Max's story is very attention grabbing, so I was seduced into reading it very quickly. I like it that Max is a girl, we have enough boy heros. The book flies by so fast. The experience of Spellbind is thrillingly easy for a child of any age to receive. Bravo! Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this book for children. It is so important to provide this knowledge in such an easily understandable way.

William Mariner - Enneagram teacher and therapist

Dear Clare, I have finished reading the first book. It was FANTASTIC!!! The plot was great and it had an amazing end. I can't wait to read the second book! From Lauren Waring (13)

Dear Clare, Your book is great. I love the pictures and the main characters name. I think people of all ages will read this book because it is funny and has even funnier pictures. From Daniel Waring

My ten year old daughter was one of the first to read Spellbind and really enjoyed it.

Kelly Birch

Clare, totally compelling and brilliant!! I just finished Spellbind. I can't say enough about how wonderful a book it is! My true wish is that it become suggested reading in all the schools and it catch on like wildfire. It is true to you name Clare in pointing out the nature of trance and how easy it is to wake up from them and realize empty, aware love as our true nature.

Solane' Verraine - Satsang and Enneagram teacher and therapist USA

Got the book. Read the first few pages, loved the bird spirits for the enneagram fixations. Owl, swan, chicken, turkey... Dead on. Glad you're already in sequel mindset! I'm totally hooked.

Randall Jay USA

In this Issue of Enneagram Monthly: “Spellbind” is the new book by Clare Cherikoff that delivers exactly what the title promises. It’s an entirely different and delicious approach to the enneagram, one with a lot of sparkle, magic and “umpf.” It’s for audiences of all ages and every bit as informative about human nature, type, NLP and wisdom as the more ponderous and scholarly tomes on the same subjects. It’s disguised as a suspenseful story you can read to your kids or grand kids without fear of anyone nodding off too soon. In an age where Harry Potter captured the imagination of the young, Spellbind combines wholesome fun with a ton of learning that sneaks up on you. An nice gift to anyone who is young, young at heart or just wants to enjoy a guilt-free impish treat.

Clare, I've read Spellbind in a day and a night and love it. Then it was my 11 year old daughters turn - she couldn't put it down either and it sparked a lot of fruitful communication re the bird spells in out family and how to look beyond the mask of pain someone's displaying! Great stuff!!! Narayana Urban-Winterfield UK

I have to congratulate you on your book.It´s a great first novel and I couldnt put it down! The enneagram is so brillantly presented in such a fun way, even some therapeutic skills I recognized. How exciting for you to have published this book and introduce the spells we all put ourselves in and the possibility of waking up from them. When will you finish the 2nd book? Karen Ceballos Mexico

"I absolutely loved Spellbind! Thank you for writing this book Clare. I was amazed how well you were able to write a story that was not only fun and compelling, but rich with profound wisdom teachings. It is wonderful to consider how these seeds of liberation woven into an engaging children's book will bear fruit. I hope this book finds many young readers who will enjoy both the story and the wisdom and understanding that it offers.

But besides being a book that kids will love, it is a book that I will heartily recommend to anyone wanting to a better understanding of their own personality and of the freedom of awakening to what is beyond personality. Well done! I am Looking forward to the next book :) " Saleem Berryman

It is fantastic; wonderfully woven, engaging, powerful. In spite of the apparent simplicity of the story line, there is great depth. It is both fun and practical. As a long time student of the Enneagram and graduate of your 'Lifting the Veils' course, I found the book to be refreshingly useful. To view thought as an orb-spell allows you to step back far enough to begin to break through your own trance. And that crack in the trance leads to greater and greater freedom. It is simple and yet effective. Thank you so much for your work! Stephanie Chalmers, DVM, CVH USA

This is a HYPER-COOL BOOK - I Mean Hyper Cool ...- for Kids and Adults of ALL Ages - Female Harry Potter -Esque and huge deeper impact Andy Cooney UK

Loved it! Write a sequel. I've got loads of new stuff to think about. I love the whole idea of an enlightened hero. It sends the story off in unfamiliar ways. It got to the point where I had to stay up late to find out what happens next. Now I'm looking at people thinking ..now what bird would you be then...(and yes yes I get that it's not really about birds, as such. some of the allegories were beautifully simple, -prickles in the forest ect- I hope it does well. The philosophy bits were the best bits by far. everything pointed to them so if they were'nt real the whole book would have gone limp. As it was I think youve come up with a new genre for the times. (it needs a name) I'm inspired. Russell Moore Australia

