Years ago, when my demonspawn were little, I picked up a slim (but delightful & comprehensive) volume titled Spellcraft: A Primer for the Young Magician. It's still the best book I've seen for young Pagans, and considering that I've been actively pursuing excellent books on Wicca for 15 years, that's saying a lot.

So when I saw a new book by Lilith McLelland (and no, I don't just like the author for her name *grin*), of course I had to get a copy. Out of the Shadows: Myths and Truths of Modern Wicca is - by far! - the best book on what Wicca is...and, possibly more importantly, what it isn't.

I love the author's honest & friendly (but no-nonsense!) tone throughout the book. I love how much truth it contains, without being the least bit sugar-coated or "politically (or Paganly) correct." Normally when I get a new non-fiction book, I whip out my highlighter and start marking out bits that I find particularly important or memorable or otherwise meriting my future attention. I couldn't do that with this book, or I would have highlighted at least 3/4 of it.

It's written for Wiccans, but I would also recommend it to any non-Pagan who was looking for information on Wicca. (Along with "So Your Kid's A Witch" - pardon me, that's the in-joke name for Scott Cunningham's The Truth About Witchcraft Today, the gentle-but-informative book we give our parents when they freak out about our religion.)

I really, really wish I'd had this book when I was new to Wicca - although thankfully, I did not commit any of the 3 cardinal mistakes that new Wiccans often make. (My granny didn't teach me about any faith. The only Books of Shadows I've owned were hand-written by me, unless you count the last half of Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham. And I have never been, nor wanted to be, a shaman.)

Hopefully she'll write more books. I'm far more interested in what this intelligent, practical, and responsible Wiccan author has to say than 95% of the rest of the Pagan authors out there.