In the third of Ted Naifeh’s graphic novel series about young witch Courtney Crumrin, Courtney is a new student at The Coven School and has trouble fitting in. Her classmates reject her, and her misery is exacerbated by her parents’ complete disinterest in her. She lacks all social skills, and readers will at first delight in rather than pity her self-sabotaging, surly responses to all who speak to her. Courtney’s knowledge of magic is superior to her classmates’. In spite of her tendency to revel in others’ problems, she tries to warn a young boy named Joey about the risks of a spell another boy is putting on him. In classic Courtney style she asks him, “What do you think, kid? Nothing about this idea strikes you as a bit....wacked?” But no one pays any attention until the danger is all too obvious. Courtney must decide whether she wants to help Joey and the other students or seek revenge by denying all knowledge and watching them squirm. Moody black-and-white artwork creates an ominous atmosphere that echoes Courtney’s own internal struggles as well as the danger she and her classmates face. Readers do not need to be familiar with the first two Courtney Crumrin books to find their place in this story. (Ages 9–14)