Review: The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab

About the Book:

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. 

My thoughts:

A stranger arrives and children go missing. Its a terror tale with a high creep factor and a terrific read. In the town of Near a story is told to keep history alive, but its been so long and as is the wont of things, the story is regarded as a myth, a tale, a fiction.

But is it?

Beautifully written. The worldbuilding is superb. The magic and mystery is gripping, and the characters have a depth that is easy to fall into and be swept away in. Lexi must battle small town attitudes to women, and forge her own identity despite being constantly told she must “submit” to type. Lexi is a fighter… And she won’t be told what to do. The children are in danger and Lexi is determined to find them. Even if she must confront the Near Witch herself to do it.

Its a love story too. Lexi is drawn to the Stranger… He’s so different from the small town, tiny minds that she is surrounded by and she finds herself needing to learn all about him. But the timing is suspicious. Is he the reason the children are disappearing? Lexi must find them all before her little sister vanishes too.

Her father taught Lexi the ways of the moor. She’s not going to let him down. A fabulous read. I very much recommend it.

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