User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
**3.5-stars rounded up**Babysitting comes with a lot of responsibility and thus, it's a task that should never be taken lightly.
As a Sitter, you're literally accountable for maintaining the health and wellness of the little ones left in your care.
But did you know that some Sitters are responsible for even more than that? Such as, protecting the entire Earth from evil, for example?
It's true, but when Esme Pearl formed her Babysitters Club, she didn't know that either.
Unfortunately for Esme, she had to find out the hard way.
Part
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, part
Babysitters Club, this book brings Horror Comedy to a whole new level.
I was giggling to myself throughout the entire story.
Apparently, the author and I share a brain and have a very similar sense of humor.
Esme was such a fun character and although I'll admit, it was predictable, I had a great time reading it nonetheless.
I loved all the pop culture references, the homage to
Buffy, and that fun, light-hearted Teen Horror atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fast and funny Teen Scream.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I look forward to seeing what this author comes up with next!!!
Rating: really liked it
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THE BABYSITTERS COVEN is one of those books that I was hotly anticipating for fall. The tongue-in-cheek title and gorgeous cover made me feel so hopeful that what I was going to get was going to be a cross between my childhood favorite,
The Babysitters Club, with a dash of
The Craft, and a heavy dollop of
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I didn't get that, and maybe part of that is on me for having unrealistically high expectations, but part of that is definitely on the book.
First, even though this book is set in high school, it felt so immature it almost feels like a middle grade novel. There was also an element of being "out of touch." I never felt like I was reading about a bunch of teenagers. It felt like reading about a mom pretending to be a sanitized version of what they imagined a teenager was like from watching
The Disney Channel all day.
Second, the magic and world-building is a bit of a mess. THE BABYSITTERS COVEN skates that fine line between a book that wants to be taken at face value and an homage/parody. The magic spells seemed cool, but the execution of them was kind of lame. And then the fact that the book basically used the plot of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer to explain how magic worked in this universe felt totally lazy. Don't use other universes that did you one better as a crutch to hold up your own shoddy world-building; it will just remind me that better stories exist out there than yours.
Third, the babysitting club element had a nice hook, but didn't really capture that responsibility and closeness that made the original
Babysitters Club series so compelling. The girls in the original BCC were mature for their age and had a lot of interesting hobbies. The girls in this BCC aren't as invested in their jobs, are actually pretty immature, and engage in girl on girl hate. I was very disappointed. The only thing they have in common with the original BCC is that they're a club of girls who occasionally babysit and they like to create "themed" outfits, like Claudia from the original BCC did, but after a while their "themed" outfits started to seem too precious and contrived and annoying.
I'm pretty disappointed by how much I didn't like this upon finishing. THE BABYSITTERS COVEN was one of my biggest anticipated reads and ended up becoming one of my biggest disappointments. Maybe it would be good for a preteen girl who enjoys the Disney Channel, but it wasn't great for me.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! 2 stars
Rating: really liked it
The Babysitters Coven was my first pick to read during spookathon. I received this book during September, but wanted to save it for that readathon.
In the end, I suffered from major reading slump and this novel ended up being the only book I finished that week.
However, when I look objectively, this book was pretty fun and enjoyable, I just wish I read it when I was in a better place.
This paranormal young adult was pitched as Buffy meets The Babysitters Club. Therefore, I assumed there would be vampires in the book.
Oh, how wrong was I!
Vampires were not part of this story, but the similarity with Buffy is undeniable, and if you decide to give it a try, you will know exactly why.
It had the similar polity with chosen girls to protect the world and their teacher to guide them.
It really reminded me of the season where Buffy was not the only Vampire slayer in the show.
The writing style is really good, with lots of humour. It is really easy to read and I believe that, if I wasn’t in a reading slump, I would finish it in a day or two.
The story is written in first person, from Esme’s POV.
I liked Esme, she was great narrator to follow, and since I enjoyed all the characters, I hope to get even more attached to them in the second installment.
Since I can’t consider this book a master piece, I think good character development and thrive would take this series on another level.
Still, I very much enjoyed The Babysitters Coven and will gladly continue with the series.
Read this and more reviews on my blog https://bookdustmagic.com
Rating: really liked it
A quick note before we dive in: as a reviewer, I strive to be critical yet respectful because I know how much work goes into writing a book. I prescribe to the belief that no two readers read the same book and I make an effort to highlight positives about the book, be clear about the reasons why I didn’t enjeoy it, and to the extent possible share who may enjoy it. I originally was going to rate this 2 stars, but after sorting through my feelings and writing my review I realized I personally cannot recommend this book. I think there have got to be better witchy reads out there without harmful stereotypes and creepy adult behavior for teens to read.
