Title:

The Witch's Boy

Author:

Kelly Barnhill

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

December 12, 2024

here seems to be a lot of enthusiasm by authors for "retelling" established fairy tales. Wicked gives a different slant to The Wizard of Oz, Ella Enchanted tells Cinderella with a new twist, and Thornhedge is an alternate take on the story of Sleeping Beauty. Those are all excellent stories, but it is nice to read a book that is entirely an invention by the author imagination. Barnhill's The Witch's Boy is entirely her own creation: new world, original characters, a well thought-out plot, and it all makes for a fun book suitable for young readers. There are some scary parts (some people die, and the protagonists face fearsome circumstances) but I think a child reading this book would enjoy The Witch's Boy. I certainly did. Not to be confused with Michael Gruber's book with the same name The Witch's Boy

Tam and Ned are inseparable brothers, having adventures, playing games and telling stories. They imagine sailing down the mighty river all the way to sea, and so they secretly construct a raft for their expedition. But the river is a powerful force, and the youngsters don't know how to build a proper raft. Their craft immediately disintegrates in the river when they launch it, and the two boys are swept under. Their father comes running and dives in, but he is only able to haul a half-drowned Ned back to shore. Tam perishes.

Ned's mother is the Sister Witch - capable of harnessing potent magic. But the Sister Witch sticks to a vow to only use that power for good, and never for selfish reasons. But with one son dead, and Ned close to expiring himself, the Sister Witch convinces herself that saving Ned is a selfless deed. Ned does live, but he grows up weak and sickly, and constantly stutters. The villagers mutter that "the wrong boy was saved". Ned hears the whispers and becomes a loner.

A huge frightening, magical forest stands to the east of Ned's village. No one dares to enter its leafy depths except for Ned's father, the woodcutter. But unknown to the villagers, on the far side of the forest is the empire of Duunin. From Duunin, a huge red-haired man and his daughter, Áine, flee from the authorities, because Áine's father is really the ruthless Bandit King. He wears a magical pendant around his neck which seems to give him power. But Áine hates that flashing stone - her father was once a kind, loving man, but now she scarcely recognizes him. The Bandit King and Áine hide in the magical forest - with his pendant, the Bandit King can move through the haunted lands without getting lost or worse.

Deep in the forest, in a forgotten glade, stand nine stones. They have stood there for centuries. But these are not ordinary stones. Once they were powerful magicians who desired to be immortal. Too late, they discovered that they could exist forever, but it would mean in the motionless frozen form of giant boulders. As the years pass, the stones sleep. But then something stirs their slumber...

The Bandit King finds his way through the forest and discovers Ned's village. Worse, he happens to be present just when the Queen arrives - and the Queen is in dire need of saving. It takes all of Sister Witch's magical skills to heal the Queen. Standing in the crowd, the Bandit King observes the use of the Witch's magical power - his pendant flashes - and he hatches a plan to steal it for his own. And so he sets in motion a series of escalating events. Ned and Áine will encounter danger, heartbreak and scary forest wolves. The wild magic burns to be unleashed, and the Bandit King wants to do exactly that...

Both Áine and Ned are appealing characters. They are easy protagonists to cheer for. The plot is a page turning story, with enough narrow escapes and foreboding foreshadowing to keep the reader engaged. The world building is excellent Plus, there is a wolf! I liked this story even better than Barnhill's Newbery winning book The Girl Who Drank the Moon, though that was a good tale as well.