The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch
by Victoria Schwab
Date Released: August 2, 2011
Pages: 282

Summary:

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.
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.
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

My Review:

Throughout the whole book this movie would not get out of my head:
















And that is a good thing, because I loved (well, I still love it) this movie. But back to the book. I kept thinking about this movie because of how the kids kept walking out of their rooms at night because they were being drawn by the witch's powers was a theme in both of these stories.

This book was amazing. And it was awesome! Everything about this book was just the bee's knees, and yes I did just say that. My favorite part of it was Cole. He was an awesome and strong character. His character had depth and a story behind his actions. When he shied away from Lexi because he was afraid to let himself love again, that just made me love him anymore. I felt like he was protecting Lexi in a way by not endangering her by getting close to her....yeah that sentence didn't make much sense.

And the writing style was beautiful. I really felt like I had been reeled into the world of Near and was there as it was happening.

And the world of Near itself was masterfully crafted. It didn't sound like any world I had read about before. The idea that witches could be welcomed into society (or semi-welcomed) like Dreska and Magda were. Or they could be feared for generations after they had disappeared, like the Near witch was.

And Uncle Otto was such a good villain-who-wasn't-actually-the-villain. And of course I loved that Lexi would just completely ignore whatever he said and go sneak out to see Cole.

I could not put this book down. I read it in probably about 3 hours. It was so good! Everybody should read this book who likes YA fiction. It doesn't matter if you are a fantasy fan or not, you should read this book right now.

My Rating: