Already the author of successful “chick lit” titles like Milkrun, Fishbowl, and Monkey Business, Sarah Mlynowksi tries her hand at the booming business of writing for teenage girls with Bras & Broomsticks. The results are breezy, funny and just a little poignant, with an acute rendition of teenage preoccupations like popularity, pimples, bra size, school dances, and complicated family dynamics. Mlynowski’s adult novels have been praised as outstanding among the many books about single 20-somethings. Similarly, Bras & Broomsticks offers a fresh twist on chick lit for teenagers. Our heroine, Rachel Weinstein, is not a witch — but her mother and little sister Miri are. Her mother has chosen not to practice magic; Miri, however, is younger, newly aware of her powers, and highly suggestible. So the sisters turn their attention to preventing their father’s wedding to Jennifer, their Soon To Be Step-Monster (STB for short). At the same time, Rachel convinces Miri to help her out in her bid to join the high-school A‑list, reclaim her best friend Jewel, and snag the boy of her dreams. Naturally, all does not go as planned. Rachel, who is not only witty, self-deprecating, well-intentioned, and brilliant at math, but also given to selfishness and prioritizing the wrong things, learns some important lessons about true friends, true love, and the limits of getting what you want.
When Rachel learns about her family’s magical powers, she quips, “Mom, you know you’re Jewish, right? I don’t think there’s such a thing as a Jewish witch.” But being Jewish is not central to the story. (There’s even a scene where Rachel eats lobster with her Jewish STB’s family.) Yet this offhand Judaism can be considered a merit in itself for Jewish teenagers able to identify themselves with the heroine in a thoroughly mainstream novel. Although there is a romantic plotline, the content of the novel is tame, entirely appropriate for a twelve-year-old. All in all, Bras & Broomsticks is fast-paced, entertaining reading that teenage girls, ages 12 – 15, are sure to enjoy.
