THE THIRTEEN is very different from any other witch story I've read. The witches of this book are very real and very, very evil. I immediately identified the antagonists because they literally gave themselves away. The witches of this book have no morals, they only want to serve the darkness. When Paula comes into town, the witches see an opportunity to hurt her in one of the worst ways possible.

In the beginning Paula is actually a bit of a disappointment as a main character in some ways. She is overshadowed by the witches' personalities and actions when I wanted to find a strong, protective woman. Paula is not careful with her child and ignores the witches until she can no longer brush them away. Her daughter, Rowan, does not ignore the witches though. The adults wonder at the weird happenings while the children are very aware.

I found THE THIRTEEN to be filled with amazing antagonists and a strong heroine in Rowan. The events in this book are fairly fast-paced, especially the portions with those evil witches and unpredictable. If you enjoy witch books, THE THIRTEEN is one you won't want to miss!