SOLVED. YA book about a male witch, probably by a British author, inheriting his powers from a mother named Dove [s]

[Rebecca]

Hi - this isn't an urgent request but it's been bugging me for a while now. This was a teen/YA book I read about ten years ago, about a boy who discovers that he's from a long line of witches and is the first male to inherit the family powers. Some random details I can recall: his mother was named Dove and is dead by the time the story starts, and he has a very close relationship with his step-mother, who is pregnant with a half-sister to be named Emma. He also has two older sisters named (I think) Tabitha and something else beginning with a "T" that you wouldn't expect to be a girl's name (something like "Tate", i.e. that is usually used as a surname/male first name). (I remember that I loved the family's names.) The boy's maternal grandmother strongly disapproved of the boy being allowed to develop his powers as a witch because she believed they should be exclusive to women. I can remember very clearly the last sentence of the book: speaking to his step-mother about his sisters, the boy says "Don't tell anyone, but Emma's my favourite."

Again, this is not an urgent request but I've been hoping to revisit this book at some point, so any information anyone can provide will be much appreciated. :)

[D.M.]

The Haunting has "Don't tell anyone..." exactly, two sisters, Tabitha and Troy, and a boy named Barney dealing with seeing a ghost. The step-mother is named Clair.

[Mir]

It's definitely The Haunting. The dead mother is named Dove. The great-grandmother thinks magic is evil and no one should use it (the bit about magic being only for women is in a different book by the same author: The Changeover).

[Rebecca]

Thank you both very much! :D Interestingly I don't seem to remember reading "The Changeover", although I suppose I must have since I got the plot mixed up (it was at least a decade ago, so I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised)... guess I'll check that one out again too, thanks for the info. Also thank you for reminding me of the other characters' names, especially the other sister, it was bugging me trying to recall it.

Many thanks once again,
- Rebecca. :)

[Mir]

You're welcome! Changeover is for a slightly older audience than Haunting (main character is 14 rather than 9 or so). But you could also be thinking of how the grandmother lies to the sons and says only boys get magic and never women.