Review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Hyperion
Stand alone

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.

In the moor there is a town called Near where witches are very real. Hundreds of years ago there was a witch but then something happened and they got rid of her. Over time the Near Witch became more of a story to scare kids than actual history and people started doubting that it really ever happened. But Lexi who has heard the story her whole life and is friends with the Thorne sisters who are witches believes it more than others. 

I loved the setting of this book the moor was creepy and lonely and I would not to live there. I also loved how it wasn't set in a certain time period it could be in the past or the future or even right now. For me the story was like a mix of the Pied Piper and Hocus Pocus it had that eerie feeling to it. The characters in this book were amazing. I loved Lexi and how she always stood up for herself and what she believed in. Cole was super cute and his sad life made me love him even more. Wren was so sweet and I kept dreading her being taken even though I knew it was going to happen. Lexis mom was an interesting character I felt bad for her and Lexis dad seemed really great I wish we could have known him better :( . I was very back and forth about Otto her uncle but in the end I liked him. This might be small spoiler but oh my goodness the Near Witch was so creepy she reminded me of the Corpse Bride from the Tim Burton movie but not nice at all and made out dirt and moss and just scary.

Overall I thought this book was amazing it was like a fairy tale but a little darker and I loved the characters and the place it was set in. I would definitely recommend it. 5/5 stars 

-Marissa <3