The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Who: Victoria Schwab

What: The Near Witch

When: August 2nd, 2011

Where: Disney Hyperion

Why: Premise

How: For Review

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.

I absolutely adored this book! The Near Witch is full of wonderful characters, beautiful writing, and a setting so lush that it's straight out of a fairy tale! But don't think it's just completely light, because there's some creepy stuff going down in the town of Near.

I loved Lexi was our heroine on this crazy journey! She was head-strong and knew what she had to do and the consequences of doing it, but did it anyway because it was what she felt was right despite the rest of the village's wishes. The children start disappearing from the village and unfortunately at the same time, the arrival of a strange boy named Cole coincides with this. So the village automatically assumes it's him and Lexi and Cole form a strange alliance to prove him innocent. My favorite part had to be Victoria's writing, which is ethereal and just like a fairy tale should be. She captured the essence of evil perfectly, to the point where I was creeped out myself about the wind in the trees.

There is romance but like in most fairy tales, it's light and adorable and completely fit the story. I swear, if they would've started getting angsty or steamy, it would've totally ruined the vibe (don't laugh at me, I said it: VIBE) of the novel. Overall, an absolutely beautiful debut and i'm looking out for anything else Victoria has to offer!

Happy Reading!