Harvey's a real dog! (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: A Dog's Life - Cathy East Dubowski)

Member Name: AmyAmy

Product:	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: A Dog's Life - Cathy East Dubowski
Date:	06/07/08 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: enjoyable, gripping, strong characters

Disadvantages: Not everybody's cup of tea!

Sabrina, played by actress Melissa Joan Hart, is a teenage witch living in the mortal realm in America, initially with her two Aunts; Hilda and Zelda, and her pet cat Salem (whom was once a warlock sentenced to 100 years as a house pet for attempted world domination). Now, she attends Westbridge High with her friends Valerie and Harvey.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a hit TV series in the 90s, with a total of eight series aired. Although it is no longer in production, it is still popular. Each episode takes us on a fascinating journey into the young witch's life, where we see her attempt to cope with being both a witch and a teenager at the same time; a task that seems terrifying!

Sabrina attempted to make brownies the mortal way, following her Grandmother's recipe. Whilst she was hunting for the correct ingredients, Harvey came over with the neighbours' dog, McDougal. In a hurry to hang out with her friend, Sabrina went to zap the ingredients together in the bowl in order to speed up the baking process, but the spell ricochet, and hit Harvey and the dog.

Harvey and McDougal changed bodies and Sabrina must work out first how to explain the phenomenon to her former boyfriend in the dog body, and keep the exciteful dog from creating havoc whilst in Harvey's body. All the meanwhile she must try and work out how to switch them back. But can she do it alone, without her Aunts finding out?

There are over fifty books in the Sabrina The Teenage Witch collection, written by a variety of authors. These books take us through Sabrina's life, from when she was sixteen and first discovered she was a witch, right up until her years at college. We meet a lot of her friends along the way, joining them on some magical adventures.

This book was written by Cathy East Dubowski, an American author from North Carolina, and is number 9 in the collection. There are many other titles to choose from, some written by the same author, including Fortune Cookie Fox and Eight Spells A Week.

Each of the Sabrina books are different, and this one is one of my favourites. The characters are strong and filled with life. The plot is unlike any of the television episodes, and the ending is not predictable, unlike some of the other books! I actually had to use my brain whilst reading in order to work out how Sabrina was going to solve her problem - and I never did manage to solve it until it was revealed!

I would definitely recommend this book. Although it is aimed at children, it makes a fantastic light read, especially for those who enjoy magic and the 'impossible'! It has an R.R.P of £3.99, though you can buy it for as little as 1p (p&p not included) from Amazon.co.uk! It's a definite bargain and worth a read!

© Amy 2008

Quick facts
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Author: Cathy East Dubowski
Pages: 147
Published: 2000
Genre: childrens' fiction

Summary: A great read