The Near Witchby Victoria Schwab

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. (goodreads.com)

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved anything to do with witches. If there was a story about witchcraft or witches, she had to read it. This little girl fell madly, head-over-heels in love with L.J. Smith's Secret Circle trilogy back in the early 1990s. Ever since she discovered that there were books out there about teen witches, she knew, deep down in her soul, that she was destined to become one.Or, at least live vicariously through all the magical teens found between the pages of books.Fast forward to the year 2010. This little girl wasn't quite so little anymore, although her love for teen witches never did fade. (And, that love was purely platonic and NOT creepy at all, despite how that may sound, I might add). In June of 2010, this not-so-little girl found a book on Goodreads called The Near Witch. She added it to her wishlist and her 2011 Debut Author Challenge list. The author of said book even commented on that addition and mentioned it made her happy. In June 2010, the end of the summer of 2011 seemed impossibly far away. Eventually August 2011 arrived and the not-so-little girl did the dance of joy because she would FINALLY get her hands on a copy of her most anticipated new book of the year!Sadly, such was not the case, for no stores in and around her town carried the book. The Book Depository even told her it was unavailable. Yet, so many others out there in the scary world were reading and owning this very book! It didn't seem fair! Oh, the humanity!Defeated, the not-so-little girl gave up her search for her very own copy of The Near Witch and contented herself by reading books she already had at home that needed reading. Then one blustery, October day, the not-so-little girl happened to be looking up another book on the local bookstore's site and happened to see that they had ONE COPY of The Near Witch in stock as well! Oh, the joy! This girl made her husband drive her to the store that evening so she could buy both books (and walked away with 4 books and a magazine, but that's a story for another day!)The timing couldn't have been better, as the not-so-little girl had just finished her latest read right before the trip. Once home, the spine of The Near Witch book was cracked open oh, so gently and the new book smell was sniffed with pleasure (The Near Witch has one of the best bookish smells ever! It smells like real, true book!). As the little girl turned not-so-little girl settled in to read the story that had been haunting her for over a year, she sighed contentedly. Not only was the story brilliant, but it surpassed every single high expectation she held for the book. The writing was beautiful, the setting of the village of Near was vibrant and graphic and almost real, like you could reach out and touch it. Lexi was a strong, confident female lead and oddly... not the witch the reader though she would be!Such a folk-fairy-fantasy tale of witchcraft,l magic and love was brilliantly woven and delighted the little girl's imagination.One day, when she finally decides to grow up, this little girl will become the best teen witch ever. Or even a beautiful sorceress (which is ultimately, where she'd like to end up.)The end. Buy your own copy! AmazonUS | AmazonCA