Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Being fourteen is hard work--and nobody knows that better than Rache Weinstein. She's got a major crush on the two most popular guys in school, Raf and Mick; she's been dumped by her best friend since preschool, Jewel, and instead has hooked up with not-so-popular Tammy; she's got the rhythm of a baboon and so didn't get to audition for her school's all-important fashion show; she's a quasi B-lister instead of a coveted A-lister; her dad is getting ready to marry the most annoying soon-to-be-stepmother in the world; and now, to top things off, she's found out that her younger sister, Miri, is a witch. Seems mom is a witch, too, her decided to live life without her powers, and Miri's inherited her mom's special gift.

Oh, the horror, the unfairness, the indignity! Not only did Miri get the boobs, but now she got the special super powers! Miri, who makes anal retentive, obsessive-compulsive list-makers look like chaos magnets, can now do just about anything she sets her mind to. Things which include, with a little bit of nudging from Rachel, giving her big sister a dancing-is-my-friend spell, getting their dad to break up with STBSM, and banishing pimples from their lives once and for all.

Things don't work out exactly as planned, though, the way things tend to do when you mess with the powers that be. Just when Rachel thinks she's finally got it all--smooth skin, a hunky maybe-boyfriend, a spot in the coolest gig in school, a dad and mom that could be getting back together--things come crashing down.

BRAS & BROOMSTICKS is an absolute riot! I loved this first book in a new series by Sarah Mlynowski. Rachel and Miri make great sisters, the situations Rachel gets herself into are hilarious, and the overall feeling is that life is hard, but sometimes you just have to deal with it. ( )

Rachel is a freshman at a high school in New York City. Her (former) best friend is busy rehearsing for the big school fashion show, neither of the two boys she has a crush on even know she's alive and now she finds out that her little sister Miri is a witch! Even worse, so is their mom and apparently Rachel hasn't inherited the magic gene.

But there is a bright side -- if Rachel can just convince Miri to practice some of the spells in her new spell book, maybe her life can get better....

I enjoyed this book with it's magical twist on the typical teenage chick lit formula, sort of Jess Jordan (from Girl, 15, Charming but Insane) goes to Hogwarts. Rachel gets herself into some crazy situations, not always due to Miri's magic. One thing that I really liked about her is that she's not just a boy-obsessed girl whose main goal is to be popular. Rachel is also a math whiz (she won a trophy in math competition) and takes accelerated classes. Smart as she is though, she still gets herself into more than enough trouble!

Review by Ms. DuVall

I didn't really like it but it was ok.I would recommed this book to people who like witch craft and like to read something hilarious.I also didn't really like how her sister does magic with her shoes right in the begining chapter.But I would give it a four star rateing because it was good but not amazing like I thought it would. ( )

Bras and Broomsticks started out with 14 year-old Rachel waiting for her friend by the lockers and suddenly.... poof!- her black worn-out boots turns into the green shoes she'd seen at Bloomie's .
Mlynowski automatically grabbed the reader's attention.
With Rachel's new Knowledge on her sister and her mother's magical powers; Rachel tries to convince her 12 year-old sister Miri to help her stop the wedding between her father and her STB (Soon-to-Be) Stepmother and beyond that she convinces her sister to mix up a spell which will her the gift of dancing to get to know her crush; Raf better and with her new dancing skills she became part of the JFK Fashion Show which will automatically put her on the A-List. ( )

Hiukan tylsä. Meinasin lopettaa lukemisen kesken. ( )

The first in the book and it filled me with trepidation as I don't normally read books with witches and things in it. However it shocked me. The book was a quick read and flowed very easily. One of the first YA books that I have read in a long time that was a complete page turner. These 2 girls think that Miri being a witch is the best thing in the world and turn to magic to help them in their every day lives and sometimes (most of the time) the consequences are not what they expect. I can't wait for the next one in this series.
It rated a 4 out of 5. ( )

I’ve read several of Ms. Mlynowski’s chick lit books and ran across this book at the library. Having enjoyed her adult fiction, I decided to give this one a try. Rachel is just like any teenage girl: worried about wearing the latest fashion, crushing on the cute, popular guy in school and trying to maintain her friendships. It’s not like she doesn’t have enough already on her plate when she discovers her younger sister and her mother are both witches.

