WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES. By Amy Foster. Overlook. 304 pages. $14.95

Witchy women and supermoms: "When Autumn Leaves," Amy Foster's brilliant debut novel, delivers fantasy and family sensibilities that will leave you happily entangled in fictional escape with a "friend who understands."

Avening, a conventionally hospitable town, content with its own traditional amenities of over-the-counter love potions and other-worldly portals, is faced with the difficulty of needing to replace its own town witch, the regulator of the town's supernatural rhythm of happiness.

Who shall replace beloved Autumn (who has been promoted)? The drama rages on as possible substitutes vie for position (while not busy making lunches and low-fat snacks for their young ones).

Foster's spooky, fast-paced plot and sexually driven scenes keep the reader pulled in tight, wondering what satisfying denouement lies in store for the town folk of Avening.

Autumn asks her town to move forward in time and consciousness while being mindful of tradition and its power. The author seems to be asking readers to consider the importance of a community's history and values while showing that, indeed, times and circumstance change, and many talented participants may come forward to breathe fresh ideas into the faces of stodgy predictability.

If the supernatural is your cup of tea, the novel is delightful with a cup of chamomile and honey. It's an easy read that leaves one longing for more. Foster's novel engages and entertains.

-- Amelia Roberson is a freelance writer in Roanoke.