This book really deserves three stars instead of four, but I'm giving it an extra star because that's probably what I would have done when I was a teenager (which is the target audience anyways). 
 I remember reading this is my high school library and being so worried someone would catch me reading it that I attempted various ways to hide the cover of the book while reading. That makes me laugh now, but back then I suppose it mattered to me that someone might catch me reading a witchy book. In actuality, I doubt anyone would have really cared, but adolescents are way too self-centered to realize that. I was also more religious at the time, and I felt that reading this book was a bit taboo, which probably only added to my interest in the subject matter and made the story that much more exciting. It's interesting to me now to try and figure out how my tastes have changed since then and to figure out what I loved so much about this book in the first place. 
 The Sweep series is like watching a TV show for teenagers: serviceable writing, exciting storyline, stereotypical teenage characters, and cliche magical moments. But still. Beyond all that it is really, really fun to read, and short to boot. The books also end on a cliffhanger, so it's hard to read just one without going on to the next.