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Not to be confused with  Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment,  which is stringently assertive in it’s psychoanalytical study of tales, fairy tales, and other folklore. There are some interesting comparisons to the two books. Heidi Julavits has created a book in three parts. all three parts are twisted and mixed together in alternating chapters. It is the story of Mary Veal (aka: Miriam) who is famous for being a girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, molested, and released two months later. Cast in and around Boston, the book carries literal and symbolic references to Witch Trials and the hysteria that surrounded them. The initial segment and many following segments are titled “What might have happened”. The second is notes from Dr. Hammer, her psychiatrist who interviews her and attempts to help her after she returns. The third is 14 years later, when Mary returns home for the funeral of her mother and tries to put all the pieces back together and find a sign tha...

Julie Kenner – Carpe Demon WOW. What a phenomenal book. Reading it was like looking through a portal in the Joss Whedon world to a time where Buffy is 35 or so, and has two kids, a minivan, and Lawyer husband. After finishing a book and being unprepared with a new one, i walked into  Murder by the Book , a local bookstore, and decided to peruse their selections. i was attracted by the title and the back cover description, but was unsure if i would like the writing style as that is often times hit or miss and rarely in between. one page into the book i walked over to the counter and bought it. ONE PAGE and i was already addicted. Kate is just your ordinary housewife, juggling kids, church responsibilities, and housework, but juggling them like a center ring circus act pro. She has been in retirement for 14 years and living in a quiet California town. Widowed and remarried, she has a 14 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. Raised by the Vatican after being pulled from an orphanage...