Well, the title of this book was great and the end of this book was great. The part in the middle I was kind of thrown off by. Here's the deal -- Jennifer is kind of a jerk. I know Elizabeth is taken and fascinated by her, but still. Then there is the issue of witchcraft. Although in the end we discover it is all a ruse and Jennifer is not a witch it seems pretty real throughout the book. I can't say I would recommend this, but it was very suspenseful and is a well told story.

I remembered reading this as a child, so I thought I'd give my childhood a quick rerun. As I was reading, I found a number of things I remembered and many I'd forgotten, including the ending, which was very satisfying.

On her way to school after lunch one day, fifth-grader Elizabeth chances upon Jennifer, a new classmate, sitting in a tree. She pushes Jennifer's falling-off shoe back onto her foot and a mysterious friendship is born. Jennifer, a self-proclaimed witch, holds a mystique for the very normal Elizabeth, who eagerly agrees to be Jennifer's apprentice witch. Over the course of the next several months, their friendship remains a secret from their classmates, but thrives in spite of that - or, perhaps, because of it.

The ending is a bit of a surprise as Elizabeth gradually realizes that maybe her friend isn't as mysterious as she'd like to be seen. Maybe her friend is just a regular girl like herself, in fact, and they both decide in the end that maybe that's not a bad thing at all.

I love how Elizabeth grows from her awe of Jennifer to the recognition that she is Jennifer's equal. It's a strong validation of the value of friendship in teaching us tremendous lessons. Although witchcraft appears to be a focus of the story, it actually exists merely on the periphery. The real story is about the power of friendship and the driving force of the (sometimes desperate) need to belong and how we don't always make the most perfect choices in our quest for that belonging. The same outcome could have arisen through any number of vehicles, but the choice of taboo witchcraft as the method deepens the sense of the alien and forbidden mystery about Jennifer and only enhances her attraction for Elizabeth.

There's just a breath of race culture in the book, and I can't tell if it's the effect simply of the era in which it was written (1968), or something more. Jennifer is the only black girl in the grade, and her connection to witchcraft hints to me at the influence of slavery and the rituals of African tribal healers. In my mind, I see not the Celtic traditions of Wicca, but the voodoo queens and conjurewomen of the Old South, with their chickenbones, cowrie shells, and colorful headdresses. None of that is ever mentioned, so the connection clearly exists in my own mind, if not Ms. Konigsberg's.

This is a great piece of writing from E.L. Konigsburg, author of one of my other favorites, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler. I might have to reread that one as well.

Fun YA read (that's all I've been able to get in this summer with kids home and new baby!). I also just read another by this author, a Newberry winner written about 50 years later, and I was surprised with some of the similarities.

I am so glad this showed up in my recommendations! I've been thinking - what was that book I read in third grade where that girl becomes friends with that witch and they try to come up with a potion that lets them fly? I'm pretty sure this is it. I loved this book. It was fun. Even when me and my friends decided to come up (unsuccessfully) with a potion that let us fly. From what I remember, there was some lesson to be learned at the end, but that escapes me. The odd girl and the flying ointment - that's what I remember!

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth By: E.L. Konigsburg

5/5 stars

Summary

Elizabeth is the new kid in town, and is trying to fit in. Her and her mother live in an apartment room above a girl in Elizabeth’s class. Elizabeth has noticed that this girl is two faced an unfair. Whenever she is around kids, she is a bully, and thinks she is better than everyone else. Whenever she is around any adult, she acts like a perfect little angel and gets whatever she wants. Elizabeth’s mother wants her to be friends with the girl below them, but Elizabeth is more interested in a strange girl who introduces herself as Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley. Jennifer also tells Elizabeth that she is a witch, and throughout the book, she teaches her spells, and different steps she must take to become a witch such as eating raw eggs for a week. As they chant spells, and trick neighbors into giving them extra candy on halloween, a friendship grows between Jennifer and Elizabeth however, at the very end of the book, Elizabeth realizes something about Jennifer that will leave you baffled and confused.


