Because it should draw you into the story. Because somehow this is supposed to be intense.

That, and the writing style, really annoyed me. Therefore this novel is riddled with quasi-wise sayings, so-called ancient poems, and endless repetitions of stories surrounding the village of Near. A witch that lived only in stories.Īnd here’s the worst part of this book: it somehow wants to convey the message that there’s a grain of truth in every story, and that we should all pay attention to them. Helped out by her new boyfriend (they don’t talk at all, but still fall head-over-heels in love with each other within two days – sorry, I don’t think it works that way, but maybe I’m just too old and bitter to find this type of romance even remotely credible) and obstructed by the grownups (for, yes, somehow all grownups (apart from dead fathers whispering from beyond the grave) are idiots), she finds out what has happened: it was a Witch that did it. Obviously, it’s up to Lexi to solve the case.

Nobody knows where they’ve gone, but of course they try to find the answer. Like I said, it takes place in a fictional village, Near, in which children are taken every night. There’s also some other characters, but they failed to come to life at all, and are only there to serve the plot.Īnd what a plot it is. So there we have it: the love triangle! Care to make a guess as to who will win Lexi’s heart? Don’t bother, it’s obvious straight from the start. But that’s unfortunate, because there’s already a guy who likes her. Then there’s a stranger (and that’s weird, because Near, the village in which the story is set, never has any! How odd!), whom our heroine falls in love with. He was perfect and wise, and seems to be a mentor even after his death.

We have a strong-willed sixteen-year-old girl called Lexi (sporting a long braid, by the way – why do they all need to have one?) with an innocent little sister and a mother who has broken down after her husband died. In the introduction, Schwab writes that this was the first novel she had ever written, but it was only published after she’d become a bestseller with her later novels. It’s so formulaic it almost made my eyes bleed. Having now read it myself, I’m so happy that I will not be remembered for giving her this painful attempt at a young-adult novel. She already had it and told me I could keep it. Schwab’s The Near Witch to someone as a birthday present.

The near witch book 2