Circle of Three: So Mote It Be by Isobel Bird

Kate Morgan, a 16-year-old, popular basketball player, is assigned a term paper on the witch trials of the 17th century.  Amongst the pile of books she checks out of the library, she finds an actual spellbook.  Skeptical at first, she decides to try a love spell to attract the football-playing senior of her dreams.  When the spell goes haywire -- earning her the attentions of every guy in school and the ire of all their girlfriends -- she begins wishing that magic wasn't real after all.

Out of desperation, she discovers who checked out the spellbook before her, revealing two unlikely allies -- science whiz Annie Crandall and punk rocker Cooper Rivers.  As they work together to undo Kate's spell, Kate finds herself questioning everything about her world and is faced with a choice -- to leave magic behind completely, or to pursue this new path and see where it leads.

This book is a solid introduction to a wonderful series.  Admittedly, on its own it has its flaws -- a lot of the secondary characters feel like stereotypical "high school students".  However, the injection of Wicca and magic spices it up enough to keep the reader interested.  By the end of the book, we se all three girls make small but cruicial steps towards growth and self-discovery that make the rest of the series worth reading.

Circle of Three is unique in that it's probably the most realistic series we'll review here.  Isobel Bird wrote the books specifically to show the real world of Wicca.  And while some of the books dip into the more explicitly supernatural (book 3 Second Sight, book 5 In the Dreaming, book 11 The House of Winter), it basically takes place wholly in the real world and showcases actual Wiccan practices.

Sadly, the series is out of print.  However, the fansite Enter The Circle has a good rundown of all of your purchase options on their "Buy the Books" page.  And you can read an excerpt on the HarperCollins website.

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