Review Part 1: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Description:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. 

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know-about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab's debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won't soon forget.

Review:

Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

3 out of 5

Review Part 1:

This fairytale starts out with a fairytale being told.  I like that, as every tale told started out with someone telling another.  Plus, we all knew fairytales as being something someone told us, at bed time.  Which just makes it dark and mysterious. 

But it also feels like a ghost story.  Mysterious and lyrical.  You want to read it by a fire with the sound of the rain in the background.

I liked Lexi’s curiousity.  It seems like it has the potential to get her into a lot of trouble… Which of course it will.   

Honestly, this story has a slow beginning… so slow, that I learned something about it.  It is a nice story that you can put down, but still feel like you can go back to later without losing something. 

Happy Reading!

Cana