The Hidden Witch, Paperback/Molly Knox Ostertag

Aster and his family are adjusting to his unconventional talent for witchery; unlike the other boys in his family, he isn't a shapeshifter. He's taking classes with his grandmother and helping to keep an eye on his great-uncle whose corrupted magic wreaked havoc on the family. Meanwhile, Aster's friend from the non-magical part of town, Charlie, is having problems of her own -- a curse has tried to attach itself to her. She runs to Aster and escapes it, but now the friends must find the source of the curse before more people -- normal and magical alike -- get hurt. About the Author: Molly Knox Ostertag is the author of The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch. She grew up in the forests of Upstate New York, where she spent the first half of her childhood reading about fantastical adventures and the second half acting them out with foam swords at a live-action role-playing group. Molly is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts, where she studied cartooning and illustration. She currently lives in Southern California.