Believe me,
no one is sadder than I am that this book didn't work for me. The cover is absolutely eye-catching and "Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a phrase I didn't know I needed until I heard it. I wanted to love this book and it was one of my most anticipated Fall releases. But unfortunately,
I was left wanting for character development and worldbuilding and found the narrative at times questionable and uncomfortable.
There seems to be this trend which relies heavily on nostalgia but isn't written for the generation who would be most invested. Last year it was
Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel, and sadly this year we have
The Babysitter's Coven. The protagonists are seventeen years old, but honestly, this reads more on the lower-end of YA. Which is fine but
there is a clear disconnect given that the marketing heavily leans on the nostalgia which people in their early-to-mid thirties have for these childhood stories. Ultimately, this was really never a story written for me, but unfortunately, this is not a case of "right book, wrong reader" in my opinion.
If this book were written as-is in the late 90s, I would have loved this when I was thirteen years old. I definitely would qualify this as a solid
lower-YA read (for which I am not the target audience, and that is totally okay) if it weren't for the outdated references that I don't think teenagers in 2019 would relate to and the uncomfortable internalized biases I will touch on later in this review.
In terms of the plot,
not a whole lot happens which made for a rather lackluster read for me because I didn't relate to the characters at all. Not to mention that
The Babysitter's Coven is
heavily inspired by both The Babysitter's Club and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to the point where our narrator Esme talks about how she is left with being the Mary Anne of the group despite having terrible handwriting and referencing the
Buffyverse on multiple occasions.
I never connected with the characters. Cassandra is very much the 'Faith' character to Esme's 'Buffy,' but neither of them felt fully fleshed out to me. The romance, if we can even call it that, felt contrived and forced. I did, however, enjoy Janis and her sense of style (I'm sure she's going to be a more fashionable Willow) and I appreciated that we had three characters of color in the book.
The writing is fast-paced but at times jarring because the narrative literally uses chatspeak like 'LOL,' 'IRL,' and 'IDK' in-text and conversation... and no one talks like that. Especially teens today who tend to use laughing emojis instead of writing 'LOL.' And as much as it pains me to be so critical, the worldbuilding we do get feels like words changed in the Buffyverse lore. The Hellmouth becomes a Portal, Slayers become Sitters, Watchers become Counsel, and The Council becomes the Synod. The main difference is Sitters don't kill, they Return the monsters to the Portal. Oh, and they use magic because ~witches~.
I hate to be so critical of a book, especially a debut. But I would be remiss to not mention how uncomfortable the text reads at times. The first-person narrative voice of a teenager is difficult because let's face it: we can be catty bitches in high school and our thoughts are unfiltered. But Esme is not a nice person and she is someone who I struggled to want to root for when she is the one being bullied. And let's talk about the choice to make
the main bully overweight and have Esme refer to her as both a hippo and fat cow. Of making fun of Stephani for not having an 'e' at the end of her name. It's just unnecessary.
The whole Counsel situation and the circumstances for them actually kind of learning about who they are and their powers is... it's creepy as hell and quite frankly uncalled for. Especially because it goes unchallenged? Like who the HELL would go with an angry person in their car under
"get in the backseat or I will make you" duress (this is a literal quote. I am not making this up.)?
The whole exposition-in-the-creepy-basement thing made me so uncomfortable. The dude basically kidnaps them but it winds up okay apparently because he's supposed to be their paranormal teacher.
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me at all, but it may work for a younger reader who especially loves the 80s and 90s and isn't as into
Buffy as I am. But given some of the cringey and uncomfortable things in text,
I am not really comfortable recommending a young teen to read this book. I really wanted to love this one, and Williams has a lot of quirky ideas that will likely develop in the series as she hones her craft, but I won't be continuing with this series.
Many thanks to Delacorte Press for providing me an electronic ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Quotations taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon final publication.Cover reveal first impressions: (view spoiler)
["Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this funny, action-packed novel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil."
I never knew I needed this book before this moment but THIS IS THE MASHUP CHILDHOOD/TEENAGE FAVES I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! (hide spoiler)] Blog | Twitter | Pinterest
Rating: really liked it
Such a cute book! Esme had a great voice and was really funny! While the story had bits of a “been there done that” sort of story, I still enjoyed it! :)
Rating: really liked it
I'm still on the fence between 2.5 and 3 stars for this one.
I really enjoyed the writing and how easy it was to fly through this one. The characters worked pretty well in the story and I spent a good amount of time laughing at Esme's embarrassing moments.
