Books: The Okay Witch & The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow
Author(s) & Illustrator: Emma Steinkellner
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Audience: Middle School
The Okay Witch is a graphic novel about Moth Hush, a middle schooler who discovers she has magical powers on her 13th birthday, during a particularly tough day at school. When she rushes home to tell her mom, she’s shocked by her mother’s calm reaction. Why isn’t she freaking out?
As Moth learns about her family’s complicated past, tied to the small town of Founder’s Bluff, she challenges the town’s historical traditions, questioning what is really true versus what’s been accepted as “tradition”. In Moth’s pursuit to learn more about her new abilities, she forces her mother to reckon with her past, her strained relationship with her mother, and how she has unconsciously recreated the same painful dynamics with Moth that drove her away from her own mother.
This story is DEEP. It’s about learning your history, reckoning with the past, reevaluating what you’ve been taught. It’s about challenging authority, and doing the hard thing even when it’s uncomfortable.
I cried at the end! As I read, the images from the pages came to life in my mind like a movie. Every action playing out in vivid detail.
The second book, The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow, picks up where the first left off. Moth and her new bestie return to school after winter break. During break, Moth was able to practice magic freely. Now she is forced to hide that part of who she is while at school.
School is just as bad as she remembers. One particular bully has decided to ramp up his daily tormenting of Moth. Moth with her new found magic, decides she’s fed up! With the help of a special amulet, she can be brave, cool, likeable, and quick-witted. She can finally give the bully a taste of his own medicine. After a few uses, she receives a warning that what lies within the amulet has devious and dangerous intentions. The more she uses it, the greater the danger she faces.
Moth’s newfound popularity comes with a price. She’s invited to parties, and her bully has been embarrassed a few times. What’s one more use of the amulet to solidify her new status? But as the demon inside the amulet grows stronger with every use, Moth faces an even bigger threat: how will she protect herself, her family, and her friends when the magic starts to spiral out of control?
This was a fantastic story, especially for young girls entering middle school. It reinforces many lessons from the first story and introduces important new ones. Moth’s journey is about battling self-consciousness, dealing with bullying, and learning self acceptance. She not only finds the courage to confront her tormentor but to also challenge everyone who stood by, forcing them to reckon with their silence and complicity.
I am keeping this series in my back pocket for when my daughter gets ready to enter middle school. It’s the perfect story to initiate conversations about growing up, fitting in, standing up for yourself and others.
Both books can be found on Amazon. Book 1 is currently on sale for $7.48 and book 2 is currently listed for $9.69 (both prices are as of October 20, 2025).
Major Morris 