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Junior
Puffin
paperback £4.99
ISBN: 0-141-31014-6
Reviewed by Stella Barnes
[Armadillo 5.4 Winter 2003]
Pongwiffy, the witch whose smell is •not welcome,ę in other ways has kept fresh throughout her 19 years of existence. This story is fast-moving, packed with colourful characters, and very funny. When Spellovision (TV) comes to Witchway Wood, Pongwiffy is unimpressed. Instead she takes to strumming an old guitar and singing. As others witches become bored with watching the box they join Pongwiffy. Interests in Spellovision and music converge in a Song Contest. Interwoven is a goblin story centred on stock-car racing, and the whole potent mix explodes in a riotous climax.
Delight in words is evident throughout Ŕ puns and riddles, proper names like Macabre, the Scottish witch and Plugugly, the goblin. Satire and parody spike the humour: •Each car was driven by a demented Grotty who didnęt care about anything except going fast. Forget danger, rules, pain, all that stuff. Speed was the thing.ę