Just finished reading Spellbind... What a fun read! I love how it takes the seriousness out of the enneagram while holding the integrity of the teaching. Very helpful Clare! Well done and congratulations! My roomates and I are having a great time joking about the chicken...I now have a baseball card featuring a chicken named Julia that arrived from the farmer's market...and each time I come from fear or do limit setting talking style..we squalk! fun and useful tool! Good luck with the sequal :) Julia McFadden USA

Fantastic, Clare!! I'm almost finished with the book and I absolutely love it. It's actually delightful, yet very informative. Kaylene Williams USA

Just read your book. Really wonderful! It lightens things up for me when I find myself in a fixated response and can go "I'm under a spell." Makes surrendering so much easier. Thank you! Atmara Rebecca Cloe.

I love the book you have written. It's great! Hannelore Rueedi Switzerland

It's delightful. It has received such praise from my facebook friends! Eldonna Leis USA

Just finished reading Spellbind. I loved it Michael Buhring Germany

Spellbind is an immediately engaging read that’s empowering for children and adults. I felt like I was revisiting Eckhart Tolle – connecting with the collective unconscious and with a positive message that inspires and encourages personal growth. What a welcome change to have children reading this.

Dr Lydia Bennett - Clinical Psychologist

I thoroughly enjoyed Spellbind. On one level it's a fast and quirky adventure story that will totally captivate children (and adults). On a more subtle level, it masterfully weaves together a deep understanding of personality and the trances we human beings unwittingly live by, and how to wake up from them by using the proven techniques of NLP and present moment awareness.

Lorna Stewart – Professional NLP, Coaching, training and facilitation

The story was fab on its own and you wouldn’t have to be aware of, or interested in the enneagram to really enjoy the book. Emily 14 years old UK

Review of Spellbind in Amazon by Randall Jay -

Who do you think you are? What if that's not true? What are words? They can be powerful spells, as it turns out. Most of us were taught that it was sticks and stones that break the bones. Words? Not so much. But words have a mostly unexamined (and therefore powerful) grip on our lives. When we believe them, they shape us and they shape us early. In this book for children and parents of all ages, author Clare Cherikoff spins a tale that shows us the seemingly magical spells woven by words, helps us to recognize them and learn how it is possible to live life more freely. After all, the words we believe + our personality = who we think we are.

Spellbind is written in such a fun and easygoing way that you mostly forget you are learning anything at all! One becomes quickly immersed in the adventures of young Maxine Quigley and her friends as they attend a secretive school for the magically gifted. This may seem something like a familiar set-up to readers of the Harry Potter books, well-known by now to most everyone on earth. I would call this a respectful homage with some big differences. Spellbind appears to take itself less seriously but it is deceptively deep. And as you turn the pages of the fast-moving story, insights pop up when and where you least expect them.

The other important theme here is that of human personality. The nine character types familiar to students of the enneagram play a major part of the story and are noted here with great humor and compassion. A simple and useful mythology arises within the story to explain this often unexamined system to us. I found myself laughing and marveling at this aspect of the book, and it is one that kids will be able to grasp and appreciate easily.

I found this book entertaining, funny and effortlessly insightful. Max's journey is told in an effervescent way. She's on an important journey of discovery and her timeframe is always Now. The pace moves so quickly that there are few spare moments for any character here to dwell in the past or worry about the future. And the issues they are facing are no less fascinating than #1: Who do you think you are? and 2: What if that's Not True?

Any girl, boy, man, woman, magus or gribble who cares about the answer to these two questions is in for some very good news.

Well Done!...(the first reviewer says it all so well...), March 30, 2010 By J. Levine (Washington, DC United States) This review is from: Spellbind (Paperback) I really think this book is a great addition to this genre of storytelling (indeed an homage to J.K. Rowling, etc.). It took me about 30 or 40 pages to get hooked, and now I'm savoring every page. I do think that it might help SOME PEOPLE to have some understanding of the enneagram, a topic which Clare deftly teaches among her many other gifts. For myself, having that knowledge only adds to the joy of watching the plot unfold. While, I'm sure there are some people who could argue the exact opposite, even more so, I hope that this book becomes a runaway hit for this talented teacher from Australia. It has the potential to make large impact on how young people of any age can approach the daunting inquiry of, "Who am I?"