I think my biggest issue with this one is that I may have overhyped myself for it. I mean,
The Babysitter's Club meets
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is going to catch anyone's attention who grew up in the 90's. Now add witches to the mix and I was basically salivating at the mouth for this one. And I get that this is YA, I really do, but this reads on the lower scale of YA so the younger generation picking it up will probably love it (I know I would if I was between 12-16), but for us older folk over here...not so much. It was a weird reading experience being reminded of the books/TV shows you loved when you were younger and taking that nostalgia and giving it to a younger generation that won't really understand it. Basically,this just shows how old I'm getting 😭😂
Don't get me wrong though, I'm still picking up the next book to see where the story goes!
----------------------------
I am
LIVING for all the witchy books 2019 is bringing our way!
September, please
HURRY THE HELL UP!Blog | Twitter
Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars
Buffy the Vampire Slayers + The Babysitters Club + 2019 humor. This was cute and funny, but I wasn't the right audience.
Concept: ★★★★
Aesthetic: ★★★★
Plot: ★★ 1/2
Age range: the young end of YA
The Babysitters Coven is a FUN read. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and makes the comparison to its own roots as the 2019 lovechild of Buffy and The Babysitters Club.
Esme Pearl is a high school student with a passion for quirky fashion and a love of babysitting. She started a babysitting hotline with her best friend, Janis, and while they mainly use it as an excuse to hang out every day, they do get frequent babysitting requests.
However, things are changing in Esme's world.
When she gets mad, things move. As things continue to happen around her, Esme realizes that maybe she's not going crazy like her mom did.
Enter Cassandra Heaven, the new girl in school. She seems weirdly focused on Esme, and she's
definitely noticed the telekinesis. Oh, and she's obsessed with joining the babysitting club.
What's going on with the babysitters, and why does Esme feel like things are following a pre-destined path? A few spells, demons, and trainings later, and things start to make sense...
The Babysitters Coven made no bones about being filled with tropes, but it was still a rollicking good time.
It's nice to see a YA novel cater to the 13-15 year olds, but due to its younger humor and use of tropes it was not a personal favorite. Unlike many of the YA novels coming out, this one is actually for its young audiences and not the many adults (like me!) who read the genre anyway.
Thank you to Delcorte Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
If you're looking for a positive review, you're not going to find it here, sorry.
So let's start from the beginning. I wasn't the biggest fan of the characters. Esme, our main character was literally judging everyone on every freaking page! It made it extremely annoying for me to read from her perspective. Also it wasn't like she was perfect. First of all she was extremely naive, like way too naive. She made so many stupid mistakes. I rolled my eyes so many times in this book that I lost count. Cassandra was another story. I liked how badass she was, but she was way too impulsive for my liking. Dion, Cassandra's brother, had no personality. I am not joking, he literally had no personality at all. He was introduced and the author was like "Oh, look a cute boy, let's make him the love interest".
I never have a problem with a writing style. At least I never had a problem with the writing style of a book, until now. I hated the acronyms. When I first saw the acronyms I couldn't believe she actually wrote it on the page. Seriously, couldn't she write "as soon as possible", did she have to write "ASAP"?! It's not a text message, it's a book! I also saw "LOL", "WTF" and "IRL" in this book. There may have been more, but I tried to ignore them as much as I could. But obviously, they still pissed me off. Esme's voice was so childish. I'm younger than she is supposed to be and I don't speak like that! There was so much slang in this book and it reads like Kate Williams didn't consult with anyone under 25 about it.
The pop culture referances also bothered me. They were cool and all, but this book only had 90's pop culture. I don't mind pop culture in books, but if you write a book with a teenager main character, in the present day, maybe add some more recent pop culture.
I am so disappointed in this book. I had such faith in this book, but in the end I was let down. It had so much potential, there were so many great elements in this book, but ultimately they were just poorly written.
Rating: really liked it
The Babysitters Coven was cute, funny, and snarky. I loved the first half (5 stars) and liked the second half (3 stars). I feel like The Sitters and how they came to be, all their history, how each was chosen, etc. wasn't explained well enough. I want to know more!
I will happily average both together and give it 4 stars. Can't wait to read the next installment!
Rating: really liked it
This was a challenge to get through. I think that I really wanted more twisty, paranormal mystery and a lot less fluffy, bland babysitting. The main character is 17, but reads like she's 12.
Rating: really liked it
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.
I thought that this was a fun book! I really didn't know too much about the book when I picked it up but I just couldn't seem to look away from that gorgeous cover. Once I picked it up and started reading, I was completely sold. This book did a lot of things really well and made for a very entertaining read. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a try.
Esme and her best friend Janis are members (the only members) of a babysitters club. When they aren't babysitting, they are busy looking for clothes at thrift shops or just putting together that perfect outfit. When a new girl moves to town and wants to join their club, they are shocked. Did I mention that there are some strange things happening to Esme? Let's just say that Esme has a whole lot on her plate and more than a few things to figure out.