Opinion

tI gave this book five stars because every moment of the story was unique, captivating, and interesting. I found Jennifer's absurd ways to get what she wanted hilarious, but my very favorite was her extreme, and talented acting skills to get neighbors to give her bucket loads of candy on Halloween. Another reason I like this book, is because without the witchcraft, this would be a perfectly fine realistic fiction book, but with that extra touch of magic, it’s like putting all your toppings on your sundae.

The storyline of this short read is the ultimate of clever; one lonely girl, Elizabeth, befriends another, Jennifer, who offers to apprentice Elizabeth as a witch. Elizabeth, intrigued by this possibility, agrees to do whatever is asked of her, consenting to eat the same food each day for a week, abstaining from another favorite food over Christmas, and collecting her toenail and fingernail clippings for the final spell. A truly fun read!

I first read this book when I was about ten and it was one of my favorites. I decided to reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered. After all, some things do not stand the test of time (like hula hoops, plaid bag pants and "Laugh-In").

JHMWM&ME is better than I remembered.

Elizabeth is ten years old and new to the community. She doesn't have any friends in her school or her apartment building and she is stuck wearing all the hand-me-downs previously owned by her cousins.

On the way to school on the day of her school's Halloween party, she meets Jennifer, a self described witch. The two become sort-of friends and Jennifer decides to make Elizabeth an apprentice witch. This entails some odd-ball, random activities which are quite amusing.

Rereading this novel in 2014, I can't help but be impressed by the fact that this 1960's era book features a friendship between two young people of different races - this must've been huge back in the day. I remember, however, not even registering that this would be an issue when I read it as a child. Goes to show that kids most often don't notice differences like skin colour. Wish we could retain that as we all get older.

Fantastic book!

I really love some of E.L. Konigsburg's books, but this one was really not my favorite...starting with the title. I'm still not sure what the title has to do with the book at all. The story, although possibly intended to be endearing, is more about bullying. It is about a "new girl" who really wants a friend, but doesn't quite fit in, so she makes friends with a girl who claims to be a witch. The witch girl gives the new girl all sorts of orders about what she can and cannot do, eat and not eat, etc. I won't ruin the ending, but I WISH it had ended by the new girl realizing that the witch girl is a bully, and gaining some self-esteem and confidence, and walking her own path and making a new friend who is not a bully. Sadly, this book does describe the way new kids feel, and how when desperate to fit in and have a friend, they will often choose someone who is not the best fit as a friend. I really don't like the message it sends, and if my daughter chose to read this book, I would have a serious conversation about her self-worth and friendship after she finished it.

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth is a reading experience for me that would be akin to finding an old, well worn toy in the attic; I love to reread it, I think the story is wonderful (mostly because of memories), but this is not something that I would necessarily consider passing on immediately to a young reader-- mostly because of how well worn it is. The story suffers slightly from being a product of its generation. Images of children dressed as cigarette boxes for Halloween and the humor of relatives who eat health foods might creak along in these days of smoke-free zones and Whole Foods. Still, the strange friendship that Konigsburg creates in the story is one that can stand against the dated elements easily. The story is best for readers 8-12, especially those who may be a witch, or are strongly considering taking up the profession.

I cannot imagine being as weak a follower as was Elizabeth to Jennifer. I would never have agreed to eating the odd foods that Jennifer insisted on; or I would have agreed to Jennifer, and then simply not carried out the demand. I absolutely hate raw onions, and would not have eaten them, period. So, I probably would have humored Jennifer when I was with her, but when away from her, carried on eating or doing whatever I wanted to or thought best. But I was glad that Elizabeth and Jennifer's friendship finally ended up on a more equal foundation.

This story has received much condemnation in reviews, I reread it to see how painful it was….
I did register the same level of disturbing issues others have noted. It seemed like a time capsule of a book that still has important small spells to cast.

I read this as a 50 year old plus children’s book that has charms and addresses the peculiarities of friendship and maturing.

It is a very short book where the main character finds a more authentic self.

I KNOW I read this book LAST YEAR and even wrote a review, but now all record of it is gone, gone, gone like the mastodon!