story and all its weird interactions. I don’t really read stuff written this long ago unless it’s a “classic.” Or at least not kid’s books. So I give it a four because the plot really hooked me.