I loved Esme. She hasn't had it easy but she is strong and seems to deal with everything pretty well. I loved Esme's sense of humor. I liked the fact that she doesn't always know what to do and is sometimes uncertain as I think anyone in her situation would be. Janis was a pretty amazing best friend as well. She was there when Esme really needed her and seemed to be the best kind of support for her. I did have to warm up to Cassandra a bit. I wasn't sure of her but a big part of that was probably due to the fact that Esme wasn't sure of her either.
This was a really quick read for me. I really liked the humor that was a part of this story. I didn't expect this to be such a funny book but I think that the humor really helped to set the overall tone. I liked the paranormal elements that were a part of the story as well. I thought that everything from the spells to the more action-packed scenes had a nice balance of mystery, humor, and magic. I did feel like the story slowed down a bit in the middle but
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a very well done introduction to a promising series. I look forward to future adventures with Esme and her friends!
I received an advanced copy of this book from Delacorte Press.Initial ThoughtsProbably more like 3.5 stars but I am rounding up for now. I really liked the beginning of the book and I thought that the end was well done but it really dragged in the middle for me. I liked the characters and thought that the humor in the story was very well done. All in all, it was a rather entertaining read.
Rating: really liked it
3/5 ⭐️
Thank you so much to Penguin Random House International for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.This book was a fun read. I wanted to keep it for this end of October because it was giving me all the Halloween vibes, and it delivered. I've read on several reviews people compare it to
Buffy,
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and
The Babysitters Club and I can only agree with all of them. It even mentions them and makes fun of itself because of the similar aspects there were between those fictional worlds.
This book follows Esme Pearl who is a high school student with a genuine love for babysitting. However, one day her world is turned upside down when she gets mad and notices objects floating around her. This marks the beginning of a new adventure for Esme filled with spells, demons and other strange things happening...
As I said, this book was truly a fun read. It helped me relax and made me laugh even though it is more oriented towards young teenagers. It overuses some tropes but it didn't stop me from having a great time in any way at all. I didn't know this was going to be a series and I'm looking forward to the next books! I did felt like the ending was a bit rushed and changed a lot of elements abruptly (view spoiler)
[Dion going from being this super hot guy to a complete dumbass in the span of one chapter? That was super weird. (hide spoiler)]To conclude, a very nice light read with a cool magic system!
That was also my first read for The Fall of the TBR readathon 👻🎃
Rating: really liked it
I don't quite understand this book. Trapped in a sort of hideously vapourwave husk of the 1990's, but set in the glowing haze of the digital age, there's never not an agenda or political ploy of some sort tossed into the witchy salad that is
The Babysitters Coven. The main character uses text-speak, and references to Instagram and smartphones abound. So do references to David Bowie as the Goblin King in
Labyrinth and other 1980s trends that make the plot confusing and ever-ambiguous. Phrases like "intersectional feminist" and talk of males who are stupid enough to "shelve tampons next to tennis balls" make the book more of something to cringe at than to find funny. Buried in here somewhere is a story. I was born in 1998, and I don't know what Kate Williams's childhood was like, but I can guarantee her that no normal adolescent ever talked the way the characters in this bizarre book talk. The peculiar fixation on leftist politics, the outdated slang, the profanity... has the author actually ever been a teenager?
The Babysitters Coven takes place in Kansas, and follows Esme Pearl, a teenage girl who babysits as a side hustle to avoid her father pestering her about getting a job. She has a weird thing against jobs. It's as if this character is contrary and oppositional to everything, and must make everything into a cause or statement... which is sort of what teenagers do, but that doesn't necessarily make for good reading. Esme has a pit bull named Pig (thankfully Williams spares readers a political dive into the prickly territory of the "pittie support" movement), and a best friend named Janis, the black sidekick who conveniently fades into the background when no longer needed in the second half of the story. Why? Well, I suppose that Janis is better off away from the tropish
Twin Peaks-esque redux that plagues Esme and her apparently more interesting new friend Cassandra, who looks like a supermodel, dresses like a hobo and appears to have magical powers. This is all cute and everything, but it's been done to death already.
The humour is exactly what you would expect from a book where the main character, a high school student, uses the phrases "intersectional feminist". Which is to say, it's like watching paint dry in the hall of an arts college. Hopefully the sequel will be better.
Rating: really liked it
I want the time I spent reading this back.
Rating: really liked it
4 Stars for The Babysitters Coven (audiobook) by Kate Williams read by Phoebe Strole.
This was a really fun YA story. It was so creative. It felt like the author must have really enjoyed writing this. I loved the characters and the setting. The magic was unique too.
