The Near Witch by: Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch by: Victoria Schwab
Published: August 11, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion Books CH
Page Count: 282
Format: ebook
Series: None
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

My Review:

     This book started off with Lexi seeing something strange outside her bedroom window, which I must say, was one of the best ways to hook me onto a mystery book. Instantly, a thousand questions sparked in my head and I just had to keep going at a rapid rate!
     The place where the main character, Lexi, lives is called Near but she doesn't live in the town, per say, more like the edge of it. The way she describes the moor seemed directly parallel to the mystery, in a way. The wind whispered over the hills and Lexi had something of a sixth sense to listen to it and hear its beckoning call.  That was a creepy element that I got all jittery about, which, of course, made it so much better!
     Lexi was so independent and determined to find out who or what was causing the children to go missing. She would stop at nothing, despite the how persistent everyone around her was that she shouldn't pursue something so dangerous.
     Then Cole enters the story. Really, that boy could be a mystery novel in himself. The way he spoke and held himself was intriguing to behold. There seemed to be an alternate meaning behind everything he said, always something hinting at his troubled past. He and Lexi pair up to set things right in Near and  as they delve deeper into the mystery surrounding the town, there relationship blossoms into romance at the same rate. The romance and mystery kind of intertwine into a really exciting relationship between Cole and Lexi.
    I kind of predicted some of what happened in the middle of the book, but it didn't lessen the amazement I felt when I read how it all played out. This book comes highly recommended from me, as it is a rare occurrence of jitter-inducing, creepy, romantic, gritty mystery in Young Adult literature.