As freaking usual, I went to bed last night around 11:00 PM or so and found myself wide awake around 1:30 AM. So, realizing going back to sleep was a pointless endeavor, “I continued my reread of L.J. Smith’s Secret Circle.”
This first volume of the story follows Cassie Blake, a teenage girl uprooted from sunny California and plopped down in the mysterious town of New Salem. Feeling like an outsider, Cassie soon finds herself drawn to a captivating group of students who seem to hold all the power in the school. This is the “Secret Circle,” and they’re not your average high school clique.
As Cassie is lured into their world, she discovers the Circle’s shocking secret: they’re a coven of witches, wielding magic that’s been passed down for generations. Thrilled to be part of something special, Cassie undergoes an initiation ceremony and begins to explore her newfound abilities. But being a witch comes with a hefty price tag.
While friendship blossoms within the Circle with her newfound adopted sister and friends, trouble simmers when Cassie falls for Adam, the boyfriend of the group’s temporary leader, Diana Meade. This love triangle becomes a brewing storm, threatening to unleash dangerous consequences. As Cassie delves deeper into the Circle’s history, she uncovers dark secrets and realizes the true cost of wielding magic.
I think this book resonates with me, despite its simplistic writing style at times because Cassie is such a relatable protagonist, yearning for connection and a sense of belonging, in many ways like me. The other characters, with their hidden agendas and internal struggles, add complexity to the narrative and are more or less a part of the package in any book of this type that’s on the market.
But this one? For me? Books one through three speak to me in a way few books do without leaving me feeling drained after. So, “No,” I don’t feel guilty about reading this series again for what must be at least, “The tenth time!”