After getting over the shock (and the disappointment that she’s not a witch), she convinces her sister to use some magic (against their mother’s orders) to help her win over the “in” crowd and break-up her father and soon-to-be step-mother. What Rachel doesn’t realize is, she should be careful what she wishes for because she might just get it.

Although Rachel makes poor choices and uses her sister’s spells for selfish gain, she soon realizes what she thought she wanted isn’t better than what she currently has. Bras & Broomsticks is a light, fun read, however it speaks to an important message: do not take for granted the important people in your life. Also, we sometimes may need a reminder that we cannot force other people to always do or be what we expect of them.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series. ( )

Fun coming of age story with a little bit of magic thrown in to mix things up a little. Normal teen angst, etc. ( )

I've heard a lot about Sarah Mlynowski's chick lit novels. I've even got a couple on my shelf, but I haven't gotten around to reading them quite yet. I recently learned that Mlynowski has been writing a young adult series about witches and magic. I thought it sounded enchanting and made it a point to read the first in the series as soon as possible. I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed; Bras & Broomsticks is a wonderful start to what I'm sure will be a thoroughly entertaining series.

Mlynowski's writing is very smooth and it's really easy to fall into its rhythm. I picked up Bras & Broomsticks intending to just give it a try and ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting! The characters are well-written; Rachel and Miri act like normal teenagers. Rachel is unsure of herself and insecure. Though she makes some bad decisions throughout the course of the novel (and let's face it, what teenager doesn't?), it's clear that she has a good heart. She wants what is best for herself and her family - though this sometimes leads to amusing consequences. Miri isn't supposed to use her magic, but Rachel tries to convice her to. I thought I would be annoyed by this, but I really wasn't; it seemed like what a normal teenager would do.

The Magic in Manhattan series was originally supposed to be a trilogy, but Mlynowski recentely released the fourth book in the series. Here's hoping she keeps going - I can't wait to find out what happens to Rachel next! I feel like this is a great book for adults and teens alike.

From S. Krishna's Books ( )

This book is amazing. Have you ever wished that you had superpowers? But in secret? This has everything about the life of a girl, and her mother's/younger sister's special gifts. ( )

Bras and Broomsticks is a good book; it is deff. made for youth though. it goes through a series of events that are really interesting. So, overall- good book for youth(middle school?) girl readers

Rachel is in grade nine at a New York City high school. She's at school when she suddenly has a pair of sneakers she wanted on her feet. She doesn't understand, but later that day she finds out that her little sister Miri is a witch! Even worse, so is their mom but Rachel hasn't inherited the magic gene.
Rachel spends a lot of time in the novel trying to get Miri to practice some of the magic spells in her book, which she does, with unintended results.

I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't able to get into this series. I bought the next two, thinking I'd love it, but just could NOT stand to finish even book one. I'm certain there will be people at school who will love them.

In the words of another reviewer: Rachel is not just a boy-obsessed girl whose main goal is to be popular. Rachel is also a math whiz (she won a trophy in math competition) and takes accelerated classes. Smart as she is though, she still gets herself into more than enough trouble! ( )

This was one of the first book that I read and actually read all the way through and was really into! Once I finished I emmideatily bought and read the second one, but after I finished that one, I had to wait a month for the third book to come out!! It was the longest month ever!! I just now found out about the other book in the series, "Parties & Potions", I'm buying it tomorrow. So for any teen who just can't find the right book to read, I sudjest the "All About Racheal" series.

I found the writing style to be very juvenile, but maybe, taking the characters into consideration, that was the point?!
I wanted to give up on this one, but since it was a series (I think I was hoping for a Harry Potter-type magical universe) I decided to continue and did enjoy the next three books a wee bit more. ( )

The only thing that gets this book two stars that, rather than sticking to the done-before theme of teenager-suddenly-finds-out-she's-a-witch, Mlynowski switches things up a bit and gives us teenager-suddenly-finds-out-that-her-younger-sister-(and her mother)-is-a-witch.

Why did the magical powers skip Rachel, and go straight to her younger sister, Miri? Her mother explains that it could be because Miri is more mature than her older sister. Rachel demonstrates her lack of maturity throughout the book, making us all glad that she did not, in fact, get magical powers. Not that, in the end, Miri does much better, repeatedly bending to Rachel's ideas of how to use the powers. Predictable catastrophe ensues, with only a hint that Rachel has learned any of the predictable lessons about true friendship or family or the like. Maybe that's what the sequels are for, but I don't think that I care enough to read them. ( )

A nice little teen novel about a young girls dealings with her magical powers. Had nice meanings about growing up and dealing with unusual circumstances. I would recomend it to some teen readers, but was not a favorite of mine. ( )

I read this book back to back with the sequel. First, the magic in this book actually plays a much smaller role than I expected and seems less creatively handled than I would have liked. Nonetheless, I thought the trick of narrating the story from the sister of the witch rather than the one with powers was clever. Overall, a decent young adult novel, but not great and no especially interesting narrative voice or plot twists. ( )

Rachel is a freshman at a high school in New York City. Her (former) best friend is busy rehearsing for the big school fashion show, neither of the two boys she has a crush on even know she's alive and now she finds out that her little sister Miri is a witch! Even worse, so is their mom and apparently Rachel hasn't inherited the magic gene.

But there is a bright side -- if Rachel can just convince Miri to practice some of the spells in her new spell book, maybe her life can get better....

I enjoyed this book with it's magical twist on the typical teenage chick lit formula, sort of Jess Jordan (from Girl, 15, Charming but Insane) goes to Hogwarts. Rachel gets herself into some crazy situations, not always due to Miri's magic. One thing that I really liked about her is that she's not just a boy-obsessed girl whose main goal is to be popular. Rachel is also a math whiz (she won a trophy in math competition) and takes accelerated classes. Smart as she is though, she still gets herself into more than enough trouble! ( )

Pretty fun! Read last year for humor, and enjoyed. Definitely magical! Definitely real life! ( )

A delightfully funny coming of age book where Rachel suffers the pangs of adolescence and of her father planning to remarry. When she discovers that her sister, Miri is a witch, she manipulates Miri into trying to stop her father from getting remarried. An enjoyable audiobook. ( )

Hear an interaview with author Sarah Mlynowski on The Book of Life podcast's July 2007 episode at www.jewishbooks.blogspot.com!

This book is cute and I felt a lot of girls could relate to Rachel(maybe not about having a witch for a sister)in her struggle to become popular. I can't wait to read te sequel Frogs & Frenchkissing ( )

Rachel dreams of being A-List popular. After all her best friend Jewel has become popular and seems very happy about it, even if she almost never speaks to Rachel anymore. However, Rachel figures the odds are not good. That is until her younger sister, Miri, discovers she's a witch. Now Rachel is scheming all sorts of things from love spells to potions to get rid of the horrible STB. If only she can get her straight laced, by the book sister to cooperate...

At the start of the book I can't say that I really liked Rachel very much because she was so self-involved. Then, I began to look back at my own teenagehood and realized, I was that self-involved at that age! By the time the middle of the book came I was hoping against hope that Rachel and Miri would get away with their schemes, that Rachel would get the boy of her dreams and that everything would turn out okay. I was almost afraid to keep reading on and find out what happened! But, I'm glad I did as this was a very cute, funny tale. I'm really looking forward to reading the next of the series, Frogs and French Kisses. I'd totally recommend the book for girls middle school and up. ( )

I listened to the audio book of this fun young adult chick lit book and cracked up laughing in the car. Really, Ariadne Meyers sounds just like a teenager and made me smile. A lot.

Rachel is 14 and struggling. She gets "Santa's Little Helper" ( a zit) and can't dance. Then she finds out that her younger sister just discovered that she is a witch. The sis brings a dead lobster back to life. At the supper table. And then Rachel finds out that her mother is a witch, too, who just doesn't use her powers. Oh. My. God. (as Rachel would say)

So Rachel talks her sister into giving her a dance spell so Rachel can join the dancing team for the annual fashion show and finally make it to the A-list. And they conspire to ruin the soon-to-be marriage of her pops and his fiance so they don't have an evil stepmother. And the fun begins. Because while magic is a quick fix, it doesn't work the way they want it to.

This is a fun, quick read that had me smiling the whole time. It's recommended for grades 6-9, but I think I'll buy this series for my high school. I think it will be really popular. ( )

"Living in New York City with her mother and her younger sister, Miri, fourteen-year-old Rachel tries to persuade Miri, who has recently become a witch, to help her become popular at school and to try to stop their divorced father's wedding." ( )